Straight, No Chaser: The Life and Genius of Thelonious Monk
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.14 (823 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0028646568 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 400 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2015-02-19 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
His personal life was also unique, including a long battle with depression and mental illness that finally led to his total withdrawal from recording and music making years before his tragic death. Music/Jazz BiographyFirst English-language biography of a legendary and compelling jazz artist.Thelonious Monk was one of jazz's legendary figures, whose life story has yet to be told. Pianist and bandleader, he led the legendary jam sessions at Harlem's Minton's Playhouse where, along with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, he helped mold the nascent style of bebop. She has been awarded an ASCAP award for her journalism. Additionally, she writes regularly on jazz for both specialty journals and popular newspapers and magazines, including The New York Times, Christian Science Monitor, Village Voice, Boston Globe, Jazz Times, Harper's Bazaar, Elle, New York, Cosmopolitan, and many others. Leslie Gourse is a well-know
. The composer, pianist, and headgear eccentric Thelonious Monk is one of the few musicians whose touch can be recognized from almost any three-second sample of his work. But Gourse has done some excellent spadework, interviewing Monk's family, musical associates, and longtime manager Harry Colomby; her preliminary portrait is a fine one. Straight, No Chaser is notably light on musicological analysis, and the author never quite delivers on her promised revelations about Monk's final decade (during which he withdrew into both musical and verbal silence). Who else could have dreamed up the majestic oddity of "Round Midnight" or "Well, You Needn't" or "Ruby, My Dear" or "Pannonica"? Who else could have duplicated Monk's distinc
AGNIESZKA said Five Stars. thank you. Dr. Chet Fischer said An excellent book. This book has gotten unjustified bad press. The author accurately captures the "real" T. Monk. She traces Monk's development and commitment to jazz over his career. The author had access to Monk's family (e.g., Toot his drummer son), friends, supporters, and the musicians that knew him. What I particularly like about the book was her treatment of Monk's mysterious pathology. Monk was a very strange guy. Various psychiatrists discounted him being schizophrenic and bipolar. The concensus was that he chemically ruined his brain over the years. He also cultivated an image of . A Customer said Attention Thelonius Monk Fans!. Attention T.Monk fans! This book has lots of info on Monk. It is written in a very interesting way. Much of the info is from personal interviews, which means that there are many interesting and funny facts and stories. There are some great photographs of Monk with other jazz pioneers such as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie etc. It also has a sessionography, index, list of compositions, and videography. A must read.