Taking cues from two uncompromising geniuses of the piano, Carmen Staaf presents a fabulous contemporary accounting of the importance of Mary Lou Williams and Thelonious Monk in the lineage of jazz on her new recording, Sounding Line (Sunnyside, September 2025). For her West Coast preview tour, she is joined by some of the illustrious musicians from the album - Ben Goldberg, Dillon Vado and Hamir Atwal - for a set of duos, trios and quartets exploring music by Williams and Monk, as well as originals.

The history of jazz piano resonates from a plumb line whence new developments spring. Pianist/composer Staaf grew up unwinding Monk’s language and its resonance throughout the music’s evolution. But it was with her discovery of the vast stylistic range of Mary Lou Williams that Staaf began to see connections between the two piano legends, proposing that they mutually influenced one another.

Monk’s music is a treasure trove of fantastically diverse compositions. Though commonly seen as uniquely idiosyncratic, Monk’s tunes are deliberate in their construction and methodical in their performance. Having been enamored with his works since her introduction to jazz, Staaf feels a deep connection to these pieces, though she insists that Monk can never truly be known, which is part of the attraction.

Staaf was introduced to the music of Mary Lou Williams around fifteen years ago. Her amazement at Williams’s longevity, relevance, and integral support of the jazz scene led Staaf to an in-depth investigation into Williams and her music. Through this study, Staaf kept coming across similar musical ideas, like voicings and harmonies, that reminded her of Monk. Williams famously held pianist salons at her Harlem apartment, where a who’s who of pianists came to share ideas on composition, improvisation, and harmony. Monk was certainly a part. Their shared ideas emerged in their respective repertoire over the years, as they influenced each other. For this project, Staaf wanted to imagine a conversation between the two piano greats, figuring the best way to approximate this would be to perform their pieces in duos with some incredible and supportive musicians.

Originally from Seattle, Staaf has become a fixture in New York City and through her connections with drummer Allison Miller, bassist Todd Sickafoose, and violinist Jenny Scheinman, and from teaching at the Stanford Jazz Workshop, Staaf became ingrained in the deep Bay Area jazz scene. Many of the musicians on this album are similarly connected to NYC and the Bay. Trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire taught alongside Staaf at the Stanford Jazz Workshop, while clarinetist Ben Goldberg was introduced by Scheinman. Staaf met trumpeter Darren Johnston, vibraphonist Dillon Vado and percussionist John Santos while teaching at Jazz Camp West, where Miller is the artistic director. Finally, Staaf met drummer Hamir Atwal during their involvement in a North Indian dance and tap collaboration entitled SPEAK.

The program begins with Williams’s “Scorpio” performed in a duet with Akinmusire. A jaunty piano bass line sets up a mid-tempo journey with dynamic trumpet and bluesy piano capturing a contemporary boogie-woogie feel. Santos’s energetic bongos lead into the funky swing of Monk’s “Bye-Ya,” the piece’s angular melody and bass line a perfect follow-up to “Scorpio.” There is a bittersweet flavor to Williams’s “Libra” with Staaf joined by Goldberg’s melancholy clarinet. Vado’s atmospheric vibes set the mood for Monk’s “Monk’s Mood,” the pianist and vibist creating an open and airy rendition of the classic.

-Bret Sjerven