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Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original |  | Author: Robin Kelley
Publisher: Free Press
Category: Book
List Price: $30.00
Buy New: $15.96
as of 3/20/2010 11:59 CDT details
You Save: $14.04 (47%)
New (39) Used (11) from $15.96
Seller: feathersbooks
Rating:  26 reviews
Sales Rank: 13231
Format: Deckle Edge
Media: Hardcover
Edition: First Edition/First Printing
Pages: 608
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.9
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.5 x 1.7
ISBN: 0684831902
Dewey Decimal Number: 786.2165092
EAN: 9780684831909
ASIN: 0684831902
Publication Date: October 6, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| • | ISBN13: 9780684831909 | | • | Condition: USED - VERY GOOD | | • | Notes: |
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Product Description
"The piano ain't got no wrong notes!" So ranted Thelonious Sphere Monk, who proved his point every time he sat down at the keyboard. His angular melodies and dissonant harmonies shook the jazz world to its foundations, ushering in the birth of "bebop" and establishing Monk as one of America's greatest composers. Yet throughout much of his life, his musical contribution took a backseat to tales of his reputed behavior. Writers tended to obsess over Monk's hats or his proclivity to dance on stage. To his fans, he was the ultimate hipster; to his detractors, he was temperamental, eccentric, taciturn, or childlike. But these labels tell us little about the man or his music.In the first book on Thelonious Monk based on exclusive access to the Monk family papers and private recordings, as well as on a decade of prodigious research, prize-winning historian Robin D. G. Kelley brings to light a startlingly different Thelonious Monk -- witty, intelligent, generous, politically engaged, brutally honest, and a devoted father and husband. Indeed, Thelonious Monk is essentially a love story. It is a story of familial love, beginning with Monk's enslaved ancestors from whom Thelonious inherited an appreciation for community, freedom, and black traditions of sacred and secular song. It is about a doting mother who scrubbed floors to pay for piano lessons and encouraged her son to follow his dream. It is the story of romance, from Monk's initial heartbreaks to his lifelong commitment to his muse, the extraordinary Nellie Monk. And it is about his unique friendship with the Baroness Nica de Koenigswarter, a scion of the famous Rothschild family whose relationship with Monk and other jazz musicians has long been the subject of speculation and rumor. Nellie, Nica, and various friends and family sustained Monk during the long periods of joblessness, bipolar episodes, incarceration, health crises, and other tragic and difficult moments. Above all, Thelonious Monk is the gripping saga of an artist's struggle to "make it" without compromising his musical vision. It is a story that, like its subject, reflects the tidal ebbs and flows of American history in the twentieth century. Elegantly written and rich with humor and pathos, Thelonious Monk is the definitive work on modern jazz's most original composer.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 26
 Well, six stars for the scholarship, 3.5 for the writing, and all it lacks is... March 18, 2010
William E. Adams (Midland, Texas USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
a "Reader's Digest Condensed" version so that casual fans can learn the essentials about Monk's life and career, without having to invest a month in reading all the details of his daily life presented here. The book is a good thing...but too much of a good thing for lovers of Monk's albums who are neither musicians nor historians of black life in the early 20th century. It's not just Monk's genealogy that gets into print, but that of his wife and some of his friends. We don't get a brief background of his major sidemen, we get extensive histories of some, and some history on almost everyone who ever played with Monk, even for a single outing. In addition, the history of NYC jazz clubs is detailed. I love Monk's music and I was glad I struggled through this massive work, and met Thelonious the real person, who loved his family, struggled against poorly understood manic depression, dabbled in hard drugs without becoming addicted, and was broke until about the last ten years of his long career. For decades, he got paying music work too seldom, then he hit a stretch in which he perhaps worked too much. For decades, he got too little attention from record buyers and club owners in spite of his innovations at the keyboard. I started my jazz listening as a teen, afraid of Monk. That was 50 years ago, and Brubeck, Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson and George Shearing were all I could handle, being a square white kid with little money or life experience. I actually did not own a Monk album until ten years ago. Since then, I've owned ten or more, and he is the one jazz pianist who gets extensive repeat listening from me. Yes, he played the same 20 original tunes over and over with different size groups, different instrumentation, at different lengths, and when he was in different moods...no one track of one of his "hits" sounds exactly like the next one. Listen to one of his songs on the labels Blue Note, Prestige, Riverside and Columbia, covering the late '40's to the late 60's, and find four different sensations. Most important, listen to solo Monk on any of those labels. He gets more out of a single note, or one repeated phrase, then I thought possible. If you fall in love with Thelonious, buy this book. I got my copy from the library, and had to renew it in order to finish it. I recommend "Monk's Dream" and "Monk Alone" on Columbia for beginners. If those please you, then search for his earlier products. He was really extraordinary, and this biography is a fitting tribute to his importance.
 No photos in Kindle Edition March 15, 2010
jjo (Chicago, Illinois United States)
A great book so it gets 5 stars, but beware of the Kindle
Edition. There is no excuse for not having the photos, as I've had photos in other Kindle editions.
Very well reseached March 5, 2010
John doucette (eastside of chicago)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
There is so much I like about this book. It's very well reseached, the book is pretty well written, and the author has a great grasp of music. As opposed to many biographies of musicians, this biography focuses more on the music than subject's personal life.
The book starts off a little rough. A lot of irrelevant information is discussed, such as the occupation of Monk childhood friend's grandparents. In fact, until around halfway in the book, the reader gets little feeling of what type of person Monk was. After that, from around page 200 to page 300, the book in that respect is very good. The reader gets to know Monk, the man and the musician, and the many great musicians that surrounded him. After that, the book, like Monk's music selection, gets repetitive (I don't want to get into the content of the book.).
If you're a huge Monk fan, I would recommend this book. But with that said, I have to think there are more interesting jazz musicians than him, although I doubt there is a biography better researched.
Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original February 25, 2010
Sacramento Book Review (Sacramento, CA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
You've most likely heard the song "Round Midnight," but you might not know the man behind that song. In Robin D. G. Kelly's //Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original//, you'll know all about the man and have a higher appreciation of his music.
Often misunderstood, Monk has been described as "mad," "brooding," and "childlike." And with his trademark goatee, dark glasses, and beret--with much about him remaining inscrutable--he has been perceived simply an icon of hipster cool.
After sixteen years in the making, in a first full biography of the jazz legend, Kelly finally uncovers the real story of Thelonious Monk. We are brought back to the tumultuous time in which Monk lived and performed: where he played, who he played with, the songs he wrote. We are given many behind-the-scenes access to the jazz scene: the clubs, their owners, the reporters, the musicians, the festivals. We are allowed access to the man behind the music: as a family man, revelations of mental health issues, complex relationships with friends. Above all, we get to know the gripping saga of an artist's struggle to "make it" without compromising his musical genius. No detail is spared.
Monk's story, from roots in slavery, to the Great Migration north, to the cultural explosions of the 40s, 50s, and 60s, encapsulates a vivid tableau of twentieth-century American life and music. This biography is, at its best, a fitting tribute to one of America's most original and lasting creative geniuses.
Reviewed by Dominique James
A true American Original February 21, 2010
J. Snyder (Northern California, United States)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original by Robin D.G. Kelley is a meticulously researched and engaging read that seeks to put the record straight without any chaser. Popular mythology about Monk tends to cast him as untrained, childlike and eccentric. Drawing upon a wealth of family documents, Kelley masterfully weaves a story that counters these myths and captures Monk's genius and his humanity with compassion and profound appreciation.
As an educator, I found myself drawn to the parts of the story that brought the people and local institutions that nourished Monk's musical creativity into vivid clarity. Very early on, Monk demonstrated a keen interest and talent in music, especially the piano. Growing up in Harlem during the early part of the twentieth century, his budding talents were nurtured thanks in part to his participation in an after school boys and girls club. At this youth center, Thelonious was able to begin his musical education and develop his piano playing. His mother, raising three children by herself, also provided a pivotal role in the young musician's life -- finding ways to provide him with piano at home and lessons to further hone his creativity. Later on, as an adult, his wife Nellie provided a solid foundation of love and support -- emotional, financial and business.
However, to highlight the people who nurtured Monk's musicality is not to detract in any way from his sheer genius. Kelley makes clear that for many years Monk did not receive the accolades he richly deserved. His style of discordant playing formed the basis of what would become BeBop, popularized by two other jazz greats -- Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker. While their names are most often associated with the emergence of BeBop, Monk's compositional mastery was foundational to this new form of jazz.
This book is much more than your usual musical biography. Kelley's book stands as a tribute to Monk's humanity. Even as a buddy jazz musician, he took an active role in caring for his children, while Nellie worked outside the home to provide financial support for the family. He pursued his profound sense of social justice by supporting civil rights organizations such as the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) among others. He courageously struggled with manic-depression, made even more acute due to alcohol and drug usage. Clearly, there was more to the man that his mind-blowing musical virtuosity.
Reading Kelley's book deepened my appreciation for Monk and his contributions to modern jazz, the Civil Rights movement and social justice, in general. Highly recommended for those interested in the history of jazz and the development of a true American original.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 26
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