Comments on: Blue Notes and Monk at 100

By: Bill W.

Bill W. — Mon, 30 Oct 2017 15:41:15 +0000

I think the seller of that Monk lp hurt himself by not accepting returns. I recently had a nice sale of a 10″ Monk which sold for an excellent price. I don’t think I would have had such attractive bids if I refused to accept returns. Accepting returns is an important consideration for me when bidding as well. Grading is so subjective and as a seller you have to be open to disappointed buyers even if your grading is conservative.

By: geoffrey wheeler

geoffrey wheeler — Wed, 25 Oct 2017 22:39:03 +0000

Congrats Junius on getting four Monk stamps! Those are nice to have. I forgot to mention the FBI actually paid a visit to the Riverside office about the stamps. If I recall correctly, Tony Bennett was visiting at the time the FBI showed up. He was friends with one or more of the people at Riverside.

By: Joseph

Joseph — Tue, 24 Oct 2017 03:24:59 +0000

Sorry for late reply. The LP I was addressing is The LP that shows a B&W photo of Monk across the bottom half of the front cover, with typography in the upper half. I personally have never had a stamp cover in my hand but have seen it online. That was a interesting story about the covers Geoffrey.
I also have to point out , as we all know , that grading is somewhat subjective and I should say I have come across “very nice copies” of this LP. Maybe it’s just a fluke thing way up here in Toronto…….

By: D Junius

D Junius — Sat, 21 Oct 2017 21:38:18 +0000

To be fair, the seller had a 14 day return policy, he was saying he’s so good at grading that he doesn’t get returns. Over the summer on ebay there was an old DJ selling the Monk stamps, and I got four. Neato.

By: geoffrey wheeler

geoffrey wheeler — Tue, 17 Oct 2017 18:09:30 +0000

The cover of the Monk “Misterioso” Riverside album features a copy of de Chirico’s 1915 painting, “The Seer.” Riverside did not get de Chirico’s permission prior to using the image. Either he or his attorney contacted Riverside about the painting’s use. Fortunately for Riverside, de Chirico liked jazz and thus allowed Riverside to use it without compensation.

By: geoffrey wheeler

geoffrey wheeler — Tue, 17 Oct 2017 17:37:47 +0000

Bobh812, I don’t recall if my copy of the Monk Unique stamp cover has a white label. The album is packed away in storage. I agree: The stamp design is ingenious! The reason a stamp was chosen as a cover design may stem from the fact that Bill Grauer was a high-end stamp collector specializing in the stamps of the European African colonies. Grauer died while having coitus with a Japanese woman. He was so heavy, she couldn’t push his dead body off her and had to wait for emergency help to arrive. According to my source, Grauer had a preference for Oriental ladies. While he was chasing them, his wife was having an affair with another man.

By: Gregory the Fish

Gregory the Fish — Tue, 17 Oct 2017 15:18:38 +0000

the story behind the wagon as told in rdg kelley’s monk bio is even funnier!

By: Bobh812

Bobh812 — Tue, 17 Oct 2017 14:27:26 +0000

Geoffrey – amazing story behind that second cover. I know there are some who are not a fan but I found the second cover to be quite ingenious myself. I do not know the answer for sure, but I think Joseph mentioned first pressing Riverside copies with the white labels. Were those first pressings ever issued with the second cover before? Again, not really sure so any insights would be useful to me too.

Also, the cover of Monk in the wagon is priceless and makes me laugh every time I see it.

By: geoffrey wheeler

geoffrey wheeler — Tue, 17 Oct 2017 02:44:41 +0000

Regarding the Monk “Unique” Riverside album, Joseph, you don’t say which of the album covers you come across. For those who may not know, there are two styles of covers. One shows a photo of Monk across the bottom half of the front cover, with typography in the upper half. The second cover is totally different and features a large facsimile of a U. S. postage stamp with a profile illustration of Monk’s head and “33 and 1/3” where the price would usually be. To promote the record, Riverside had blocks of stamps printed up and gave them away to people. The promotion came to a quick halt when the FBI contacted Riverside and told them people were using the stamps on actual mail. Ken Braren, who designed the cover and the stamps, gave me a block of six stamps framed and signed. According to designer, Paul Bacon, who employed Ken as his assistant designer, Ken never signed ANYTHING, making this one-off totally unique! Ken passed away several years ago, as did Paul in 2015. Through their mother, Ken and his two brothers (still living) are related to Bix Beiderbecke.

So far, nobody has mentioned the Mosaic “Complete Blue Note Recordings of Thelonious Monk” (Mosaic MR4-101), the first box set issued on the new label. This marvelous set includes a number of previously unissued takes. The booklet includes a complete Monk discography covering his entire career. When Monk was part of a JATP West Coast concert tour in the 1940s, he was listed in newspaper reports as “Felonious” Monk.

Monk was said to be very particular about how the studios wanted to photograph him for covers. Using the red wagon for the “wagon” cover was Harris Lewine’s idea. For whatever reason, the wagon was already in the studio. Reluctantly, Monk agreed to pose sitting in the wagon. This was told to me by Ken Braren. I knew both Ken and Paul but not Harris Lewine.

By: Gregory the Fish

Gregory the Fish — Mon, 16 Oct 2017 15:53:30 +0000

definitely, put me on the list after bobh!