http://www.monkbook.com Thelonious Monk: The LIfe and Times of an American Original by Robin Kelley Mon, 04 Jan 2010 15:18:20 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 http://www.monkbook.com/the-book/comment-page-1/#comment-7 thelonious monk (and no, this will not be the last time) « integrity of being Mon, 04 Jan 2010 15:18:20 +0000 http://monkbook.com/content/?page_id=48#comment-7 [...] Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of An American Original by Robin D.G. Kelley is a book I’ve mentioned on this blog before, but I’ve finally finished reading it.  It’s the best bio I’ve ever read and essential reading for musicians.  It does much to debunk Monk’s “idiot savant” image, and gives great perspective on the different periods in his music (Blue Note then Riverside then Columbia, as one way to chart the Monk eras).  Most of all, Kelley’s balance between readability and information is great.  I’ve read exciting stories about musicians before, but it’s really important, especially in this culture of believe-what-I-wanna, to back up what you say, and Kelley’s really done his homework – he spent 14 years on this book and there are 100 pages of notes in the back.  If you want more depth on his preparation (interviews and research, etc.), check here. [...] [...] Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of An American Original by Robin D.G. Kelley is a book I’ve mentioned on this blog before, but I’ve finally finished reading it.  It’s the best bio I’ve ever read and essential reading for musicians.  It does much to debunk Monk’s “idiot savant” image, and gives great perspective on the different periods in his music (Blue Note then Riverside then Columbia, as one way to chart the Monk eras).  Most of all, Kelley’s balance between readability and information is great.  I’ve read exciting stories about musicians before, but it’s really important, especially in this culture of believe-what-I-wanna, to back up what you say, and Kelley’s really done his homework – he spent 14 years on this book and there are 100 pages of notes in the back.  If you want more depth on his preparation (interviews and research, etc.), check here. [...]

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