F2K Ep. 31: Violinist Diane Monroe

Fun 2 Know Podcast

On today's show, violinist Diana Monroe. I spent most pf the 90s living in San Francisco and when I returned to my old home of Philadelphia around 2000, I was struck by how rich a pool of musical talent existed in Philadelphia, particularly across the world of Philadelphia jazz. A great place for talent spotting is in Bobby Zankel's incredible jazz orchestra, The Warriors of the Wonderful Sound a striking group led by saxophonist and composer Bobby Zankel whose numbers can swell to a dozen and beyond, all instrumentalists that can play the music to the highest standards. But for me, Diane's fiery and passionate violin playing always stood out as particularly beguiling and brilliant. Entering her name in Google and looking at her credentials informed me on how rich and varied her career has been, from leading the string quartet in Max Roch's ground-breaking Double Quartet, to playing with Wynton Marsalis and Yo Yo Ma and touring with Barbara Streisand, Monroe has been a first-rank session musician and in recent years has turned her attention to jazz improvisation. We finally got to sit down and have a conversation at the studios of WPRB to talk about her music and her life recently, we'll hear that conversation as well as sample her music, in duo with vibraphonist Tony Micelli, with Max Roach's Double Quartet, with The String Trio of New York and finally, alone with a solo piece. I was completely charmed talking the Diane and impressed at how completely she's committed herself to the music.