New Monk bio in progress by Robin Kelley

[blajay]

so, I read about 1/3 of the book last night -

excellent work, non-doctrinaire (surprisingly, considering some of the people he mentions in the acknowledgments), and a very insightful bio.

I like it. And it's well-written, to boot. Highly recommended. Will be the standard for years to come.

(hoping that last one ends up on the book jacket; I could use the publicity) -

:tup :tup I got my copy yesterday, too.

[relyles]

The book arrived on my desk this afternoon. Now all I have to decide is which of the several books I recently purchased to read first. Yesterday John Sved's Sun Ra bio arrived. Recently I also received Ted Gioia's, West Coast Jazz, and Steve Isoardi's The Dark Tree: Jazz and the Community Arts in Los Angeles , has been in a pile next to my bed for a while to get through.

Oh man! Those have been out for years. This is a news item, and the news must get through!

I don't understand your point?

[ghost of miles]

I bought a copy at the Book Corner yesterday in Bloomington and started it last night. Haven't made quite as much progress as Allen yet, but so far it's excellent!

[AllenLowe]

see Evelyn Woods -

[AllenLowe]

more and more impressed as I read through this book, and more and more I feel like I really misjudged Kelley - and -

I just got an email back from him (I wrote to him this afternoon) - nice guy, I feel guilty again, probably the second guy I should apologize to today - he really manages to walk the line between astute social analysis, solid musical judgment, and shrewd personal assessment.

I cannot say how important this book is - there is so little decent jazz biography and this fits a deep need.

interestingly, in his email he remembered a conversation we had about Monk about 7-8 years ago at a conference. Surprised me -

[J.A.W.]

So we finally have a good Monk bio; about time

[AllenLowe]

in the jazz world we can probably count the quality bios on the fingers of one hand - and I mean actual biographies, not critical works or subject pieces. This book is deep.

[Christiern]

This evening, Robin had a book party to celebrate the publication. I took some photos...

...more here.

[bertrand]

'Ouch - it was Crouch' - love it!

Bertrand.

[gmonahan]

I may try to pick this one up. I've always been fascinated by that line in "Straight No Chaser" where Monk is said to have intimated to Nellie fairly late in his active career (I think it's Nellie--might be someone else--been a while since I've seen it) "You know, I'm very ill" or words to that effect. And no, it's not about scandal mongering or some kind of weird nosyness about his mental state. I'm just fascinated by the way genius coexists with personality--and Monk had one very individual and eccentric personality, especially in his later years.

Does the author delve into this late period very much? Or does he mostly stay with the more creative earlier period of the 40s and 50s?

greg mo

[AllenLowe]

I haven't hit that part of the book, but looking through, there's tons of stuff on the late years -

it's funny, but I was reading Janest Coleman's book (actually 1/2 book) on Mingus recently, and she re-counted a night that both Mingus and Monk turned up at Bradley's - well, strangely enough, I happened to be there that night, I was all of 20 years old or 21 (it was 1974-75, Jaki Byard was playing piano) and you could have, as the saying goes, knocked me over with a feather (and I don't mean Leonard). Monk was very communicative that night, lurching around the bar, and frequently whispering in Jaki's ear.

[Larry Kart]

Ordered it last night.

[AllenLowe]

will be very interested to hear what you have to say - as I mentioned, Kelley is doing something in NYC on the 13th at Columbia, I think, so I'm gonna try to get over and see him.

[7/4]

will be very interested to hear what you have to say - as I mentioned, Kelley is doing something in NYC on the 13th at Columbia, I think, so I'm gonna try to get over and see him.

Please don't hump his leg too!

[AllenLowe]

you know, 7/4, for someone who got pissed off at me on another thread for making gratuitous remarks, you seem to be showing up regularly to make nasty comments whenever I post.

if you are implying that I am someone who sucks up to the famous, you obviously are talking about the wrong person.

Edited October 8, 2009 by AllenLowe

[7/4]

I didn't say that, but you have an excellent point!

[Caravan]

I may try to pick this one up. I've always been fascinated by that line in "Straight No Chaser" where Monk is said to have intimated to Nellie fairly late in his active career (I think it's Nellie--might be someone else--been a while since I've seen it) "You know, I'm very ill" or words to that effect. And no, it's not about scandal mongering or some kind of weird nosyness about his mental state. I'm just fascinated by the way genius coexists with personality--and Monk had one very individual and eccentric personality, especially in his later years.

He said it to Nica. Citing from memory: "We were driving home. It was the first year he lived here. He suddenly turned to me and said "I'm very seriously ill". Thelonious had never said anything about being ill. He never said it again".

[umum_cypher]

I hear that a bit of a hoo-hah is developing between Lewis Porter and Kelley regarding the book. Anyone know any details?

[AllenLowe]

just talked to Lewis on the phone - he says it's not true - he and Robin were in touch pretty regularly about musical matters while Kelley was writing the book, but there were no disagreements -

[jazzbo]

Just got my copy in. I'm going to put aside what I'm reading (The Neandertal Enigma) and I never do that.

[mikeweil]

Geez - can't wait until my copy arrives, which will take at least another week.

[7/4]

I'm just about ready give into the impulse to run over to B&N to see if they have a copy, I think I'd like to dig in and read it this weekend.

.

[Don Brown]

I'm nearly finished Kelley's book and what a rare treat it has been to read such a well-researched biography. One is so used to coming across glaring errors in biographies of musicians and singers these days that it's a real pleasure to find so few here. The couple I noticed are so trivial that they're hardly worth mentioning - and it's possible that I'm the one who is wrong. Kelley puts New York's Taft Hotel at 7th Avenue and 50th Street. If I remember correctly it was at 7th Avenue and 49th Street. And when talking about Art Kane's famous Esquire Magazine photograph (A Great Day in Harlem) he says that Kane called every jazz musician he could think of the day before the shoot. I always thought it was Nat Hentoff who rounded up the musicians. But, as I say, pretty minor errors, if they are errors.

[bertrand]

Picked it up tonight at Borders' (that 40% coupon came in handy). Looking forward to reading it. Glad to see it came with an inventory of compositions, a no-brainer for any biography of a great composer.

I will see Kelley Sunday at the Monk competition.

Bertrand.

[umum_cypher]

just talked to Lewis on the phone - he says it's not true - he and Robin were in touch pretty regularly about musical matters while Kelley was writing the book, but there were no disagreements -

Ah. Well, as internet rumours go that one was pretty unspectacular.