Upbeat School

A B.A. in bebop? That may be the ticket for some students on the Duke campus beginning in 1991, when the university plans to open the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz in Durham, N.C. While 58 other schools already have jazz majors, the four-year institute will be the nation's first conservatory expressly dedicated to jazz. Named after the pianist-composer who died in 1982, it will serve 200 students chosen through competitions and interviews. Jazz Greats Dizzy Gillespie, Herbie Hancock and Wynton Marsalis have expressed interest in teaching there; Trumpeter Clark Terry will chair the academic council.

Under plans announced last week, the conservatory will have its own library, recording studio and recital hall. "Information about this art form has been scattered; we would like to bring it all together," says Thelonious Monk Jr., the pianist's son, who has helped raise $12 million for the facilities. Duke President H. Keith Brodie, a jazz buff, was delighted to beat out Washington and Los Angeles for the site of the conservatory. Says he: "The first record I ever bought was a Thelonious Monk album."