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Thelonious Monk

The Life and Times of an American Original

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Thelonious Monk

Written by: Robin DG Kelley
Narrated by: Sean Crisden
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About this listen

Thelonious Monk is the critically acclaimed, gripping saga of an artist's struggle to "make it" without compromising his musical vision. It is a story that, like its subject, reflects the tidal ebbs and flows of American history in the 20th century.

To his fans, he was the ultimate hipster; to his detractors, he was temperamental, eccentric, taciturn, or childlike. His angular melodies and dissonant harmonies shook the jazz world to its foundations, ushering in the birth of "bebop" and establishing Monk as one of America's greatest composers.

Elegantly written and rich with humor and pathos, Thelonious Monk is the definitive work on modern jazz's most original composer.

©2009 Robin D. G. Kelley (P)2017 Tantor Entertainment & Celebrities Music Celebrity Witty Entertainment Africa Social justice

What the critics say

"Every step of Monk's musical journey is teased out in meticulous detail...whether he's charting the highs or lows of Monk's emotional swings, Kelley rarely strays from his central theme of an extraordinary talent pushing against the boundaries of his art." ( Publishers Weekly)
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This was an exceptionally good biography on an amazing musician. I am a big fan of Thelonious Monk and his music and so had been wanting to read this biography for some time. When I had the chance to get it in Audio Book format for a decent price I jumped at it and am very glad I did.

The biography seems to be very thorough and covers not just Monk's life but also the social situations of the time periods he lived through. Going in depth in to the areas he lived in and what was going on in those areas at the time. This was well done and, for me, added to the story of his life.

As mentioned this is an audio book review and I was quite pleased with the narrator Sean Crisden. He kept me interested and engaged. A little awkward maybe were his attempts at accents of various individuals from the autobiography however, I thought they were done respectfully.

I give both the book and audio book 5 stars as it was very engaging and encompassing. I felt that I came away with a greater knowledgebase of Monk's life and what he went through. Definitely recommended to any Jazz fan as well to anyone with interest in jazz during Monk's time which is roughly the late 30s to early 70s.

Great Biography of a Legend

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Exhaustive, informative, detailed, affectionate, and compelling biography on one of the greatest jazz composers of all time. Performed with the just the right amount of vigour by Sean Crisden. Loved it.

Must read for Monk fans

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