Editing Thelonious Monk (section)

===1947–1952: Lorraine Gordon===
[[File:Thelonious Monk, Minton's Playhouse, New York, N.Y., ca. Sept. 1947 (William P. Gottlieb 06221).jpg|left|thumb|Thelonious Monk at [[Minton's Playhouse]], 1947]]

In 1947, [[Ike Quebec]] introduced Monk to [[Lorraine Gordon]] and her first husband, [[Alfred Lion]], co-founder of <!-- Actually with Max Margulis rather than Francis Woolf. -->[[Blue Note Records]]. From then on, Gordon preached his genius to the jazz world with unrelenting passion. Shortly after meeting Gordon and Lion, Monk made his first recordings as a leader for Blue Note (later anthologized on ''[[Genius of Modern Music, Vol. 1]]''*), which showcased his talents as a composer of original melodies for improvisation. [[Thelonious Monk Blue Note Sessions|Monk Blue Note Sessions]] were recorded between 1947 and 1952.

Monk married Nellie Smith in 1947, and on December 27, 1949, the couple had a son, [[T. S. Monk]] (called Toot), who became a jazz drummer. A daughter, Barbara (affectionately known as Boo-Boo), was born on September 5, 1953, and died of cancer in 1984.

In her autobiography, Gordon spoke of the utter lack of interest in Monk's recordings, which translated to poor sales. "I went to Harlem and those record stores didn't want Monk or me. I'll never forget one particular owner, I can still see him and his store on Seventh Avenue and 125th Street. 'He can't play lady, what are you doing up here? The guy has two left hands.' 'You just wait,' I'd say. 'This man's a genius, you don't know anything.{{'"}}<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=Alive at the Village Vanguard: My Life in and Out of Jazz Time|url=https://archive.org/details/aliveatvillageva00gord|url-access=registration|last=Gordon|first=Lorraine|publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation|year=2006|isbn=978-1-61774-916-2|pages=[https://archive.org/details/aliveatvillageva00gord/page/63 63]–65}}</ref>

For [[Alfred Lion]], co-owner of [[Blue Note Records]], sales were a secondary consideration. [[Michael Cuscuna]] relates that Alfred Lion told him that there were three people in his life that when he heard them, he just flipped and had to record everything they did. The first was Monk, the second was [[Herbie Nichols]], and the third was [[Andrew Hill (jazz musician)|Andrew Hill]], where he didn't care how much money he made or lost. He just had to record this music.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Thelonious Monk: Expert insights and analysis of the artist & albums|url=https://www.mosaicrecords.com/the-great-jazz-artists/thelonious-monk/|access-date=2021-07-21|website=Mosaic Records - Home for Jazz fans!|language=en-US}}</ref>

Due to Monk's reticence, Gordon became his mouthpiece to the public. In February 1948, she wrote to [[Ralph Ingersoll (PM publisher)|Ralph Ingersoll]], the editor of the newspaper ''[[PM (newspaper)|PM]],'' and described Monk as "a genius living here in the heart of New York, whom nobody knows". As a result, one of ''PM''<nowiki/>'s best writers visited Monk to do a feature on him, but Monk wouldn't speak to the reporter unless Gordon was in the room with him. In September of the same year, Lorraine approached [[Max Gordon (Village Vanguard founder)|Max Gordon]], the owner and founder of the [[Village Vanguard]] and secured Monk his first gig there. Monk was showcased at the club for a week, but not a single person came.<ref name=":1" />

In August 1951, New York City police searched a parked car occupied by Monk and his friend [[Bud Powell]]. They found narcotics in the car, presumed to have belonged to Powell. Monk refused to testify against his friend, so the police confiscated his [[New York City Cabaret Card]]. Without this, Monk was nominally unable to play in any New York venue where liquor was served. Although this severely restricted his ability to perform for several years, a coterie of musicians led by [[Randy Weston]] introduced Monk to Black-owned bars and clubs in [[Brooklyn]] that flouted the law, enabling the pianist to play little-advertised, one-night engagements throughout the borough with a modicum of regularity. Monk spent most of the early and mid-1950s composing and performing at theaters, outer borough clubs and out-of-town venues.