homogeneous community where a collectivity of common experience could find continuity and meaningful expression". Minton's in the 1940s In late 1940, Minton hired Teddy Hill, a former bandleader, to manage the club. Building in the same direction that Minton had started, Hill used his connections from the Savoy Ballroom (where his band used to play), and the Apollo Theater to increase the interest in the club. Hill put together the house band which included Thelonious Monk on piano, Joe Guy on trumpet, Nick Fenton on bass, and Kenny Clarke on drums. Both Clarke and Guy were in Teddy Hill's band before it disbanded in 1939. According to Clarke, Teddy Hill wanted to "do something for the guys that had worked with him" by giving them work during difficult times. The house band at Minton's in 1941, with the addition of frequent guests, Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Christian, was at the center of the emergence of bebop in the early 1940s. Later, the band was led by tenor saxophonist Kermit Scott. Monday celebrity nights A feature of Minton's Playhouse during Teddy Hill's tenure as manager was the Monday Celebrity Nights sponsored by the Schiffmans who owned the nearby Apollo Theater. The Schiffmans treated their performers to free dinner and drinks after the conclusion of a long week of work. The food at Minton's became almost as popular as the music as noted by many present at that time. In an interview with Al Fraser (1979), Dizzy Gillespie told his recollection of Monday nights at Minton's:"On Monday nights, we used to have a ball. Everybody from the Apollo, on Monday nights, was a guest at Minton's, the whole band. We had a big jam session. Monday night was the big night, the musician's night off. There was always some food there for you. Oh, that part was beautiful. Teddy Hill treated the guys well". Cutting sessions and duels During the Monday Celebrity Nights, many guest musicians such as Roy Eldridge, Hot Lips Page, Ben Webster, Don Byas, and Lester Young would sit in. The trumpet duels between Roy Eldridge and Dizzy Gillespie became legendary, with Gillespie eventually surpassing his mentor. Speaking to Al Fraser, Gillespie recalled how Thelonious Monk one night teased Eldridge after being out-played by Gillespie saying, "Look, you're supposed to be the greatest trumpet player in the world ... but that's the best." Eldridge was an established musician in