Text

theses

In this thesis I provide a biography of soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy, a discussion of the impact that the music and the man Thelonious Monk had on Steve Lacy and how it influenced Lacy’s performance style. I provide historical and analytical commentary about the song, “Pannonica,” and the woman, the Baroness Kathleen Annie Pannonica Rothschild de Koenigswarter, who inspired its composition by Thelonious Monk. I follow with a transcription and analysis of Lacy’s performance of “Pannonica” from his 1965 record, Disposability. The transcription of the performance, including the bass line as played by Kent Carter appears in the appendix along with a comparison of Lacy’s and Monk’s performances of the head and out-chorus of the song and a chorus-by-chorus comparison of Lacy’s performance.

The appendices also include interviews with several performers who have had a significant relationship with Lacy or the music of Thelonious Monk. These interviews help to provide further insights into the significant contribution Lacy made to creative music during his career. A bibliography of articles about Lacy sourced from the Jazzinsitut Darmstadt about Lacy as well as a complete discography are also included.

Lacy was a multi-faceted artist, a polymath with a keen interest in music, art and literature. He had many collaborations with writers, artists and dancers. While not the focus of this thesis, the breadth of Lacy’s knowledge and passions are obvious in a number of the sources I have consulted and quoted and form an important subtext of this work.

ETD_10759

doi:10.7282/t3-pbd1-0a57

M.A.

Includes bibliographical references

ETD graduate

The author owns the copyright to this work.