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New Monk bio in progress by Robin Kelley


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well, since I'm the only one here who actually ever stood NEXT to Monk -

I can definitely say he was tall.

I sat and had a beer with him between sets at the Colonial Tavern in Toronto, in early November 1966.

The quartet was there for two weeks and I caught them several times. They actually opened on Hallowe'en -- the flight from NYC was delayed, and the band didn't arrive until about 10:30 pm. Monk went directly to the piano (didn't even remove his topcoat) and played solo piano for about twenty minutes while the band set up. They then played non-stop to 1 am.

On my second trip, I actually had the nerve to go and introduce myself and ask him to do an interview with me for my radio show, but he just sorta said "no". He said yes to a drink, though, and we sat, pleasantly. saying almost nothing for about 20 minutes, then he went back to the bandstand.

I'm not sure, but I think he nodded at me when I went in again a couple of days later.

And Allen's right, he was tall.

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It seemed like the Monk at Monterey record (1964) went under the radar -- came out in 2007 and was expecting a nod to Thelonious Monk Live at the 1964 Monterey Jazz Festival, Monterey Jazz Festival Records, in the foot notes.

Thanks for the correction on the "Four In One" transcription for big band.

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I've been reading this in fits and starts at the local bookstore. (They are so nice they gave me a chair to relax and everything :tup:excited: ). I really recommend it. Kelly really brings Monk and his times to life. I learned a lot and my appreciation for the man, his uncompromising self-belief and honesty, and his music have only deepened.

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The band chorus in Four in One (1963 Big Band) was not transcribed from the 1951 Blue Note version (as Kelley has it on p. 348), but from the 1960 Riverside At the Blackhawk. And I have a long list of other errors and typos. Anyone cares to know?

I'm pretty sure he has the list of participants on The Sound of Jazz wrong. (In case you're sending him a list of corrections for the paperback.)

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The band chorus in Four in One (1963 Big Band) was not transcribed from the 1951 Blue Note version (as Kelley has it on p. 348), but from the 1960 Riverside At the Blackhawk. And I have a long list of other errors and typos. Anyone cares to know?

I'm pretty sure he has the list of participants on The Sound of Jazz wrong. (In case you're sending him a list of corrections for the paperback.)

I already sent Kelley my list of errors a few weeks ago.

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depends on whether he's referring to the tv show or the Columbia LP - there was some different personnel -

I don't think Louis Armstrong or Fatha Hines were on either of them. He does explain why Monk isn't on the LP, something I've always wondered about. He repeats the claim that it's of a rehearsal but I've always presumed that it was a separate recording session. I think I read somewhere that Gerry Mulligan isn't on it because he wanted double scale.

I've also presumed that Prez had weakened so much between the recordings of the Lp and the tv show that he didn't have the strength to play on all the numbers on which he appears on the Lp. IIRC his one appearance on the tv show is for Fine and Mellow during which he's sitting down adn takes what may be his last great solo. (I could be as wrong about this as I was in my speculations as to why Monk wasn't on the Lp.)

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Reading this has me curious about the band with Monk, Dave Holland and T.S. on drums. Anyone heard that era of Monk's music?

Yes - the RLR (unfortunately) Monk CD The Last Concerts has two sets from the Vanguard by that quartet. The sound is decent bootleg quality. I think the music is pretty good.

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