Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original - Hardcover

Kelley, Robin

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0684831902 ISBN 13: 9780684831909

Publisher: The Free Press, 2009

Synopsis

The image of Thelonious Sphere Monk (1917-1982), with his trademark goatee, dark glasses, and hat, is today a poster-image of coolness just as Che Guevara's face once was an image of rebellion. Jazz fans revere Monk for his ground-breaking compositions and piano playing from the 1950s and 1960s, but to a wider audience he stands for something much bigger: the very idea of native genius; a quirky, absent-minded, unalloyed originality that is the perfect symbol of the indefinable essence of jazz. Monk's creations from the 1950s and 1960s rank among jazz's most beloved classics, yet Kelley shows that the life behind the music was anything but triumphant. A husband and father, Monk nonetheless moved in with an aristocratic Dutch hipster, Nica de Koenigsvater, 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 his image as a tortured artist, and the Monk mystique took hold.

About this title

Review:

"Robin Kelley's new biography "Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original" is a breath of fresh air among the biographies of our legendary jazz musicians. This book is thorough, detailed, and written with a true affinity for Monk's humaneness and creative musical output. It fills in the missing pieces about the growth of the jazz scene in New York through the forties, fifties, and sixties, detailing each step of Monk's development -- who passed through his bands, what gigs he played, and what happened on those scenes. It's an invaluable and close look at the center of the world's most important creative musical developments in those decades: New York City." -- CHICK COREA

."..extraordinary and heroically detailed...I doubt there will be a biography anytime soon that is as textured, thorough and knowing as Kelley's. The "genius of modern music" has gotten the passionate, and compassionate, advocate he deserves" - August Kleinzahler, "The New York Times Book Review"

"""Every step of Monk's musical journey is teased out in meticulous detail...whether he's charting the highs or lows of Monk's emotional swings, Kelley rarely strays from his central theme of an extraordinary talent pushing against the boundaries of his art" - "Publishers Weekly"

"""A wealth of historical context is richly studded with details of Monk's family background and the broader world in which he lived and worked...Likely the most thorough possible illumination of the man behind the legend" - "Library Journal"

""Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original" is one of the most anticipated books in jazz scholarship, and well worth the wait. Robin D. G. Kelley represents one of this generation's most important voices equipped with the knowledge, passion, and respect for both jazz and jazz musicians required to interpret the many details and nuances of Thelonious Monk's life. This compelling book will both challenge old assumptions and inspire new assessments of the life and legacy one of the world's greatest musicians." -- GERI ALLEN, pianist, composer, and Associate Professor of Jazz & Contemporary Improvisation, University of Michigan

"An omnibus of myth busting."--Ben Ratliff, " The New York Times"

."..a massive and impressive undertaking...Thoroughly researched, meticulously footnoted, and beautifully crafted, "Thelonious Monk'' presents the most complete, most revealing portrait ever assembled of the man known as the high priest of bebop" - Steve Greenlee, "The Boston Globe"

"Thelonious Monk was a true original...This affectionate biography fills in the fascinating and heart-wrenching backstory of an artist the world has always longed to know better." -"The Christian Science Monitor"

"Robin D.G. Kelley's exhaustive, necessary, and as of now definitive [book] offers a Baedeker of sorts...Kelley has created a lush portrait of the private, off-camera Monk, one it would have been difficult to paint without the unprecedented access he had to the Monk family." -David Yaffe, "The Nation"

."..as complete a picture of this complex, original and enigmatic artist as possible... this very welcome book is certain to be a go-to reference." -Down Beat Magazine

About the Author:

Robin D.G. Kelley is a professor of history and American studies and ethnicity at the University of Southern California. From 2003-2006, he was the William B. Ransford Professor of Cultural and Historical Studies at Columbia Univeristy. From 1994-2003, he was a professor of history and Africana Studies at New York University as well the chairman of NYU's history department from 2002-2003.

One of the youngest tenured professors in a full academic discipline--at the age of 32--Kelley has spent most of his career exploring American and African-American history with a particular emphasis on African-American musical culture, including jazz and hip-hop.

About this edition

• Publisher: The Free Press
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0684831902
• ISBN 13: 9780684831909
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 416