[78-L] Thelonious Monk [was Leonard Feather's Inside Jazz]

[Geoffrey Wheeler]

The reason Riverside chose to “spoon feed” Monk to the jazz public was 
to try to make him accessible. I’m told Monk sold relatively few 
records for Prestige when he was actively recording for them. As people 
came to “understand” his music better in later years, the label may 
have sold more, but success in the record business is based on “now” 
sales not sales a decade later. Hence, starting Monk out with an album 
of known tunes, not his own compositions, made sense to Grauer and 
Keepnews. I have often wondered whether Columbia made any money off 
Monk. I enjoyed hearing Monk in clubs and heard him a number of times 
at the Five Spot, as I did Mingus. One time, I was standing at the bar 
just as Monk was ending a set, talking  with Art Blakey. When Monk 
finished, he came over and Art introduced us. I had met Art years 
before at Boston’s Hi Hat. Monk shook my hand but said nothing. I 
wasn’t in the least surprised. Oops, I misspelled Art’s name. I got it 
on good authority from Pee Wee Marquette that it is “Art Blakley”  
because that’s how I heard Pee Wee introduce him at Birdland.