Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original
Dec 2009 · Simon and Schuster
4.7star
3 reviewsreport
Ebook
608
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About this ebook
From the mind of brilliant historian Robin Kelley comes the first full biography of legendary jazz musician Thelonious Monk, including full access to the family's archives, dozens of interviews, and an afterword for Monk’s 2017 centennial.
Thelonious Monk is the critically acclaimed, 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.
To his fans, he was the ultimate hipster; to his detractors, he was temperamental, eccentric, taciturn, or childlike. 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.
Elegantly written and rich with humor and pathos, Thelonious Monk is the definitive work on modern jazz’s most original composer.
Thelonious Monk is the critically acclaimed, 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.
To his fans, he was the ultimate hipster; to his detractors, he was temperamental, eccentric, taciturn, or childlike. 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.
Elegantly written and rich with humor and pathos, Thelonious Monk is the definitive work on modern jazz’s most original composer.
Ratings and reviews
4.7
3 reviews
SAMUEL WHATLEY
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October 20, 2016
I've loved, Thelonious Monk's music and swagger for years. There were times when I listened to his music covered by someone else and wasn't aware that the song I was listening to was an original Monk tune. When I learned of his documentary, ''Straight, No Chaser'', I couldn't wait to watch and learn. Watching the documentary, just made me love and admire him even more. However, I was still a bit hungry for some knowledge concerning the Monk. This book gave me great insight into the life of a great man, who was born to be the jazz great he was. I only give this book a four star rating, because I agree with some earlier reviewers when they write there were times when it seemed as if the author was just writing things down to add pages to the book, for what ever reasons. All in all, it's a great book.
About the author
Robin D. G. Kelley teaches History at UCLA and is the author of several books, including Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination and Hammer and Hoe: Alabama Communists During the Great Depression.
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