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of musical freaks they had ever seen.
    First, out of nowhere, emerged an out-of-tune Eliert Pilarm, the Swedish Elvis impersonator, who neither looked nor sounded like Elvis at all.
    Artistic pariahs of every description, men and women whose outsider expressions set them apart from all others, surrounded the boys. There was a decrepit Tiny Tim singing “Tiptoe Through the Tulips.” “I thought he was dead,” Billy whispered.
    Next to Tiny Tim, there was the three-hundred-pound schizoid poet-rocker Wesley Willis and the pudgy, bipolar rocker-cartoonistDaniel Johnston. The two men seemed oblivious to each other, and they sang simultaneously in different keys and clashing tempos. An old bald man stood off to the side, watching a small black-and-white TV and holding a sign that read, “Syd Barrett.”
    Alex and Billy shook with uncertainty and fear as the Legendary Stardust Cowboy sang his notorious nonhit single “Paralyzed” while riding an old broomstick like a bucking bronco.
    Then, in a hyperkinetic state of absolute panic, Alex wrenched himself free of the barker’s oily grip. He ran hysterically from the tent, pushing past the bearded lady, kicking the hermaphrodite in the nuts and knocking over the cigar-smoking midget in the process.
    When Alex (accompanied by his and Billy’s parents and the La-Crosse authorities) returned early the next morning, the carnival had disappeared without a trace.
    Meanwhile, somewhere down Interstate 294, a frightfully bandaged Billy Potter (now called “Danny the Dog-Faced Boy”) was tearfully taking his first singing lesson from Wild Man Fisher and Shooby Taylor the Human Horn.
    â€œLet’s take it from the top,” said Fisher. “And this time try it in the key of Z.”
    â€”For Irwin Chusid

THE MONK AND THE MESSENGER
    Among the classic albums of the 1950s, Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers with Thelonious Monk is a distinctive collaboration between two giants. There are other recordings by both Monk and Blakey that have been more highly rated, but this particular union remains an essential document, frozen in time and place.
    A little history lesson might be useful when approaching Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers with Thelonious Monk , for the lives of Blakey and Monk intertwined long before this collaboration and continued long afterward.
    Art Blakey was born in Pittsburgh in 1919 and played piano before switching to drums. He married at the age of sixteen and worked in steel mills but soon became a full-time musician, joining Fletcher Henderson’s band in 1939.
    Art’s early influences were two famous swing drummers: Big Sid Catlett and the diminutive Chick Webb. He was also impressed with able-bodied percussionists like Papa Jo Jones, Sonny Greer, and Kenny Clarke (the father of modern jazz drumming and original member of the Modern Jazz Quartet).
    In 1944 Blakey became part of singer Billy Eckstine’s group, wherehe first played alongside young lions Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker. Later, Art became absorbed with his African heritage, and after traveling to Africa and jamming with tribal drummers, he took up with Islam, adopting the Muslim name of Abdullah Ibn Buhaina.
    Thelonious Sphere Monk was born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, on October 10, 1917. He grew up in New York City’s San Juan Hill neighborhood, close to where Lincoln Center is now located. Monk expressed interest in the piano at age six and was mostly self-taught. He played organ in church and toured briefly with a female evangelist who doubled as a miracle healer.
    Returning to his family in New York in 1936, Monk continued working professionally, showing the influence of pianists Earl “Fatha” Hines and Art Tatum. Monk’s ability and reputation grew, and he began playing gigs with Ellington trumpeter Cootie Williams.
    In 1940, Thelonious found himself among a group of musicians congregating at Minton’s Playhouse,