Monk at the Five Spot. [With a six-colour stencil centrepiece collage by Guy Berard after a photograph of the Thelonious Monk Quartet playing in 1958 at The Five Spot Cafe.] Foolscap 4to, 26.5cm, Title, 11p, colophon, (Mark McMurray) The Caliban Press, Canton, New York, 2014.
Set in Univers with display sizes of Optima and various wood types, printed on unbleached La Papeterie Saint-Armand paper with hand-made paper covers and additional Hosho papers. Designed, bound and printed by Mark McMurray. One of 125 copies signed by the artist and printer, with a revolving map and double page centre piece portrait. Sewn into Celtic grey handmade covers with 5 spot cut out and midnight green cloth spine. A new copy of a peach of a book.
The Five Spot Cafe was one of New York's most legendary Jazz Clubs. "From the start it was noted for the uncompromising presentation of the latest styles of music." (Grove Dictionary of Jazz). From 1956 through to the late 1960s the five Spot featured appearances by Cecil Taylor, Charles Mingus, Ornette Coleman, and repeated extended stays by Thelonious Monk and his various quartets. The text first appeared in Down Beat magazine on February 13, 1964 and has been anthologized several times.
