19th Nov 2013, 2:55am Will I allow Blue Note take my money on a Thelonious Monk reissue [clue: Columbia succeeded every time]? NPR | First Listen: Thelonious Monk, 'Paris 1969'The pianist's first visit to France and the 3,000-seat Salle Pleyel concert hall ended in disaster. Fifteen years later, after he became an international star, Monk returned to the same stage with his own band, planning a surprise.