Straight, no chaser : the life and genius of Thelonious Monk / Leslie Gourse.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gourse, Leslie.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Monk, Thelonious.

Jazz musicians--United States--Biography.

Jazz musicians.

United States.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

xvi, 340 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Schirmer Books ; New York : Prentice Hall International, [1997]

Summary:

Thelonious Monk is one of jazz's legendary figures, whose life story is shrouded in mystery. In the house trio at Harlem's hip, renowned Minton's Playhouse, he, along with trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and drummer Kenny Clarke - and sometimes saxophonist Charlie Parker - helped mold the nascent style of bebop. Monk's compositions 'Round Midnight; Straight, No Chaser; Blue Monk; Misterioso; Rhythm-a-ning; and scores more have become classics in the jazz repertoire. Monk's piano playing was so original that it has been widely emulated and praised, but never equaled. His personal life was also unique, including battles with mental and neurological conditions that finally led to his total, tragic withdrawal from recording an performing years before his death.

Contents:

1. Growing Up in Manhattan 1

2. House Pianist at Minton's Playhouse 19

3. Finding His Voice in the 1940s 32

4. Along Came Blue Note 47

5. Crepuscule with Nellie 70

6. Life Without a Cabaret Card 83

7. The Colomby Connection Begins in Earnest 103

8. At the Five Spot 122

9. Monk

Misterioso 153

10. Monk's Dream 191

11. Deity and Target 212

12. North of the Sunset 239

13. A New Saxophonist 249

14. Drug Use and Brain Damage 276

15. Last Glimpses 289

Compositions 303

Sessiongraphy 305

Videography 325.

Notes:

Includes list of Monk's compositions.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 326-329) and index.

Includes discography and videography.

ISBN:

0028646568

OCLC:

36629982