Section from chapter 1962: Through the Iron Curtain   [ return to introduction ]

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By Mervyn Cooke • 325 illustrations,
82 in full color • 256 pages • 8-1/2 x 8-1/2"
Cloth • ISBN 0-7892-0399-5 • U.S. $45.00
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Thelonious Monk's eccentric image and apparent lack of a fluent keyboard technique belied his serious musical philosophy and significant compositional innovations. [ view larger image ] (Redferns, London)
Thelonious Monk: Wrong Notes and Silly Hats

Thelonious Monk's popularity was at its height in 1962, when he was awarded a high-profile recording contract by Columbia. Perhaps the quintessential bop musician, Monk presented an image of arty bohemian eccentricity with his trademark hats and awkward stage presence. His seemingly clumsy piano playing masked a very real compositional talent; in his way, he was just as influential on younger musicians as Charlie Parker (• p. 136), his sometime collaborator at Minton's Playhouse (• p. 97).

Initially eclipsed by the rapid success of his pupil Bud Powell, Monk made his first recordings with Coleman Hawkins's small ensembles in the closing stages of World War II. Engagements with Dizzy Gillespie (• p. 219) and Duke Ellington's former trumpeter Cootie Williams led to the latter's recording in 1944 of what remains Monk's best-known composition, "Round Midnight" (• p. 116). A steady series of sessions for Blue Note (1947-52), Prestige (1952-55) and Riverside (1955-61) gradually cemented Monk's reputation as an originator of harmonically daring pieces showing a flair for idiosyncratic yet catchy melodies. His collaborations in 1957 with Art Blakey (• p. 140) and John Coltrane propelled him into the limelight for the first time, and an appearance with a ten-strong band at New York's Town Hall in 1959 received critical acclaim. He became famous both at home and in Europe, where he had first appeared at the 1954 Paris Jazz Festival and where he toured widely in 1961. Three years later, his international status was confirmed by an appearance on the cover of Time magazine and a tour of Japan.

It is often claimed that Monk's distinctive piano style was rooted in the stride idiom, but this tended to show itself only in his rendering of slow ballads. At a faster tempo, his playing was often muscular and dominated by a stiff finger-technique that produced percussive sonorities. Unlike most bop performers, he employed a bare minimum of notes, frequently studding his improvised solos with pregnant silences that kept the audience in suspense as to his next move: abrupt cascades based on Debussy's whole-tone scale were a favorite device. According to the individual listener's sympathies, his playing could be described as either crudely inept, or replete with emotional significance and a laudable economy of musical material. The most memorable description of his keyboard style has undoubtedly been Philip Larkin's likening it to a "faux-naif elephant dance."

Though Monk's playing was controversial, his compositions continue to receive almost universal praise for their originality and memorability. Alongside "Round Midnight," other Monk pieces that have established themselves in the repertoire of standards include "Straight, No Chaser," "Epistrophy," "Blue Monk," "In Walked Bud," "Rhythm-a-Ning" and "Evidence."