Thelonious Monk is one of the most creative, unique and enigmatic figures in the history of Jazz. Monk is often associated with his eccentricities, in particular his long periods of silence and his use of silence in his music (as I have written about before). This morning I read a blog post in El Mundo about a handwritten letter Monk had written to saxophonist Steve Lacy. It reveals a slightly less silent pianist and thus gives us some greater insight into Monk and his musical philosophy.
These are notes made by Steve Lacy recalling various things that he had heard from Monk. It is clearly Steve’s writing.
So it is Steve Lacy’s recollection of Monk’s words, not Monk’s note to Lacy?