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“Thelonious Monk,” by James Brewer
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The Third Degree
The evidence against Monk was overwhelming. As he spun in circles, his beard greeted all the be-boos and scat tops with a whiff of singular restraint, knowing the blue minor chord could only hold so much dissonance before the black harmonies started some fragile shite.
With the audacity of wind chimes, the hollow distracters swallowed their tongues and blew concave bubbles of insolence. Monk knew solace was floating in from over, so he lit a berg and kicked his suedes up in the dock.
Presently, in walked Bud. He whispered in Monk’s sphere, “We heard from Satchel Mouth. He should be landing in Lakehurst in 20.” Monk sizzled and sucked his teeth.
Meanwhile, Louis Armstrong was bringing in that Kooky Hindenburg. He was hired by the German chancellor to exploit the hoity register as they demobbed into Jersey proper.
Louis was suffering from a collapsed embouchure and that gooey German salve made a man uneasy. As the doomed dirigible descended into history, Louie Armstrong couldn’t desist a high C.
The faulty embouchure created a brief discharge of electricity into the blimpy atmosphere.
Therefore, a jive-ass hydrogen gas leak with a narcissistic streak, broke the blimp, so to speak.
Dad, it was bleak.
Louis Armstrong blew a skin-tight gage as he rodeoed the flaming stogie down to cement pastures.
Miles was stewing in a stolen jitney and away they ran.
Just in time to go to Monk’s bail.
Oh, ain’t humanity a bitch.
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photo Christine Vlasak
Dig Wayne lives in Los Angeles, California with his wife and two children. He is a former professional singer and songwriter. For the last several decades he has been a professional actor. Dig is now an acting instructor at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. He is proud to be a life member of the Actors Studio NYC and Los Angeles. His poetry and photography can be found in the online magazines Felix and Citron Review. His poetry has been published in the literary journals, Askew and Spillway.
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James Brewer is an artist based in Nelson County, Virginia. You can view his work by clicking here
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Listen to a 1958 recording of Thelonious Monk play “Nutty,” with Johnny Griffin (tenor sax), Ahmed Abdul-Malik (bass), and Roy Haynes (drums)
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