In June, Impulse! Records announced the first-ever release of Thelonious Monk’s Palo Alto. The album features a recording of Monk’s historic concert at Palo Alto High School on October 27, 1968, with Monk and his quartet playing to a mixed-race crowd of students and Palo Alto residents.
Now, Palo Alto, originally set to arrive July 31, has been delayed, according to Palo Alto Weekly. A representative for Universal Music Group tells Pitchfork that the postponement is due to circumstances beyond the label’s control.
Danny Scher, who reached out to Monk to coordinate the performance and recorded it as a high school student, had been negotiating with T.S. Monk, Thelonious’ son and the manager of his father’s estate, about Palo Alto’s release when he was told about a “dispute between the estate and Monk’s previous label.” The Thelonious Monk Estate offered no comment when reached by Pitchfork.
“Epistrophy,” the lead single from the release, has been removed from streaming services. Physical copies of Palo Alto were reportedly already sent and sold in some stores in Europe.
Read the feature “Thelonious Monk: So Plain Only the Deaf Can Hear.”