Thelonious Monk: Palo Alto (Impulse!/Sony)
The back story makes this album irresistible even before you’ve listened to it: In 1968, a 16-year-old jazz fan at Palo Alto High School in … Read More “Thelonious Monk: Palo Alto (Impulse!/Sony)”
Reviews
Miles Okazaki: Work: The Complete Compositions of Thelonious Monk, Volumes 1-6 (Miles Okazaki)
“Exhaustive” is certainly a word that comes to mind for Work. Miles Okazaki was armed only with his solo guitar when he recorded all 70 … Read More “Miles Okazaki: Work: The Complete Compositions of Thelonious Monk, Volumes 1-6 (Miles Okazaki)”
Live Review: Monk and Dizzy Centennial Concerts
Jason Moran’s approach to the role of artistic director for jazz at the Kennedy Center has been suspiciously similar to his approach to the role … Read More “Live Review: Monk and Dizzy Centennial Concerts”
Thelonious Monk: Paris 1969
This odd, frayed, faded document, newly unearthed, may make you cry, sometimes from heartbreak, sometimes from joy. Thelonious Monk was only 52 in 1969, and … Read More “Thelonious Monk: Paris 1969”
Thelonious Monk: Newport ’59
Legend has it that a good piano inspired Thelonious Monk’s 1957 performance at Carnegie Hall with John Coltrane, a date that was famously unearthed and … Read More “Thelonious Monk: Newport ’59”
Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original by Robin D.G. Kelley
Robin D.G. Kelley’s new biography debunks many a myth about Thelonious Monk and brings the man and his music into sharp focus
Read More “Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original by Robin D.G. Kelley”