Thelonious Monk Quotes

“I could hear something so I realized, of course, what he was trying to tell me was first of all, don’t be judgmental of anybody else, just listen and pay attention and look for the beauty. And then when you find the beauty, study that and don’t bother with the rest of it.53”
― Robin D.G. Kelley, Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original

“Hawkins sought out the freshest, most original musicians, and had little patience for those who would quibble over the difference between “modern” or “progressive,” “swing” or “bebop.” “I don’t think about music as being new, or modern, or anything of the type,” he mused. “Music doesn’t go seasonable to me.”44”
― Robin D.G. Kelley, Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original

“Thelonious Monk’s music is essentially about freedom.”
― Robin D.G. Kelley, Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original

“Thelonious had been born into extreme poverty. His mother and grandmother spent their lives scrubbing floors for a living, and his father, Thelonious, Sr., cobbled together work as an unskilled day laborer in the railroad town of Rocky Mount. His grandfathers had lived a life of debt peonage, share-cropping for ex-slave masters and surviving pretty much from meal to meal.”
― Robin D.G. Kelley, Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original

“Adoring fans, hipsters, bohemians, and wannabes lined up outside the narrow storefront club at 5 Cooper Square, hoping to catch Monk and his legendary quartet—John Coltrane, bassist Ahmed Abdul-Malik, and drummer Shadow Wilson. That night, Monk wanted to celebrate. Friends, family, and enthusiastic fans surrounded him. His “‘un’ years,” as his wife Nellie used to call them, were about to end.”
― Robin D.G. Kelley, Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original

“Thelonious Monk had much to celebrate on October 10, 1957. It was his fortieth birthday, and after more than two decades of scuffling his career was on an upswing.”
― Robin D.G. Kelley, Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original

“Thelonious suffered from bipolar disorder, the signs of which are evident as early as the 1940s. But by the early 1960s, just as he began to earn the fame and recognition that had eluded him for the first two decades of his career, various mental and physical ailments began to take an even greater toll, exacerbated by poor medical treatment, an unhealthy lifestyle, the daily stresses of a working jazz musician, and an unending financial and creative battle with the music industry.”
― Robin D.G. Kelley, Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original

“Introspection,” which took four takes to produce an acceptable version, was unlike anything that came before it. It embodied the most radical elements of Monk’s approach to composition and improvisation.36”
― Robin D.G. Kelley, Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original