Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original

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Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original

by Robin D.G. Kelley

4.21 · rating details · 252 ratings · 67 reviews

"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 musi...more"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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Hardcover, 416 pages

Published October 6th 2009 by Free Press (first published December 15th 2008)

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Mar 06, 2010

Phillip rated it

Shelves: biography, music

some super sweet sweetheart gave this to me for a gift - i'm hella enjoying it!

this is a really well researched book. it dispells lots of myths that have amassed over the years about this great american composer. critics mis-read thelonious, seeing him as some sort of hermetic freak of nature who just fell out of the sky with a highly idiosyncratic style.

nah. monk was a genius who was highly studied, and could play a variety of musics. he CHOSE to play the way he did, wh...more

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May 31, 2011

Djll rated it

Shelves: jazz, music

Monk's neighborhood in 30's NYC is a lively place where all the women are beautiful, all the men are accomplished, and all the children are WAY above average. At least, that's how Robin D.G. Kelley paints it. Are we trying too hard to send an "empowering message" to an "underserved community?" This portrait comes along after an exhaustingly labyrinthine stroll through Monk's ancestry and the tangled lives of his post-slavery predecessors. I knew Monk was a family man, but I d...moreMonk's neighborhood in 30's NYC is a lively place where all the women are beautiful, all the men are accomplished, and all the children are WAY above average. At least, that's how Robin D.G. Kelley paints it. Are we trying too hard to send an "empowering message" to an "underserved community?" This portrait comes along after an exhaustingly labyrinthine stroll through Monk's ancestry and the tangled lives of his post-slavery predecessors. I knew Monk was a family man, but I didn't know he was a family man three generations before he was born.

...

OK, I was about to give up on this at around page 97. There are so many poorly written sentences, rambling, unnecessary details and contradictory, nonsensical turns, it's freaking annoying as hell. Kelley seems to be as confused over Monk's piano playing as the old-jazz critics he is quoting. There are distracting changes of tone and all-too-intimate asides such as "There was no mistaking the fact that she was a fully grown woman." (describing a young Nellie, Monk's wife-to-be) It's more than odd -- it's inappropriate in a biography such as this. It reads as if Kelley had composed stretches of the book as a bedside story for Monk's great-grandkids. The book's voice jumps around from that kind of warm & cozyness to more newspaper-style reportage, and that bothers me.

Then it gets better. Once Kelley latches on to Blue Note's "discovery" and promotion of Monk and his music, laying bare the PR campaign versus the eyewitness reports, all set against a backdrop of a fractious, fertile NY "bebop" scene, the book starts to cook. Some good new information is unearthed; for instance, it's interesting to find out just why so many of Monk's sidemen from the late 40s were a.) obscure, and b.) Muslim. The scenes set in the Hawkins tour through Portland, Oregon, are illuminating and gratifying. You really get the sense of the comparative isolation of smaller African-American communities, and what it meant to have a guy like Coleman Hawkins show up on their street.

However. For a reader unfamiliar with the Bird/Dizzy foundational story of 'modern jazz,' some of this may be rough going. Kelley lays out the alternative story of Monk as fountainhead, and along with it the myth of Monk as a 'weirdo,' but doesn't go much into the standard story (which, admittedly, has been covered to exhaustion). If you don't know that story, you may feel like a square.(less)

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Mar 13, 2011

keith koenigsberg rated it

Shelves: music, biography

This Monk biography is more compendious than the other couple I have read, but not necessarily more illuminating or entertaining. Kelley provides a lot of detail but is not much of a storyteller. Furthermore, although he tries to refute some of Monk's reputation for unreliability, childishness, and flat-out wierdness, he does little but reinforce these impresions with his descriptions of Monk's actual lateness to the bandstand, propensity to wander the neighborhood high and drunk, and disappea...more

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Aug 12, 2010

Matt rated it

Recommends it for: Jazz/music fans, black history/civil rights fans

Hard to rate -- if I'm going on exhaustive research and attention to detail, I'd give it 5 stars. It reads a little slow and tends to get into a play by play of "how the shows went over" a bit too much, I thought, but generally this was an incredible, interesting read. It's sometimes hard to connect the thoughtful, reasonable man portrayed throughout this book with the character you see spinning around in "Straight, No Chaser," and the interpretive gap still has me a bit of...more

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Apr 03, 2010

Darryl rated it

Thelonious Monk (1917-1982) rose from a humble beginning as the son of day laborers in Rocky Mount, North Carolina to become one of the legendary—though misunderstood and underappreciated—composers and musicians of modern jazz. The subtitle of this masterful biography claims that Monk is an "American Original", which has been applied to countless other public figures. In this case, however, the author is absolutely correct; "The High Priest of Bebop" was unlike anyone else, i...moreThelonious Monk (1917-1982) rose from a humble beginning as the son of day laborers in Rocky Mount, North Carolina to become one of the legendary—though misunderstood and underappreciated—composers and musicians of modern jazz. The subtitle of this masterful biography claims that Monk is an "American Original", which has been applied to countless other public figures. In this case, however, the author is absolutely correct; "The High Priest of Bebop" was unlike anyone else, in or outside of the world of jazz.

Robin Kelley, a professor of History and American Studies at USC, spent 14 years researching and writing this biography, which includes 100 pages of footnotes from hundreds of colleagues and members of Monk's family. Although the book has an extensive amount of detail, this reader did not get bogged down in it, as Kelley did a masterful job in portraying Monk's complicated and tormented life. Thelonious, whose name represents the Latinized spelling of St. Tillo, a former slave who became a renowned 7th century Benedictine monk in France, was named after his father, who bestowed his love for music to his son, along with his mother Barbara, who took her children to New York City to escape the crushing poverty of the Jim Crow South. Thelonious Sr. was plagued by mental illness throughout his adult life; his son also suffered from what was ultimately diagnosed as bipolar, or manic depressive, disorder. However, this diagnosis did not come until late in his life, and he was institutionalized and jailed multiple times when he was in the throes of a manic episode, and received medical treatments that exacerbated his symptoms. His illness contributed to his reputation as being weird and unpredictable, but it may have also led to his creative genius, as his compositions were innovative and complex.

His music was widely misunderstood, as many of the leading jazz artists had a difficult time playing alongside him, and critics often described his music as primitive and abstract. However, he had extensive musical training, considering the limitations he faced as a poor black male in mid-20th century America, as he received piano lessons from noted jazz and classical teachers, and played piano in his mother's church and for a traveling evangelist as an adolescent. He initially performed in jazz clubs, most notably Minton’s Playhouse in Harlem, but he was barely able to make ends meet despite his growing popularity. Monk, like many jazz musicians of that time, was plagued by unscrupulous club owners who paid him poorly, fellow musicians who claimed his music as their own and stole royalties from him, and record producers who did not utilize his talents fully and underpaid him routinely. His break finally came during an extended gig at the Five Spot Café in the East Village in 1957, with a group that featured John Coltrane on tenor saxophone.

He achieved a moderate amount of success over the next few years, with sold out concerts in the US, Europe and Japan, although he was paid far less than Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis or other notable jazz artists. The music scene changed in the mid-1960s, due to the influence of rock music, and his stature and popularity waned as he refused to adopt to the new trends and as his illness prevented him from writing new material. His last years were spent in seclusion, with the aid of Baroness Pannonica de Koenigswarter, known to her friends as Nica, an artist, jazz aficionado and estranged member of a wealthy Austrian family, who befriended and supported Monk throughout much of his adult life.

However, the true stars of this amazing biography are Monk’s mother Barbara and his wife Nellie; without these strong and determined women, Thelonious would probably have never been heard outside of Harlem. Barbara Monk allowed her son to set his own path, and supported him financially in his early years. Nellie was everything to her husband: devoted wife and mother to their two talented children, personal assistant, manager, cheerleader, and caretaker, despite her own poor health. He recognized her love for him, and he stayed true to her throughout his life. The book is richly infused with the essential nature of their relationship, and the love that Monk had for his children and dear friends.

This is one of the best biographies I have read, and it will stand as the definitive story of the incredible life of Thelonious Monk. Kelley’s labor of love cuts through the myths and mistruths of this complicated man, and Monk is effectively portrayed as both a larger than life public figure and as a sensitive, loving and troubled human being.(less)

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Dec 19, 2011

Richard rated it

· review of another edition

Rating: 3* of five

I wish I'd never read this book. I now don't like Thelonious Monk, who comes across in these pages as a self-centered snot whose mental illness could and should have been medicated to ameliorate its nasty effects on those around him; and I flat don't like the selfishness and effrontery of the man.

His music is great. I will do my damnedest to forget the rest.

I spent 451pp hoping that soon I'd get past the building distaste for the man whose talent I...more

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Dec 02, 2009

Tim rated it

Shelves: 2009-reads

The brilliant pianist and composer Thelonious Monk has been the subject of many profiles, but none have had the depth of Kelly's book. Often prevailing wisdom of Monk focused superficially on so-called personality quirks rather than the inherent musical genius that Monk brought to the table. Kelley wipes the slate clean and presents Monk as a man and musician in three dimensions. Paralleling his musical development from community dances to Minton's and then eventual stardom with his personal lif...more

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Feb 17, 2010

Happyreader rated it

Shelves: bio-and-memoir, music

Reading this book felt like living Monk’s life. You finish wondering if there could possibly be any gaps in his history – or the history of where he lived, who he knew, or the African-American experience of the time. You’ll definitely enjoy reading this book if you love jazz and want to read about every significant jazz musician who played from the 1930s through the 1970s. Even Monk’s lesser-known sidemen get significant backstories. Plus it feels like every rehearsal, every gig, every jam s...more

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Jun 15, 2010

T.R. Hummer rated it

It is scarcely possible for me to convey the pleasures of this book. It is exhaustive in its presentation of known facts, and yet concise; it is highly resistant to the pervasive mythology (much of it pernicious) that has polluted Monk's aura, and--vitally important--the man can WRITE. As he is an historian with a distinguished track record in that field, he comes to this job (which is clearly a labor of love for him) far more completely equipped than many who assay the field of jazz biography (...more

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May 03, 2010

Jesse rated it

Robin Kelley did an insane amount of research for this book. It goes quite beyond the normal amount of detail for a biography. Sometimes he over does it. I didn't really need to know about the background of Monk's mother's pastor for a year, but Kelley deserves a lot of recognition for his work here. I certainly know a lot more about Monk than I did before, and I will be coming back to this book whenever I acquire more recordings of Monk, just to refresh myself with the circumstances of each...more

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Nov 15, 2009

Dan Petegorsky rated it

Robin D.G. Kelley worked some 14 years on this biography, and it shows. Monk couldn’t have hoped for a better biographer than Kelley – a scholar, musician, historian, and clearly a fan – and Kelley’s given us a portrait that’s at once loving, meticulous and poignant. Kelley’s skills are all at their best when he combines his musical and historical insights, for example, in the early chapters on Monk’s San Juan Hill neighborhood as it and the jazz scene developed.

Much as a I loved th...more

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Jul 13, 2010

Ben rated it

This book is, if nothing else, an amazing piece of scholarship. The author often pins down month-by-month, week-by-week, sometimes day-by-day, Thelonious Monk's activities. But it is that extreme attention to detail that is also the book's weakness, or at least for me its frustration. After several chapters of reading how Monk played so many weeks at the Five Spot, then went on tour to cities A B C D E F etc, what his spirits were like for the tour, how long it was before his next two week gig a...moreThis book is, if nothing else, an amazing piece of scholarship. The author often pins down month-by-month, week-by-week, sometimes day-by-day, Thelonious Monk's activities. But it is that extreme attention to detail that is also the book's weakness, or at least for me its frustration. After several chapters of reading how Monk played so many weeks at the Five Spot, then went on tour to cities A B C D E F etc, what his spirits were like for the tour, how long it was before his next two week gig at the Jazz Gallery, etc etc etc etc, I just couldn't get myself to care any more.

Granted, the level of detail at the front of the book was both impressive and interesting, tracing Monk's slave ancestry and his family name (Monk was the slave owner's name of his grandfather). For Monk's first real playing job, going on the road for two years with a traveling woman evangelist, is followed with some interesting information about that life and speculation concerning which church this unknown woman might have been associated.

But for all the details, such as mention of every official recording session Monk led (and even some recorded and released without his knowledge), the author doesn't sometime follow up with mention of which album the recordings appeared. It seems like an odd omission from a very otherwise detailed account of Monk's life.

In his acknowledgments, the author mentions his editor, who helped excise 70,000 words from this book. Wow. I can't imagine how much more fussy this book would have been with all that extra information.

In fairness though, the book is really worth having for the Monk fan (of which I am definitely). In reading I learned quite a bit from it, despite having read a different (terrible) Monk biography previously. I borrowed this from the library but will pick up a copy when they start turning up cheap at local bookstores. I was very interested in find out some unexpected people having passed through Monk's quartet, such as Beaver Harris, Pat Patrick (best known for his work with Sun Ra, and who bought a tenor saxophone just to play with Monk), and Dave Holland. There's a more thorough and reasonable explanation for Monk's behavior that I've read before (he was severely bipolar, a condition exacerbated by misdiagnoses and recreational drug use). There's also a more thorough explanation of his relationship with the Baroness (Pannonica).

In short, if you're interesting in the subject but don't need to read the minutiae of his life, you might want to consider finding a copy of this book but can probably skim or skip over paragraphs along the way.(less)

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Oct 18, 2011

Steve Bennett rated it

Thorough is not the word for this book. Painstakingly detailed kind of understates the research performed by Kelley. The first part of the book is a chore to get through as the book describes at length Monk's ancestors and the political climate of the South in their times. All fine in itself but really wondering when Thelonious was going to get into the picture. When he does, you start reading about his elementary school grades (which actually are funny). I love Monk and this is surely the ...more

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May 09, 2011

Greg rated it

Well written, and certainly an interesting read. A little too much detail for me. I got the sense that, if I was a super-super fan of Monk's, when I was reading 4 straight pages that were just about the grades and teacher comments he got when he was 8 years old in the third chapter, I would have looked at the nearly 500 pages left to go and would have said, "Bring it on." Instead, I looked at all those pages left in the book and wondered if I really wanted to dive into that many tediou...more

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Nov 24, 2009

Derek rated it

I've read a couple other Monk bios and this one is by far the most thorough and well-researched.

There is some important, even revelatory information in this book that I've never seen elsewhere (for example, the fact that Thelonious Monk Sr., Monk's father, spent the last twenty yrs of his life in a mental institution).

It's good, and I imagine that it will be considered 'definitive' soon enough. I can't help but think that the book is too literal-minded to really unde...more

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May 17, 2010

Charles rated it

Kelley provides careful (over 100 footnotes for nearly every chapter) and complete biographical coverage, making every single rehearsal, recording date, tour, and even spontanous playing by Monk come alive. He comes at Monk from so many angles, and he knows enough about music to confidently talk about genious in simplicity and Monk's dedication to the melody, in spite of his noted harmonic adventures. I am happy and exhausted (but never bored) upon finishing. Flipping to the footnotes about re...more

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Dec 31, 2011

Liam rated it

Shelves: biography-autobiography-memoir, music

The thing about Professor Kelley's writing is that it's so carefully crafted, and he packs so much information into a page, that you can't read on cruise control- you have to be absolutely focused, and fully engaged with every word. Otherwise, you end up saying to yourself "what the fuck did he just say?" or "say what?" or simply "huh???" and having to go back a paragraph or a couple of pages. This book took a long time to read, and was at times difficul...more

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Feb 20, 2010

Jennie rated it

Shelves: biography, history, music

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 with any chaser. Popular notions about Monk tend to emphasize his lack of formal training, his bizarre behavior and unique fashion sense. Drawing upon a wealth of family documents, Kelley masterfully weaves a story that captures Monk's genius and his humanity with compassion and profound appreciation.

As an educator, I...moreThelonious 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 with any chaser. Popular notions about Monk tend to emphasize his lack of formal training, his bizarre behavior and unique fashion sense. Drawing upon a wealth of family documents, Kelley masterfully weaves a story that 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 demonstrate 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 take musical instruction and practice his piano playing skills. 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 and lessons to hone his creativity. Later on, as an adult, his wife Nellie provided a solid foundation of love and support -- emotional, financial and business.

To highlight the people who supported Monk's musicality is not to detract from his genius. He did possess a natural talent that was nourished and ultimately bloomed. 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.

The book also provides rich detail of the highs and lows that constituted the contours of Monk's life away from the piano. Kelley's book is a tribute to the Monk's humanity. Even as a buddy jazz musician, he took an active role in caring for his children. He took seriously his role as their father, nurturing their well-being 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.

Reading Kelley's book deepened my appreciation for Monk and his contributions to modern jazz. Highly recommended for those interested in the history of jazz and the development of a true American original.(less)

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Jan 04, 2012

John rated it

I'm a longtime admirer of Thelonious Monk as composer and performer, but I gave up when the fact that Monk bought a 1957 Buick--meaningful as an index of his slightly more comfortable economic situation--was followed by a quotation of Buick's advertising slogan that year. I mean, OK, graduate research assistants are wonderful people and scholarship would be at a loss without them, but does everything they produce have to make it into the book?

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Feb 27, 2011

Eric Bittner rated it

A fascinating look at one of the most unique American musicians ever. It's not perfect, as the author indulges in a bit too much mind-reading, but its strengths more than outweigh that one weakness. This book busts the myths of Monk's so-called weirdness, and sheds new light on his battles with mental illness (probably undiagnosed bipolar disorder). It also gives a great look into the life of a jazz musician in the years after WWII. It was pretty damn hard for those men (women - other than sing...more

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Jan 06, 2012

Jeremy rated it

Fascinating. The detail is astounding...he basically covers every month of Monk's life. De-bunks the primitivist, racist myths of the "instinctual" genius, and shows instead how his musical background became fodder for a one of a kind imagination. Definitely re-kindled my love for Monk's music, which was my first love in Jazz. And the detail on the sessions and sidemen enriches my listening.

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Dec 25, 2011

Craig Werner rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: music, biography, african-american

A beautiful, loving biography of one of the half dozen most important American musicians/composers. Kelley's exactly the right biographer, deeply grounded in jazz and African American history. Kelley traces Monk from the legendary session at Minton's through his struggles for recognition to his brief time close to the top of the jazz world in the 1960s and then through his final decade of illness and withdrawal. "Play yourself" was Monk's mantra--he was never afraid of taking risks ...more

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Aug 08, 2010

Margaret rated it

Shelves: bios-memoirs, popular-histories

I was really excited to read this book--heard that it was coming out a while ago and was probably the first person to check it out of the library--but ultimately I'm a little disappointed. Nonetheless, it is an incredible example of meticulous research--Kelley provides a very detailed and thoughtful narrative of all aspects of Monk's life: his music, his family, his youth, his experiences with religion & spirituality, his (ab)use of drugs & alcohol, and of course, his struggles with mental illn...more

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Mar 18, 2010

Billy rated it

This was good, almost really good. Thelonius Monk was a very gifted and quirky character, and Kelley does a good job illuminating Monk's genius, eccentricities, and struggles with mental illness. In addition, the reader learns a great deal about key characters in Monk's life, most especially his wife, but also, other family members, fellow musicians, and, interestingly, the Countess Nica de Koenigswarter who was a patron and close friend.

It was cool learning more about Monk's music...more

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Nov 22, 2009

Harold rated it

Shelves: music, bio-autobio

It's a very good well researched bio. There's a few thing that bothered me, but all in all that's to be expected. I particularly didn't care for Kelley's continued use of the "Solfeggio" in reference to the grunting Monk would sometimes do while playing. I did like the fact that the author realized that Monk was well grounded in what came before him.

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Dec 18, 2010

Jake Adam rated it

The first few chapters are a little chunky, heavy with information, so it's hard to feel the thread of the story, but once Thelonious comes into adolescence, the book comes into its own, presenting a readable and informative account that gives a clear look at Monk, specifying his gifts and his manias.

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Mar 03, 2010

John Carroll rated it

I have only started this book. Kelley paints a picture of Monk's southern upbringing and subsequent migration to New York which sheds light on the music he came to create. Traveling tent revivalists, gang warfare, and jazz club rivalries are some of the threads woven into the fabric of this bio.

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Jan 09, 2010

Phil Overeem rated it

Exhaustive, relevatory, and mournful bio of one of the most unique composers in classical music. Moves a bit slow at times--especially if you're not a die-hard Monk fan (I am). It'll be hard to top this if anyone tries later on, as many of the sources are "going away." Interesting sidelights include the women and children in Monk's life, his methods as a teacher and bandleader, and the effects of illness on creativity. Very rich read.

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Apr 23, 2010

Gneagh rated it

Wow; SUPER well-researched and documented bio; really exhaustive look at Monk's life. Gives a well-rounded picture of who Monk was, and works to dispel the myths around the High Priest of Bop. But it took a long time to read--so thorough that I found myself dragging through it a bit. Not in a way that was boring, though; still a compelling story.

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Aug 16, 2010

Herzog rated it

Shelves: music

An incredibly meticulous account of Monk's life and work. The detail (and notes) is exhaustive, but the style makes the book very readable. I was fairly familiar with Monk's life and work, but this book added a great deal more detail.

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About Robin D.G. Kelley

Robin D.G. Kelley (b. 1962) 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 University. 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...more

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Race Rebels : Culture, Politics, and the Black Working Class

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