The uniqueness, struggles and triumphs of Thelonious Monk

Book review: Thelonious Monk: the Life and Times of an American Original, by Robin D. G. Kelley (4 out of 5 stars).

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 must admit, 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 (known as “Nica”) – I had heard of her before but didn’t know much, and there are plenty of stories about her in this book. By the way, you can hear a jazz tune inspired by her, “Nica’s Dream” by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, on YouTube here. Monk lived for the last few years of his life in Nica’s house in Weehawken, New Jersey, across the Hudson River from New York City.

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. Straight No Chaser, also on Columbia Records, is also a great one.