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Blue Monk A blues in B ♭ written in the studio and first recorded on September 22, 1954, for the album Thelonious Monk Trio, and is by far the tune Monk recorded the most. The melody is partly borrowed from Charlie Shavers' 'Pastel Blue'. Versions of the tune appear on Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers with Thelonious Monk, and Monk's Blues. Music by Thelonious Monk (1954) Number of Recordings: 50 Total Playback Time: 4:49:18. Chronological Playlist. 1954 Thelonious Monk. 1954 1957 Thelonious Monk (with John Coltrane) 1957 1958 Art Blakey. 1958 1958 Jimmy Giuffre. 1958 1961 Abbey Lincoln. Johnson & Kai Winding. 1961 1962 Jeanne Lee & Ran Blake.

When I was 18-years old, I fell headfirst and backward into a community of eccentric sailors who lived in a secret anchorage on the far side of a group of spoil islands a quarter-mile from Miami City Hall. What I found there inspired me greatly and challenged me to expand my perspectives on what is humanly possible.

Though the Dinner Key Anchorage was often dismissed as a community of “derelicts, bums, winos and thieves,” I found instead a group of articulate, capable, innovative, educated and highly skilled people who took me in and literally taught me the ropes. Many of them traveled the world, depending on little but good fortune and determination. (And never once did I lock my door—something unheard of in Miami.)

At 23, when I was finishing a jazz guitar degree in college, I bought an old 26-foot sailboat and named her Blue Monk after the tune by pianist, Thelonious Monk. Six months after graduating, I took off with $30 in my pocket for a series of adventures that took me through the Bahamas and eventually across the Atlantic to Gibraltar.

On the surface, Blue Monk is a memoir that recalls how I came to love sailing, joined a unique community of misunderstood people at Dinner Key Anchorage and sailed away to enjoy a life of carefree adventure. The book also provides an account of a special slice of Miami history that would otherwise remain unrecorded. But Blue Monk is not really about me; who wants to read a book by an author who can write about himself for hundreds of pages? Blue Monk is a book about something much larger than myself. I am but the narrator. My experiences sailing alone on a small boat were sometimes terrifying and frequently beautiful. Often, they were an odd combination of both. Blue Monk is the story of an encounter with the remarkable world that lies just beyond the horizon of what we believe is possible and deep within each of us.

Watch for Blue Monk early in 2013 at your favorite bookseller.

The Blue Monk
Type
Exterior of 3341 SE Belmont Street in 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic; the building housed the Blue Monk and later The Liquor Store
Address	3341 Southeast Belmont Street
Location	Portland, Oregon, United States
Coordinates	45°31′00″N122°37′48″W / 45.51658°N 122.63000°WCoordinates: 45°31′00″N122°37′48″W / 45.51658°N 122.63000°W
Owner	Sheri Dietrich^[1]
Closed	April 29, 2014

The Blue Monk was a bar, music venue, and restaurant in southeast Portland, Oregon, in the United States. Upstairs featured a restaurant with an open kitchen serving mostly Italian cuisine, while downstairs hosted music performances in a variety of genres, but mostly jazz. The business closed in April 2014 after its lease was bought out by an undisclosed party.

Description[edit]

The Blue Monk was a bar and music venue located at 3341 Southeast Belmont Street, in the Belmont retail and residential district in southeast Portland's Sunnyside neighborhood. The venue mostly hosted a variety of music performances, but mostly jazz, the inspiration of its name.^[1]^[2] In her book Insiders' Guide to Portland, Oregon, Rachel Dresbeck offers the following description of the venue:

The Blue Monk started out as a jazz venue but has now expanded into related genres—including swing dancing and belly dancing... The Blue Monk has a good happy hour, good free pool, and a good cheap cover as well. Upstairs is a fetching contemporary room with an open kitchen, where cooks are busy preparing spaghetti, shrimp scampi, and other mostly Italian dishes. Downstairs, Portland's finest musicians are jamming.^[3]

History[edit]

In March 2014, members of Portland Police Bureau's Gang Enforcement Team, who were reportedly responding to the fire marshal's report of overcrowding, limited venue access and blocked off the street during a concert scheduled to be headlined by battle rapper and hip hop artist Illmaculate. However, to protest the police presence, Illmaculate left the venue before taking the stage, ending the basement show early.^[1]^[2]^[4] Following the incident, the rapper tweeted, 'I will not perform in this city as long as the blatant targeting of black culture and minorities congregating is acceptable common practice.'^[2] The show's disruption contributed to recent accusations from the local hip hop community that Portland Police was executing an 'ongoing, targeted assault' on rap shows.^[4]^[5]

In April 2014, the bar's lease was bought out by an undisclosed party. The Blue Monk closed permanently on April 29,^[1]^[2] and was replaced by The Liquor Store.^[6] Personnel offered little explanation,^[7] but said on Facebook:

Blue Monkey

After over a decade of providing entertainment to the Belmont area, The Blue Monk will be closing its doors on Tuesday, April 29th. We are proud to have become possibly the most diverse venue in Portland with a little bit of something for everyone, including poetry, literary events, belly dance, comedy, pop, folk, bluegrass, swing, rock, funk, soul, electronica, hip-hop, and of course, jazz. There is just one week to stop by to say farewell, check out some great live music, and/or enjoy your favorite menu items. We would love to see you before we go and extend a heartfelt thank you to all of the customers, performers, promoters, and employees that have made us who we are.^[1]^[2]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

^ ^a^b^c^d^eGreenwald, David (April 22, 2014). 'The Blue Monk closing on April 29'. The Oregonian. Portland, Oregon: Advance Publications. ISSN8750-1317. Retrieved July 9, 2016.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
^ ^a^b^c^d^e'The Blue Monk Is Closing Next Week'. Willamette Week. Portland, Oregon: City of Roses Newspapers. April 22, 2014. Retrieved July 9, 2016.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
^
Insiders' Guide to Portland:
- Dresbeck, Rachel (March 1, 2011). Insiders' Guide to Portland, Oregon (7 ed.). Rowman & Littlefield. p. 103. ISBN9780762774777. Retrieved July 9, 2016.CS1 maint: discouraged paramet