A Perfect Arrangement: Joan Monné and the Sant Andreu Jazz Band
The Sant Andreu Jazz Band in Barcelona, under the superb direction of its founder and director Joan Chamorro, has been entertaining jazz audiences for 17 years, thanks to the youth of its musicians and the skill with which they play and sing classic American standards, bebop, Dixieland, and bossa nova tunes as if they were an ensemble with decades of experience.
Another, perhaps less obvious reason for the band’s creative success and sterling reputation lies in the fact that most of the SAJB’s big band arrangements, and those for its smaller instrumental and singing combos, have been written by the invaluable pianist/arranger Joan Monné, who demonstrates on a regular basis how a truly talented musician can take even a well-known song from decades past, and mold it into something special for the SAJB’s young musicians today, while still respecting the sound and spirit of the original classic recordings and performances by the jazz legends.
We spoke via video call, where he explained how his friendship with Chamorro goes back a long time.
“Joan and I knew each other since we were young, and started at the same school, Taller de Musics. I studied piano there, he was playing in the big band, and I played with them sometimes, too. We played together several times, in small combos and in the big band.”
In 2011, Chamorro asked Monné to take part in a concert by the Miles Davis Tribute Band — comprised of SAJB members and several top Barcelona musicians — paying tribute to Davis on the 20th anniversary of his death. They played a single concert on August 31, 2011, at Barcelona’s Apolo Theatre, with arrangements by Alfons Carrascosa and Sergi Vergés.
The resulting album, Sketches of Catalonia, was named as a reference to Davis’ and Gil Evans’ 1960 album Sketches of Spain.
Chamorro then asked Monné if he could write some arrangements for the SAJB. The first song he arranged was “Sing Me a Swing Song” sung by 10-year-old Alba Armengou (beside some very distracting professional lindy hoppers) at the Palau de la Musica for the Barcelona Jazz Festival.
Since then, Monné has written over 250 arrangements for the SAJB big band, small combos, and vocalists.
He explains the process that takes place each time Chamorro decides on a song he would like the band to learn: “Normally, he gives me some instructions, with records from Ella Fitzgerald or Count Basie or several big bands, and he’d tell me ‘I want an adaptation of this arrangement for my band’ and then he’d have precise instructions about it. Sometimes it’s more open, and he’d say, ‘I want an arrangement for ‘Body and Soul’ and do whatever you want’, for example. Normally, there are clear instructions for what he wants.”
From there, Monné has a number of creative decisions to make, such as how close to stay to the original version of a song, and how much to add of his own creation.
“There is always some kind of adaptation to the music because the recordings don’t always fit with the band Joan Chamorro has. Then I have to change some things, or I have to compose some things for the arrangement. I have to respect some of the original, then add something of myself.”
He and Chamorro also discuss other ways some arrangements need to be adjusted slightly for the band — which was especially true in the early days.
“He told me that there were young musicians and some of them were not so experienced, especially the trumpet players. Because arranging for a big band, the range of the trumpets could be high. He told me some of the musicians don’t have that high range, so don’t go too high for the trumpets. But for the rest of the band, he told me they could play almost like professional musicians.”
Monné was, like countless others, impressed with the skill level of the kids. “For sure it was a surprise — not a big surprise because I knew about his work with the band and the age of the kids, but it was a surprise to see that they could play almost like a professional big band, and I could write almost everything I could imagine.
“There were some limitations about the style — it was classic jazz, not contemporary jazz, but, for example, that limitation about the trumpets — sometimes I’d begin to write an arrangement for the band and Joan would tell me it could go higher, because he had the Armengou sisters, who were really good trumpet players — in fact Alba Armengou was a student of mine after leaving the SAJB. I’m teaching in a high school of music, and she was studying there — also Joan Martí, Marcal Perramon, Rita Payés, even Andrea was in the school, but she had to leave because she had too much professional work to finish her studies.” His students have also included former SAJB members Irene Reig and Joan Mar Sauqué.
Monné says there is no real pattern or average length of time needed to arrange a song for the band. “It depends on the song, the [original] recording, the historical period of the original. If it’s something more modern, it’s easier because the formation of the instrumentation is more similar. If it’s something older, it’s more difficult and I have to do more adaptation. One thing he asks me a lot is, for example, if there is a sax solo in the original, he asks me to harmonize it for the five saxes in the big band, and then I do a transcription of the original solo and I write the five voices for the five saxophones. It’s something we do often.”
As for including individual solos, “Normally he tells me what kind of solo he wants for an arrangement — tenor solo or trumpet solo…those solos are normally improvised, but sometimes he asks the whole band to play the solo — for example, we did a project of the music of Dexter Gordon. Some of the solos I had to write the melody to be played by the whole band, or the sax section. Sometimes it’s more my composition.”
Monné has also taken part in many of the Joan Chamorro presenta… albums, the La Magia de la Veu recordings, and is present on many more of the CDs in the Jazzing series (and can be seen playing in several videos at Chamorro’s home rehearsal/recording studio, The Jazz House). But he doesn’t want to name any favorite SAJB musicians, noting diplomatically, “All of them are really talented. For sure, I have my favorites, but it’s not fair to say.”
With 2023 drawing to a close, his most recent work with the band has been for the Sant Andreu Jazz Band abraça Brasil, performed in November at the Palau de la Música. “But I have no other arrangement to do right now.”
As mentioned earlier, in addition to his schedule of composing, arranging, and performing, he is also teaching. “At the school I mainly teach combo, and I teach jazz improvisation. It’s one of things they maybe don’t work on so methodically in the SAJB. They learn to improvise by imitation of the greatest [musicians], which is good way to learn to improvise. But sometimes they don’t have a theoretical approach that we try to give them at the school.
“It’s like learning a language — jazz — by hearing. If you want to learn Spanish and come to Spain and try to learn it just by hearing people talk, this is a good way to learn, but you don’t know the grammar, and maybe you are lacking. If you want to play some other styles different or more contemporary, you need to know.” He adds that improvising can also allow a musician to reference a phrase from an older piece of music from the greats. “For sure, you have some phrases or some things you have in your background, and they come to you at that moment.”
He agrees that Barcelona musicians are almost like family, playing on each other’s recordings, and often taking part in each other’s live gigs in the area. Through this, SAJB fans have come to learn of many excellent local musicians who have been guests for SAJB concerts and recordings.
“There is a good scene here, there’s a lot of musicians,” he says, “but it’s not like New York, so everyone more or less knows each other, and we have a good relationship. We play often with a lot of our neighbors.” One of whom is Carme Canela, longtime and frequent collaborator with Monné, and special guest singer at the SAJB’s 2022 Jazzing Fest, celebrating the music of Brazil.
In June of 2021, Monné wrote on his Facebook page, “My story with Carme is a love story. Yesterday we mentioned that we were celebrating the 25th anniversary of our first album, Introducing Carme Canela & Trio, but we had actually been playing together for longer. It was as if we were celebrating 25 years of marriage, not counting the previous years as boyfriends. Indeed, our musical relationship is very much like that of a couple who have been together all their lives, but still have things to say to each other, and still surprise each other from time to time. so much That they’ve grown up together, that they’ve helped each other grow in a certain way, and that they’re happy to keep maturing (and growing old) next to each other. And that they know what their partner is thinking or what is happening to them without having to say anything, just with a look, or maybe without even that.”
He recently toured with American saxophonist Jesse Davis, featured as a guest of the SAJB in 2011, as seen in the Ramon Tort film Kids and Music. Monné alludes to how touring doesn’t always go smoothly. “Going on the road is always a challenge, and there are some things not always about music, but about relationships, and about partnerships and friendships.
I’ve known Jesse for about 10 years, and I’ve played with him a lot of times when he came to Spain. He’s an excellent musician, it’s an honor playing with him.”
Most musicians divide their professional time between recording and performing; Monné favors one over the other. “I prefer performing to recording. Recording is a difficult challenge, and it’s always hard. It’s hard for me to listen to myself. But I do it often because it’s part of the business.”
Since 1990, he’s been a part of no fewer than 50 albums as an arranger or musician. “I’ve recorded a lot of records with my bands and also as a side musician for other musicians. But I prefer playing [live] to recording.” He also shares with other Barcelona musicians a fondness for the famous Jamboree jazz club, which has been a second home of sorts for the SAJB and its many alumni through the years. “It’s a really special place, special club, a lot of great musicians have played there. For us it’s an important place to be.”
And what’s next for the busy Monné? “I have just recorded a CD that I’m still working on, with a quartet — sax, trumpet, bass, no drums. All of the music is composed by myself, and maybe will be available in March. We’ll be playing at Jamboree and some other dates in Catalonia.”
It’s plain to see — and hear — how Barcelona, and the SAJB, are so fortunate to have Joan Monné as part of their musical jazz family.
Until next time…
You can read my previous articles about the Sant Andreu Jazz Band at the links below, and at the “Garry’s Blog” page on my website, www.GarryBerman.com.
“Bossa Nova Returns to Barcelona” | by Garry Berman | Nov, 2023 | Medium
“Carla Motis: A Quiet Force on Jazz Guitar” | by Garry Berman | Sep, 2023 | Medium
“Memories of my Visit to Jazzing Fest, 2023” | by Garry Berman | Sep, 2023 | Medium
“Meet Asier Vázquez, The SAJB’s Eager New Guitarist” | by Garry Berman | Medium
“Koldo Munné’s Musical Journey” | by Garry Berman | Jun, 2023 | Medium
“Claudia Rostey’s Rising Star” | by Garry Berman | Jun, 2023 | Medium
“A Film About Kids and Music: Ten Years Later” https://medium.com/@garryberman/a-film-about-kids-and-music-ten-years-later-50d5bf96f53b
“Marching to a Different Bassist: The Music of Magali Datzira” | by Garry Berman | Medium
“Kindred Spirits: How Joan Chamorro and Isidore Rudnick Teach Jazz to Kids” https://medium.com/@garryberman/kindred-spirits-how-joan-chamorro-and-isidore-rudnick-teach-jazz-to-kids-2d0cb80bed77
“The Compelling Music of Elia Bastida and Carolina Alabau” https://medium.com/@garryberman/the-compelling-music-of-%C3%A8lia-bastida-and-carolina-alabau-65da74f07804
“The SAJB’s Koldo Munne Steps into the Jazz Spotlight” https://garryberman.medium.com/the-sajbs-koldo-munn%C3%A9-steps-into-the-jazz-spotlight-238b3231626f
“A Tale of Two Albas” https://garryberman.medium.com/a-tale-of-two-albas-904849a5e697
“How a Kids Band in Barcelona Rekindled My Love of Jazz” https://garryberman.medium.com/how-a-kids-band-in-barcelona-rekindled-my-love-of-jazz-a20ea8873670
“Jan Domenech’s New Chapter as a Jazz Musician” https://garryberman.medium.com/jan-domenechs-new-chapter-as-a-jazz-musician-e1f0da8b19b9
“Joan Chamorro and the SAJB: Past, Present, and Future” https://medium.com/@garryberman/joan-chamorro-and-the-sajb-past-present-and-future-573eedcbff76
“Josep Traver: Guitarist of All Trades” https://garryberman.medium.com/josep-traver-guitarist-of-all-trades-608296f9d00a
“When American Jazz Pros Meet Spanish Jazz Kids” https://garryberman.medium.com/when-american-jazz-pros-meet-spanish-jazz-kids-25c7f5023571
“Claudia Rostey: The Life of an 18-year-old Bacelona Jazz Trombonist” https://garryberman.medium.com/claudia-rostey-the-life-of-an-18-year-old-barcelona-jazz-trombonist-d13b82c770a3
“The Magic of the Voice: The Singers of the Sant Andreu Jazz Band” https://garryberman.medium.com/the-magic-of-the-voice-the-singers-of-the-sant-andreu-jazz-band-208dfb629221
“Jobim is Alive and Well in Barcelona” https://garryberman.medium.com/jobim-is-alive-and-well-in-barcelona-d384b40d8c2e
“Did Someone Say Anastasia Ivanova?” https://garryberman.medium.com/did-someone-say-anastasia-ivanova-dd6f67277c64
“Struck by (musical) Lightning” https://garryberman.medium.com/struck-by-musical-lightning-6583ecb0de13
Sant Andreu Jazz Band CDs and DVDs are available at: https://jazztojazz.com, eBay, and Amazon.com.
Sant Andreu Jazz Band CDs are available at: https://jazztojazz.com/ , eBay, and Amazon.com.
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