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Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original

Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original

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  • Create Date：2021-08-18 09:55:11
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
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  • Author：Robin D.G. Kelley
  • ISBN：1439190461
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Summary

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。

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Reviews

Craig Graham ，

I had no idea of the impact of his contributions not just to jazz but to music in general。 Monk was a badass

Gerry McCaffrey ，

A 14 year project by the author filled with enormous details on Monk’s long list of band members and concerts and recording studio visits。 I thought there was less on understanding the man other than noting his lack of mental stability managed through legal & illegal drugs。 He survived as long as he did because of the family & musical networks that supported him。 Not too much depth on this subject either。

Larry ，

Well written deep insight into the pivotal years of Bebop。 The constant emphasis on Monk's contribution and highly charged （but often ignored！） influence on a historical period is genuine and accurate。 A must for anyone interested in Jazz and one of the legends of this important music。 Identification and peeks behind the veil of this like-able brilliant albeit enigmatic character is worth the long read！！ 。 Well written deep insight into the pivotal years of Bebop。 The constant emphasis on Monk's contribution and highly charged （but often ignored！） influence on a historical period is genuine and accurate。 A must for anyone interested in Jazz and one of the legends of this important music。 Identification and peeks behind the veil of this like-able brilliant albeit enigmatic character is worth the long read！！ 。 。。。more

Sam Motes ，

Digs beneath the rumors and stories to who Thelonious was。 He struggled with his own demons and personal mental challenged and defined jazz for generations to come。 He is certainly the inspiration for many piano players in and outside of jazz and beloved by music lovers the world over。 Very enjoyable read。

Phil ，

This book is an excellent biography， but suffers from being obsessed with detail to a shocking level。 Do you want to know what Thelonious was paid for every time he played， this almost has that。 I got through this after quite a while， and can't fault it if this is the detail you are looking for， but a lighter read with less in the text might be better for all but the obseives。 This book is an excellent biography， but suffers from being obsessed with detail to a shocking level。 Do you want to know what Thelonious was paid for every time he played， this almost has that。 I got through this after quite a while， and can't fault it if this is the detail you are looking for， but a lighter read with less in the text might be better for all but the obseives。 。。。more

Natsumi Paxton ，

I know nothing about jazz or music， and was drawn to this from an interest in 20th century history， Black history， and biography。 It's extensively researched and there is a lot of information， some of which I just couldn't engage with （e。g。 all of the information about every musician Monk ever played with）。 But I loved reading about Monk's enslaved ancestors （and I love that Kelley started with that）， about North Carolina in the late 18/early 19 century and NY in the earlier half of the 19th cen I know nothing about jazz or music， and was drawn to this from an interest in 20th century history， Black history， and biography。 It's extensively researched and there is a lot of information， some of which I just couldn't engage with （e。g。 all of the information about every musician Monk ever played with）。 But I loved reading about Monk's enslaved ancestors （and I love that Kelley started with that）， about North Carolina in the late 18/early 19 century and NY in the earlier half of the 19th century， and the Monk family。 The amount that Monk struggled throughout his entire life， even during his brief success， and the tragedies that struck his family and everyone around him was all devastating; I felt pretty emotional finishing this book。 。。。more

Kit Eakle ，

A fine and revealing portrait of a 20th century iconA wonderfully researched and thorough recounting of the life， music and times of the great Thelonious Monk。 Very well written and engaging throughout， it is told in a very chronological， one-thing-after-another historical way， but still does get at the essence of the man and his musical contribution。

Jason Scoggins ，

"You know what the loudest noise in the world is man？ The loudest noise in the world is silence" - Thelonious Monk If I could give this more than five stars I would。 The way Thelonious Monk did things， was exactly the way he wanted things done， as instructed by his elders。 It was his thing， and he didn't need to convince anybody else to his thing was worth doing， and just did it。 Monk was an originator of freestyle with the way he interpreted music melodies， and constantly reinterpreted them aga "You know what the loudest noise in the world is man？ The loudest noise in the world is silence" - Thelonious Monk If I could give this more than five stars I would。 The way Thelonious Monk did things， was exactly the way he wanted things done， as instructed by his elders。 It was his thing， and he didn't need to convince anybody else to his thing was worth doing， and just did it。 Monk was an originator of freestyle with the way he interpreted music melodies， and constantly reinterpreted them again， and to his detractors that thought he played improper keys or the wrong notes， he emphasized the fact that "the piano ain't got no wrong notes"Great appreciation for the author Robin DG Kelley and the in-depth nature of this project。 14 years in the making， "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。"Following up on that， I believe like most of the musicians that encountered him as well， that Thelonious Monk was more than a superbly talented pianist but also a philosopher; As great a 'tickler' he was， he was known for the spacing that he allowed between the notes that he played， the emphasis on those notes， and the keys he did not strike。 He makes you be aware of space between the notes， and their importance。 You have to listen， and pay attention。 That philosophy transfers over to life， offering a different analogy using language。 The word knife contains a 'K'。 Even though it is silent， when the word is spelled out the 'K' still needs to be accounted for， of no less importance， it is still there。 Pay attention to the space between the notes。 Thank you Monk for your pioneering contributions to the American Legacy。 。。。more

Lowell Douglas ，

I have mixed feelings about this book。 I spent 6 weeks reading it。 I read it slowly， reading ten pages when I could。 I liked that I gained an appreciation for certain albums and what it took to create them。 To me reading this book was like reading extended liner notes on an album， very interesting facts。 I wished this book were written more like a novel， like the work of Erik Larson。 Part of the book's problem was the book attempted to cover his entire life in one volume。 The author had a lot of I have mixed feelings about this book。 I spent 6 weeks reading it。 I read it slowly， reading ten pages when I could。 I liked that I gained an appreciation for certain albums and what it took to create them。 To me reading this book was like reading extended liner notes on an album， very interesting facts。 I wished this book were written more like a novel， like the work of Erik Larson。 Part of the book's problem was the book attempted to cover his entire life in one volume。 The author had a lot of source material to deal with to write this tome。 Hopefully another writer will take these notes and write a more novelistic biography， adding more details about life in the 1930's， 40's， 50's， 60's。 BUT overall， I am glad this book was written and I commend the author for writing。 。。。more

Joshua Line ，

Fascinating from start to finish。 Incredibly made me love Monk even more than I did already。

Christopher Klug ，

Very thorough--fascinating history of jazz

Marco Moura ，

A in depth story about jazz and its context since the very beginning a trully inspiring history for the ones who love jazz and it's history。 It starts with a good historical context followed up by very deep look over Monk's history and influence on the creation of bebop as a jazz sub-genre。 It covers several phases of jazz history as well as his relation to other great names from the history。 A in depth story about jazz and its context since the very beginning a trully inspiring history for the ones who love jazz and it's history。 It starts with a good historical context followed up by very deep look over Monk's history and influence on the creation of bebop as a jazz sub-genre。 It covers several phases of jazz history as well as his relation to other great names from the history。 。。。more

Jonathan ，

Really impressive， incredible detail， don’t read if you’re not very interested。

MaryLisa Gavenas ，

This is the kind of book that follows hundreds of pages of densely written biography with seven pages of acknowledgements， an Appendix A， an Appendix B， 100 pages of notes， a catalog raisonné of compositions， a list of selected recordings， and a list of selected documentaries and videos—before winding up with 15 pages of index。 Whew。Every minute of the 14 years that Kelley spent on this book shows。

Pat Lawlor ，

Well-researched and detailed story of Thelonious Monk's life。 For such a talented man， he did not have financial success in his life， and sometimes not even a good reputation。 He scraped by with minimal job opportunities， with bursts of success。 This would be a good book to use as a resource， or to look up a particular time in Monk's life。 I learned a lot！ Well-researched and detailed story of Thelonious Monk's life。 For such a talented man， he did not have financial success in his life， and sometimes not even a good reputation。 He scraped by with minimal job opportunities， with bursts of success。 This would be a good book to use as a resource， or to look up a particular time in Monk's life。 I learned a lot！ 。。。more

Peter P。 Bernard ，

Monk InsideThere have been a lot of ill uninformed stories about Monk that this book discounts and Monk listeners are grateful。Critics had a great deal to do with Monk's difficulties。Critics should have to present their qualifications before they offer their opinions since those opinions affect the very existence of an artist。 For artistic innovators that is particularly important。Monk's critics should have had to demonstrate that they could play at least one Monk tune on each album they critiqu Monk InsideThere have been a lot of ill uninformed stories about Monk that this book discounts and Monk listeners are grateful。Critics had a great deal to do with Monk's difficulties。Critics should have to present their qualifications before they offer their opinions since those opinions affect the very existence of an artist。 For artistic innovators that is particularly important。Monk's critics should have had to demonstrate that they could play at least one Monk tune on each album they critiqued。For live performances， they should have been able to at least pick out the melody on a piano to assure readers that their opinions were based upon objectivity。 The fact that a critic wrote for a jazz magazine is insufficient。 The fact that much of the avant-garde wasn't much more than noise was due to no small fact of the ignorance of critics ability to determine between good music or record companies trying to make a quick buck。 。。。more

Tim ，

This is one of those books whose subject was such a giant that it ends up being a history of the times and the music itself。 You'll learn a lot about Monk， and I took my time with this one and spent more time with Monk's music in a three month period than I ever have before。 What hit me the most was the drive and the sense of mission he had that he was on the right path and doing something truly great no matter the resistance he encountered。 Monk had a lot of terrible luck throughout his career， This is one of those books whose subject was such a giant that it ends up being a history of the times and the music itself。 You'll learn a lot about Monk， and I took my time with this one and spent more time with Monk's music in a three month period than I ever have before。 What hit me the most was the drive and the sense of mission he had that he was on the right path and doing something truly great no matter the resistance he encountered。 Monk had a lot of terrible luck throughout his career， made worse by his mental illness。 Yet he kept on and eventually the rest of us caught on to what he was doing。 。。。more

Doug Thomson ，

I enjoyed this book enough to give it 4 out of 5 stars， and the author obviously did a tremendous amount of research。 But unfortunately it was too long for my taste and， like many biographies I have to say， it left me liking Monk less， not more; though admittedly his mental illness & issues were a burden anyone would struggle to overcome。 I also ended up liking Monk's music less， not more by learning more about it。 The dissonance， for one thing - I've become more conscious of it and too often it I enjoyed this book enough to give it 4 out of 5 stars， and the author obviously did a tremendous amount of research。 But unfortunately it was too long for my taste and， like many biographies I have to say， it left me liking Monk less， not more; though admittedly his mental illness & issues were a burden anyone would struggle to overcome。 I also ended up liking Monk's music less， not more by learning more about it。 The dissonance， for one thing - I've become more conscious of it and too often it's like biting into a lemon。 Also， the fact that he felt that improvisation should be largely based on the tune's melody is a reason why I find his solos and those of side-men like Charlie Rouse a little more boring than the average free-wheeling solos of， say， Charlie Parker， Cannonball Adderley， Coltrane or even less-famous pianists like Tommy Flanagan。 Also， after lengthy listening， his choice of material and tendency to look backward toward earlier styles like stride makes me long for a more restless， forward-looking band leader like Miles。 But， I loved reading about some other topics and they almost make the book worth reading on their own: 1） the famous Baroness Pannonica de Koenigswarter （Nica） - I had heard of her before but there are plenty of stories about her in this book; 2） Monk's early years growing up in the West 60s in NYC - very interesting & evocative， though also sad in comparison to current times; and 3） Kelley's descriptions of venues like the Five Spot and Village Vanguard， especially how Monk seemed to purposely accentuate his weird/inscrutable persona both due to his sense of humor and the fact that it differentiated him a little in the jazz marketplace。 Overall， a very interesting book if you can handle the raw number of pages。 p。s。 I still love his album "Solo Monk" - be sure to check it out。 。。。more

Sean Keeley ，

The Essential Book for the Monk FanUnbelievably exhaustive， it covers his entire life。 The author spent 14 years on it and it shows。 As someone who has loved Monk’s music since the mid-60’s， I enjoyed it immensely。

Jonathan ，

Obviously if you are even a little bit of a Monk-head， you need to read this。 My only criticisms would be that there were a few too many excuses or justifications for Monk's behavior when it would have been better to simply accept that， like most of us， he could be an asshole sometimes。 I don't really know any of his jazz peers who wasn't。 The other criticism is that it read at times as little more than a list of people he worked with and concerts he played at。 Personally I would have preferred Obviously if you are even a little bit of a Monk-head， you need to read this。 My only criticisms would be that there were a few too many excuses or justifications for Monk's behavior when it would have been better to simply accept that， like most of us， he could be an asshole sometimes。 I don't really know any of his jazz peers who wasn't。 The other criticism is that it read at times as little more than a list of people he worked with and concerts he played at。 Personally I would have preferred a little more musical analysis etc， but that is just a matter of personal taste。 Otherwise it does a fabulous job putting to rest the （racist） myths of Monk the "primitive" - he knew precisely what he was doing。 It was just a shame his mental health and the crappy music business world meant he did not get as much a chance as he should have to get it down on record。 。。。more

Nick ，

So well-documented， so thorough， so well done。

James P。 ，

Don’t forget the melody。Monk would often remind those who played with him: keep that melody in mind。 So， it wasn’t always about what some listeners associate with Monk， the dissonance， or even the gimmickry。But no matter what these objections might be—and don’t forget that we’re talking about the modern era of music here， one filled with experimental forms of every possible description—the subject of this book always kept space in his music for what came before。Called a lot of things by a lot of Don’t forget the melody。Monk would often remind those who played with him: keep that melody in mind。 So， it wasn’t always about what some listeners associate with Monk， the dissonance， or even the gimmickry。But no matter what these objections might be—and don’t forget that we’re talking about the modern era of music here， one filled with experimental forms of every possible description—the subject of this book always kept space in his music for what came before。Called a lot of things by a lot of people who couldn’t dig it， Monk pioneered a style that has had a lasting impact on music。 So， it doesn’t really matter what anybody thinks: the music is testament to that。Like a lot of musicians， even after he had some recognition Monk really struggled to find work。 Yeah， he had a reputation: difficult to deal with， addict， jailbird， mentally unstable…an oddball。 It was interesting to read this book in the time of Black Lives Matter and reflect on how little has changed。 。。。more

Joshie ，

amazing！ very detailed。 great research！ Dr。 Kelley is cool

Linus Wyrsch ，

This has to be the most thoroughly researched musician biography I have ever read。 I learned so much about Thelonious Monk， but rather than talking about the book's subject matter， I would like to say a few words about its author here: If I am not mistaken， Robin D。G。 Kelley put 14 years of his life into this project！ My hat's off to this man！ The result is a chronological， meticulously researched and detailed book with a highly enjoyable flow。 The author's goal was to find and tell the truth ab This has to be the most thoroughly researched musician biography I have ever read。 I learned so much about Thelonious Monk， but rather than talking about the book's subject matter， I would like to say a few words about its author here: If I am not mistaken， Robin D。G。 Kelley put 14 years of his life into this project！ My hat's off to this man！ The result is a chronological， meticulously researched and detailed book with a highly enjoyable flow。 The author's goal was to find and tell the truth about Monk （a particularly difficult task considering all the rumors and lies） and he succeeded in such a skilled way that by the end of it you feel as though you （or he for that matter） knew Thelonious Monk personally - despite or precisely because of Kelley's objectivity。 As a jazz musician myself， it was also obvious （and much appreciated） from the get go that Robin D。G。 Kelley is not only a scholarly author， but also really knows a thing or two about music。 Further proof of the author's unparalleled passion for his subject matter， is the highly recommend monkbook（dot）com website， where he lists further resources， including an amazing Sessionography。I truly wish Robin D。G。 Kelley was the author of every jazz legend's biography。 Have you got another 14 years to spare to tell us about another jazz legend？ 。。。more

Tiago Nobre de Souza ，

Easily one of the best books I have ever read。

Frank Kreps ，

A very in-depth look at the life of Thelonius Monk。 If you ever wanted to learn more about Monk， then read this book。

Marty Sartini Garner ，

One of the best， most thorough music bios I've ever read。 One of the best， most thorough music bios I've ever read。 。。。more

Cynthia Glanzberg ，

I really did enjoy this book， so a rating of 3 is a little confusing。 It’s extensive。 I’m into jazz， but not a musician myself， and still have a lot to learn about all of the greats and the general history of the genre。 This was so detailed， crisp and deep into the life and career of Monk。 Which was fascinating， but for my level of knowledge it was also long and sometime daunting。 If I was a true jazz head or musician I think this would have gotten a 5 from me。 Or if it were half the length。 Or I really did enjoy this book， so a rating of 3 is a little confusing。 It’s extensive。 I’m into jazz， but not a musician myself， and still have a lot to learn about all of the greats and the general history of the genre。 This was so detailed， crisp and deep into the life and career of Monk。 Which was fascinating， but for my level of knowledge it was also long and sometime daunting。 If I was a true jazz head or musician I think this would have gotten a 5 from me。 Or if it were half the length。 Or maybe in a good documentary format。 。。。more

Tony Lindsay ，

Jazz history and an insightful， understanding look into Monk。 The reader leaves with Monk as a "cousin。" Jazz history and an insightful， understanding look into Monk。 The reader leaves with Monk as a "cousin。" 。。。more

Deb ，

Scrupulously researched but reads not infrequently like a phone book。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0