By Mark Corroto

It almost has the feel of a Bill Moody jazz mystery novel. Some thirty years after Thelonious Monk’s death, over thirty hours of unreleased music is unearthed from long forgotten storage lockers and ownership of European bootleg recordings are returned to their rightful owners.

The legacy (and mystery) of Thelonious Monk will shortly receive a huge boost from cyberspace, with the opening of MonkZone.com, the official website of the Monk family and bandleader/son of Thelonious, T.S. Monk.

This project started in late 2000, when TS Monk wandered into his local store and just happened to peruse his father’s section. What he saw was dozens of illegal recordings, bootlegs from concerts and radio broadcasts. As TS explains it, his father had significant gaps between recording contracts, so bootlegs made while he had no obligation to record companies never attracted the attention of the corporate attorneys. The Monk family recently settled lawsuits in Europe to reclaim the master recordings of Monk ’s music and, more significantly, begun receiving royalties for Thelonious’ work.

But where this story (mystery?) gets interesting is from the perspective of the collectors of Thelonious’ music. When word leaked out about a year ago, that the Monk family had undertaken this task, collectors of Monk’s live recordings started contacting TS about tapes that had been passed underground, between loyal fans, for years. There are radio and soundboard recordings that only a handful of people ever knew existed. For instance, TS cites a recording from Monk’s last public performance (with TS at the drums), made in Avery Fisher Hall. TS was shocked to find this date was captured, and from the soundboard! Collectors, leery of corporate piracy, freely turned these gems over to the Monk family. As TS explains, “the response shows the loving relationship formed between the collectors and Monk.”

Indeed, as TS describes it, “This Is Justice.”

Just as in every mystery, there are more twists and surprises to follow. When the family inventoried storage lockers of the late pianist they found recordings made at the Baroness Pannonica’s aptly named “cat house” where Monk spent much of the last 10 years of his life with Nica and her dozens of feline friends. Pannonica’s New Jersey apartment was about the only place Monk played after retiring from public performance. His years of isolation have raised much contemplation of Monk’s silence. These very private sessions some solo, and others with various guests will probably raise more questions than they answer.

Thelonious Music has employed the maestro Rudy Van Gelder to remaster these sides, giving him the authority to reject unacceptable material. Van Gelder, who oversaw Monk’s Blue Note sessions, lends a necessary stamp of approval for collectors and the legacy of Monk’s music.

Stay tuned as this mystery continues to unravel. Monk’s music can be found at the official MonkZone.com website.