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Article: Epistrophies: poems celebrating Thelonius Monk and his music.
- Article from:
- African American Review
- Article date:
- March 22, 1997
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 African American Review. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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In the movie Straight, No Chaser, Thelonious Monk enters a recording studio for Columbia Records, where he is greeted by producer Ted Macero, who bobs and weaves with the excitement of having Monk's quartet ready to play. To make conversation, Macero amiably asks Monk, "What is that, a new hat?" and Monk pauses, takes in the question, and replies, "Oh yeah. This was given to me in Poland." "Poland?" Macero asks, and Monk responds, "Yeah," and then, quietly, muffling the first part of the phrase, "That's the name of this hat." Nobody catches the line.
A few moments later, Macero notices that Monk's spectacles are actually only rims. "Oh man," he says, "let me ...