Ugly Beauty, by Ugly Beauty

Ugly Beauty

by Ugly Beauty

supported by

	/

Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

$10 USD or more

1.	Raise Four 02:53	buy track
2.	Monk's Dream 04:30	buy track
3.	Friday the 13th 02:55	buy track
4.	Pannonica 04:48	buy track
5.	Misterioso 03:18	buy track
6.	Green Chimneys 03:26	buy track
7.	Trinkle Tinkle 02:03	buy track
8.	Epistrophy 03:55	buy track
9.	Monk's Mood 05:07	buy track
10.	Off Minor 03:38	buy track
11.	Criss-Cross 03:08	buy track
12.	Crepuscule with Nellie 02:42	buy track
13.	Skippy 03:12	buy track
14.	Ugly Beauty 04:44	buy track

about

With great love and admiration, Ugly Beauty takes the music of our hero, Thelonious Monk, and puts it thru a meat grinder. Tunes of his that you know (or don't) are twisted, sometimes to the point of not recognizing them. Ever need some punk Monk? Give this a listen. Tired of "standard jazz" repertoire? Here we are for you.

Ugly Beauty was formed in 2009 to do naughty things with Monk's music. Last year, we decided to finally make a record. Here it is....

-----------------------------------

EDIT 6/1/2020:
Here it is… UGLY BEAUTY. Releasing a record is supposed to be a time to celebrate the completion of a creative product, a time to share. We looked forward to playing this music live in front of people. Who knew when we recorded this last November, that so much in America and the world would unravel in the meantime. Now, by simply arriving at this time, this record takes on different and additional meaning.

This record is comprised entirely of the music of our hero, Thelonious Monk. An African American pianist and composer, he is considered by many to be one of the most important and prolific contributors in jazz. His unique gift of non-traditional and sometimes “off-kilter” pianistic and composition styles was truly singular and set jazz in a startling direction, making different musical trajectories possible. There would be no jazz without the African American experience, and Monk blasted it into his own idiosyncratic atmosphere.

This record represents our take on Monk’s music. By design, is not “straight-ahead”; most of what is here is no longer “jazz”. We’ve put his music through our own filters, just as he took traditional styles and crafted them into his own music. So goes the tradition of absorbing the past and pressing it forward, sometimes changed into completely different and unrecognizable forms.

Black lives matter. They are integral to the American experience, from which we all draw. Without them, none of this would be even imaginable. In the end, this album rests on Monk’s shoulders. Without him, we wouldn’t be here.

-----------------------------------

Ugly Beauty is:
Andrew Stern-- guitar
Jef Charland-- bass, VCR
Jared Seabrook-- drums

All music originally written by Thelonious Monk, used with permission.
Stern Furniture Music / ASCAP
All rights reserved 2020

andrewstern.us

credits

released June 5, 2020

Recorded in November 2019 by Dan Cardinal at Dimension Sound Studio in Jamaica Plain, MA (dimensionsoundstudios.com)
Mixed by David Westner
Cover art by Bradley Peterson Illustration
(bradleypetersonillustration.com)

license

about

Ugly Beauty Boston, Massachusetts

Ugly Beauty is:
Andrew Stern, guitar; Jef Charland, bass; Jared Seabrook, drums. We are all active across many music scenes/circles/genres in/around Boston. This trio was formed in 2009 to do naughty things with Monk's music. UB plays live every few years. In 2019 we decided it was time to make a record. Here it is.... ... more

contact / help

Contact Ugly Beauty

Streaming and
Download help

Report this album or account

If you like Ugly Beauty, you may also like:

Twenty | Twenty
by AS3

supported by 6 fans who also own “Ugly Beauty”
go to album
Left To My Own Devices
by Duke Levine

supported by 5 fans who also own “Ugly Beauty”

Duke's playing is exquisite, and I love his song choices and song writing. An incredibly gifted artist and fine human being to boot! Just wonderful! Chuck & Mud
go to album
Lonely Hunter
by Andrew Stern

supported by 4 fans who also own “Ugly Beauty”

It’s 7am, I’m drinking coffee and making out the days plans. This new album is purchased, playing, downloaded and loved. It’s beautiful company on a somber rainy morning. Well done! Sally Fitz
go to album
Descension
by Patrick Shiroishi

Layered sax and synths combine in this rich, absorbing work that sounds like elegiac lounge music from another dimension. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 13, 2020
go to album
SUGAR ~ SH*T ~ SILK ~ SWEAT
by FLACCO'S BIZARRE ADVENTURE

An expansive and bold modern jazz journey filled with delightful details from guitarist/composer Keenan "FLACCO" Ruffin and friends. Bandcamp New & Notable May 10, 2022
go to album
Urban Problems
by CavityFang

featured on Bandcamp Radio Jul 16, 2013
go to album
Further On: The Songs of Billy Conway
by Various Artists

supported by 4 fans who also own “Ugly Beauty”

Beautiful in every way. On heavy rotation in our house suffusing it with memories of Billy floating on the sound of love dsartanowicz
go to album