English: Title: Title: Media - Television and Radio

Archives reference: ABHJ W3602 Box 10 Photographer: unidentified Date: [1965] www.archway.archives.govt.nz/ViewFullItem.do?code=2106587

On 31 March, 1965, The Thelonious Monk Quartet arrived in Christchurch for the first performance of their 1965 nationwide tour. Thelonious Monk, the ‘high priest of bebop’, is widely considered one of the jazz greats, alongside the likes of Billie Holiday, John Coltrane and Dizzy Gillespie.

Manuscripts held at the Alexander Turnbull Library provide some details about the planned tour, performances, and the players themselves. The quartet consisted of:

Thelonious Monk, piano - Born October 10, 1917 in North Carolina

Larry Gales, bass - Born March 25, 1937 in New York

Ben Riley, drums - Born 17 July, in 1933 in Georgia

Charlie Rouse, tenor saxophone - Born 6 April, 1924 in Washington, D.C.

Also in the travelling party was Mrs. Nellie Monk, as “Thelonious never travels anywhere without his wife”.

Concerts began on 1 April in Christchurch, traveled as far north as Auckland, and returned to the South Island finishing in Dunedin on 14 April. They included performances of the classic jazz standards ‘Off Minor’, ‘Straight, No Chaser’, and ‘Round Midnight’.

Pictured above, Monk is dressed in his signature style (pressed suit, hat and tie), possibly with Eddie Harris of the NZBC News Service.

The image was created by the Broadcasting Corporation of New Zealand and is from a photographic series of various subjects, including: personalities, disasters, industry, and sport.

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Caption information from text accompanying the photograph and Alexander Turnbull Library: Thelonius Monk Quartet (1965) - Artists' papers. Ref: 83-012-060; Thelonius Monk Quartet (1965) - Newspaper cuttings and photocopies of photos. Ref: 83-012-061. natlib.govt.nz/

Material from Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga