With his trademark goatee, dark glasses, and hat, Thelonious Monk is an image of coolness. Jazz fans revere Monk for his groundbreaking compositions and piano playing from the 1950s and 1960s, but to a wider audience he stands for something much bigger: the idea of native genius; a quirky, absent-minded, unalloyed originality that is the perfect symbol of the undefinable essence of jazz. The man behind the mystique is now more interesting and edifying, thanks to extraordinary, unprecedented access to Monk's closest friends ...
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With his trademark goatee, dark glasses, and hat, Thelonious Monk is an image of coolness. Jazz fans revere Monk for his groundbreaking compositions and piano playing from the 1950s and 1960s, but to a wider audience he stands for something much bigger: the idea of native genius; a quirky, absent-minded, unalloyed originality that is the perfect symbol of the undefinable essence of jazz. The man behind the mystique is now more interesting and edifying, thanks to extraordinary, unprecedented access to Monk's closest friends and family, his private papers, and hours of audiotapes of Monk himself. Monk's musical and cultural education blended together the key strands of African-American music traditions: from church hymns, to ecstatic stomping and call-and-response, to the blues. When he put it together with the Kansas City and New York dancehall music of swing, he reached a cultural apex unlike anyone before or after him. A husband and father, Monk moved in with an aristocratic Dutch hipster known as 'the Jazz Baroness,' a key, strange patron of modern jazz. He continued to compose subtle, deceptively simple-sounding classics, while descending into depression and erratic behaviour. A once-energetic, joking, handsome young man grew into a tortured artist, and the Monk mystique took hold. Now Kelly reveals that this talented musician was in fact a much more complex and interesting figure than his image would suggest. A fascinating biography, not just for Monk and jazz fans, but for those interested in the fragile spirit of human nature. Robin DG Kelley is a professor of history, American studies and ethnicity. He has spent most of his career exploring African American culture, on which he's written several books, including on jazz and hop-hop.
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Add this copy of Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American to cart. $15.15, new condition, Sold by Ingram Customer Returns Center rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from NV, USA, published 2010 by Free Press.
Like "Skins" from Gavin Watson, Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original is not pretentious in the least. Author Kelley, has written a treatise that sets the record straight and presents little know facts about the man, his influence on other jazz stars such as Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker! Monk's compositional style is carefully submitted for approval, but one will know when one feels the real vibes!
David S
Aug 12, 2010
THE Definitive Thelonious Monk Bio
This biography of Thelonious Monk is an example of unbelievable thorough scholarship that manages nonetheless to remain remarkably readable throughout - a fascinating account of the background and life of an amazing musician and composer.
Roine
Jul 23, 2010
Excellent Theloinous Monk Biography
The best book about Monk I have read. I am, however, a little surprised about the condition of a book produced nowadays. I nearly gripped for my penknife to cut it up, but the fact is that I have to recommend it because of its contents.
