A new biography of Thelonious Monk
says that tapes of him practicing show
that he learned from what he was doing,
and that it didn’t come easy. He worked at it.
Consciously. Deliberately. Like a monk.
Alone in his composing room. Also, his wife,
Nellie, had the day job. He was the houseperson
in the home. Is Double-Sawbuck (XX) going to be
20 months of practice tapes?