About

Monkin' Around is, at its heart, a trio of drums, bass and sax from all around the globe. Luke Fowler (from Australia) on bass, Billy Pod (from Greece) on drums, and Dave O'Higgins (of English-Irish-Mexican extraction) on sax.

It was born at the Troubadour in London's Earls Court. Dave had completed a tour in 2019 with guitarist Rob Luft where they played all 70-odd compositions by Thelonious Monk. Not wanting this hard work to go to waste, it was suggested that the trio adopt this repertoire. As Dave explains, "With no chordal instrument, it was an interesting challenge that demanded some degree of re-interpretation. The trio is purpose-made for small, intimate acoustic venues. But what if a club has a Steinway piano? Well, it seemed a shame to eschew this option completely, so the virtuosic Canadian pianist, Sean Fyfe, was added as a guest star on five tunes. Conversely, adding a second horn with no piano also seemed a fine idea for special occasions, and this is where Martin Shaw, my longtime frontline collaborator, came in for four tracks. So, we therefore have 1) a trio, 2) a quartet with piano, 3) a quartet with trumpet, and - why the hell not - 4) a quintet with everyone. Thus, we present '4 in 1'."