"When she went upstairs to change, Shukumar poured himself some wine and put on a record, a Thelonius Monk album he knew she liked."--"A Temporary Matter" from Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri.
This story will break your heart and then punch you in the gut. It is the first and perhaps most affecting story in an excellent collection. Without giving too much away, it is the story of a young couple, a nightly power outage, dinner conversations, and the difficulty we have in communicating the difficult.
Thelonious Sphere Monk at All About Jazz:
Thelonious Institute offers a jazz curriculum, library, and a whole bunch of audio "snippets."
Other bits of goodness:
In classical mythology, Thelonious is a son of Mercury (featured in Ovid's Metamorphoses.)
The coffee-shop that is frequented in the show Seinfeld is called Monk's after Thelonious Monk. Apparently there was a Thelonious Monk poster hanging in the room Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld would write the script.
Listen to these:
"Blues Five Spot" (Also known as the "Five Spot Blues," it takes its title friom the famous New York Club where Monk had a long lasting residency. It is the place that made Monk a star while he in turn made it into the premier jazz club in America. Do not confuse it with this place. This version features full backing band.)
"I Should Care" (a short piano only track from his album Solo Monk.)
Another favorite, but I don't have it handy, is "Straight, No Chaser."
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