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ECCENTRIC, GIFTED, AND BLACK: THELONIOUS MONK REVEALED

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 December 2010

Ingrid Monson ,
John Gennari  and
Travis A. Jackson
Ingrid Monson*
Affiliation:
Department of African and African American Studies, Harvard University
John Gennari*
Affiliation:
Department of English and U.S. Ethnic Studies Program, University of Vermont
Travis A. Jackson*
Affiliation:
Department of Music, University of Chicago
*
Ingrid Monson, Quincy Jones Professor of African American Music, Harvard University, University Hall, 1 Harvard Yard 2 North, Cambridge, MA 02138. E-mail: [email protected]
John Gennari, Department of English, University of Vermont, Old Mill 425, Burlington, VT 05405. E-mail: [email protected]
Travis A. Jackson, Department of Music, University of Chicago, 1010 E. 59th Street, Chicago, IL 60637. E-mail: [email protected]
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Extract

Do not miss Robin D. G. Kelley's Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original, for it will stand as the definitive biography of the great American composer and pianist for many years to come. What distinguishes Kelley's treatment of Monk's complicated and enigmatic life is the sheer depth and breadth of primary research, including, for the first time, the active cooperation and involvement of Thelonious Monk's family. In his acknowledgments, Kelley describes a long process of convincing Thelonious Monk, III to grant permission culminating in a six-hour meeting in which his knowledge, credentials, and commitment were thoroughly tested and challenged. Once he had secured “Toot's” blessings, as well as that of his wife Gale and brother-in-law Peter Grain, Kelley was introduced to Nellie Monk, Thelonious Monk's wife, and a wide range of family and friends who shared their memories and personal archives of photos, recordings, and papers. This is not an authorized biography, however, since Thelonious Monk, Jr. never demanded the right to see drafts or dictate the content. Rather Kelley was admonished to “dig deep and tell the truth.”

Type
State of the Discourse
Information
Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race , Volume 7 , Issue 2 , Fall 2010 , pp. 381 - 402
Copyright
Copyright © W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research 2010

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References

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