Monk [Hardcover]

Laurent De Wilde (Author), Jonathan Dickinson (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1997

From the stance of writer, musician, cultural critic, and jazz historian, Laurent de Wilde has created a biographical tour-de-force. He captures the genius of hte music and artistry of Thelonious Monk and the mid-century New York jazz scene.

Editorial Reviews

From Kirkus Reviews

De Wilde is a well-regarded jazz pianist, so a volume by him on Thelonious Monk (191882) ought to be worth reading. This one, however, is a disappointment. Monk's career effectively spanned 25 years, during which time he was closely associated with his hometown of New York City. He was one of the seminal figures in bebop, part of the select group that jammed late nights at Minton's Playhouse in Harlem, although he didn't develop the ecstatic following of Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. Indeed, as de Wilde notes, Monk's major career breakthrough came when the pianist was 40. For many musicians (and even more critics), Monk's playing and writing styles, with their odd intervals and out-of-kilter rhythms, were just too weird. When he finally found an audience, those idiosyncrasies became talismans for the faithful. But with fame came withdrawal, ill health, and silence. When Monk died in 1982, it had been six years since his last public performance, and even longer since he had been in the recording studio. In the second Monk biography this season (see Leslie Gourse's Straight, No Chaser, p. 1356), de Wilde traces the musician's career trajectory, his relations with his four main record labels, and his various sidemen in a generally perfunctory manner. He has some interesting observations on the importance of a sympathetic producer, pointing to the Riverside label's Orrin Keepnews as the Platonic ideal in Monk's career. And as a musician, he does have some insights into the agonizing grind of being on the road. But the book is written in a hideously hip style that is either a Frenchman's idea of jazz argot or a translator's mistake. More seriously, there is almost nothing here about Monk's family life, either as a boy or as a husband and father. And de Wilde has little to say about the music. What he does have is a lot of half-digested and often inaccurate ideas about American racial, political, and jazz history. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French

Product Details

• Hardcover: 214 pages
• Publisher: Marlowe & Co (October 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1569247404
• ISBN-13: 978-1569247402
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,233,413 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kirkus Reviews is wrong, de Wilde's Monk is GREAT, January 27, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Boston, Ma) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Monk (Hardcover)

Obviously the reviewer for Kirkus Reviews knows nothing about jazz nor about Monk. There is very liitle biographical detail about Monk that is available because his family (particularly his wife Nellie) will not speak publicly about Thelonius. That said, de Wilde's book is a brilliant evocation of Monk's genius as both a player and a composer. As opposed to Straight No Chaser, Monk attempts to capture the esssence of the man by a mixture of musicological study, an analysis of the recording scene and industry at the time, and a vivid, imaginative journey through a master musician's mindset. Any lover of jazz will appreciate this effort!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars An two-dimensional appreciation, not a biography, June 13, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Monk (Hardcover)

No one should mistake this volume for a biography of one of jazz's most influential, enigmatic figures. It's a 200-page appreciation of Monk's music, but it's a mediocre one at best.

It's obvious the author has done a lot of listening to and dissecting of Monk's music, and he writes of it knowledgeably. But his over-the-top prose and Monk-can-do-no-wrong attitude becomes burdensome after the first 100 pages, and by the end of the book, I questioned whether the author had put any of the distance between him and his subject that would allow a thoughtful, valid critique of Monk's music and his place in jazz.

Adding to the flatness of the portrait of Monk is the fact that there is virtually no biographical information of note in the book. We learn nothing of his life, his bouts with mental illness, his drug use, his devotion to his family, his modest lifestyle or his wit and intelligence. The author alludes to these occurrences and qualities throughout the book, but never provides any detail. I came away frustrated and in search of a better book on this most interesting giant of jazz.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enlightening and uplifting to read and enjoy, August 19, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Monk (Hardcover)

For an academic dissection look elsewhere but stop here for sheer enthusiasm and insight into Monk from an obvious admirer. I coulnd't put the book down and learned much from the numerous insights into the music business and cultural/social environment in which Monk lived. I recommend the book to anyone who wants to better understand appreciate Monk's music.