Monk's tenor

In Robin D.G. Kelley's definitive, 450-page biography of Thelonious Monk, Monk and tenor saxophonist Charlie Rouse first meet on p.100, in 1944.

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Their next encounter comes 91 pages (11 years) later, when Rouse is working with Monk at the Music Barn concert series in the Berkshires. Then, from p.250 to p.409—that's 1958-1969, when the two parted ways—there aren't many pages that don’t bear Rouse’s name.

The two are not only linked in music history; they are literally together in heaven—in the heavens rather: Astronomer Joe Montani named asteroids after them.

Monk, of course, is one of the half-dozen or so most recognizable and influential figures in the history of jazz; Rouse not so much. Extended proximity to such fame sealed Rouse's main reputation—as Monk's sideman.

That reputation doesn't tell the whole story—when do they ever? Rouse, who was seven years younger than Monk, had been a professional jazz musician for more than a decade before he joined the pianist. He had worked with many other famous musicians: Fats Navarro, Tadd Dameron, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Clifford Brown, Oscar Pettiford, Art Farmer, and Bennie Green, among others. He had co-led a date with Paul Quinichette (on Bethlehem in 1957) and founded, alongside French horn player Julius Watkins, one of the most interesting bands of the 1950s: Les Jazz Modes, which released five albums between 1956 and 1959. Even as he worked as a Monk sideman, he was active as a sideman for other musicians, including Art Taylor, Nat Adderley, Babs Gonzales, Dave Bailey, Benny Carter, Sonny Clark, and Duke Jordan. Rouse even recorded sessions as leader for Jazzland, Epic, and Blue Note.