Thelonius: The Monk of Tolerance

           San Juan Hill was a neighborhood known for it's diversity and the violence that stemmed from it. It also would become known for being the home to many influential jazz musicians over the years. This neighborhood raised Thelonius Monk and influenced him musically, socially, and politically. Between the many artists that took Thelonius under their wing and all the opportunities the neighborhood offered him, Thelonius became one of the most respected and influential jazz figures of all time.

           Thelonius' signature music style was the product of his early years in the music scene. He was taught by an Austrian Jewish man named Simon Wolf, who educated Monk in classical piano (Kelley 26). Later, Monk began learning jazz in the form of stride and ragtime, from a local woman Alberta Simmons. Around the same time he was learning jazz, he became more involved in the church which taught him many hymns and performance skills (Kelley 27). San Juan Hill had so many cultures and subculture, it was easy for Monk to bounce around to different music educators. He said it best himself, “You go to the next block and you’re in another country.” (Kelley 19). It was common for a household to have at least one instrument to be practiced, and due to the close living conditions throughout San Juan Hill, Monk could hear all music styles being performed on many instruments (Kelly 20). Monk was essentially raised by an entire community, a community composed of musicians varying greatly in art forms.

           Eventually Monk became very involved in his neighborhood, through The Columbus Hill Community Center. Here he learned to interact with all the youth of the neighborhood, and was prohibited from using violence (Kelley 28). As he grew older, Monk was constantly reminded of racial inequalities reinforced by the police throughout New York, particularly San Juan Hill. Monk felt that the police often encouraged this racism, “Anything you did, if you ran or something, they called you black bastards.” (Kelley 19). These feelings towards the police continued, if not strengthened as Thelonius had more encounters with them. Thelonius lost his Cabaret card unjustly because of a policeman's racism. He later would have to go through much turmoil and bring many people to defend him on his behalf in court to get a new card (Section Movie). In 1958, while traveling with Nica and Rouse to a gig in Baltimore, Monk was arrested with two counts of assault and battery on a police officer, breach of the peace, resisting arrest, and narcotics possession. This was all product of Thelonius's unwilling to accept unfair treatment due to his race (Kelley 254).

           Thelonius took a unique stance on race issues that was undoubtedly a product of his upbringing. Thelonius did his best to ignore race in all contexts. He didn't feel like there was a race war between white and black people, but a war between every community. In San Juan Hill, the Italians were fighting the Irish, and the Southern blacks were fighting the Caribbean blacks (Lecture 2.26.13). Thelonius is often described as eccentric, and these eccentricities only demonstrated how truly intelligent he was. Reflecting on a conversation about being called “boy” by white people, Larry Riddley remembers Monk telling him, “Ain't no drag, Larry, because everybody wants to be young." (Kelley 417).

           Monk was rumored to be, but in fact was not ignorant, especially of the discrimination black people were facing in society. Unlike many musicians of his time, Monk performed his music for the art form, rather than conveying a message of rebellion or dissatisfaction with society. He wanted his music and his life to represent his tolerance, and to be separate from his own race (Lecture 2.28.13). He took his music and attempted to form a community much like that of San Juan Hill, with it's many influences from around the world, but most importantly with less violence and contempt towards one another. Much like his music, his message of peace between races would not be appreciated until after his death.