Thelonious Monk

IN 1979, FORMER PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER DESIGNATED JUNE AS BLACK MUSIC MONTH, A NATIONWIDE TRIBUTE TO SIGNIFICANT AFRICAN-AMERICAN ARTISTS AND THEIR MUSICAL CONTRIBUTIONS. IN HONOR OF THIS YEAR'S CELEBRATIONS, VOA'S BERNIE BERNARD PROFILES THE LIFE AND MUSIC OF JAZZ GREAT, THELONIOUS MONK.
INNOVATIVE PIANIST THELONIOUS MONK WAS ONE OF THE ARCHITECTS OF MODERN JAZZ. USING ECCENTRIC, COMPLICATED MUSICAL STRUCTURES, HIS MELODIES TOOK UNEXPECTED TURNS, AND HIS HARMONIES WERE OFTEN DESCRIBED AS "JARRING." HIS UNORTHODOX STYLE WAS FULL OF DISCORDANT NOTES, AND HE BROKE THE RULES OF PIANO TECHNIQUE, BY KEEPING HIS FINGERS FLAT ON THE KEYBOARD ALMOST SLAPPING AT THE KEYS. IN HIS EARLY YEARS, MONK'S APPROACH TO JAZZ WAS OFTEN MISUNDERSTOOD, AND THE CRITICS WERE NOT ALWAYS KIND, BUT HE EMERGED AS ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL MUSICIANS OF THE MODERN ERA.
BORN IN NORTH CAROLINA IN 1917, THELONIOUS MONK BEGAN PICKING OUT MELODIES ON THE PIANO AT AGE 5. RELOCATING WITH HIS FAMILY TO NEW YORK CITY, HE WAS PLAYING IN JAZZ CLUBS BY AGE 13. MONK'S STYLE WAS STRONGLY INFLUENCED BY THE GREAT HARLEM "STRIDE" PIANIST JAMES P. JOHNSON, WHO USED THE SYNCOPATION OF RAGTIME IN HIS BASS NOTES. MONK BEGAN PERFORMING WITH HIS OWN GROUP IN THE EARLY 1940'S, MAKING THE TRANSITION FROM POSTWAR SWING TO THE MORE UP TEMPO, IMPROVISATIONAL STYLE OF JAZZ KNOWN AS BEBOP. IN 1951, THELONIOUS MONK WAS ARRESTED ON A QUESTIONABLE CHARGE OF DRUG POSSESSION. HE SPENT 2 MONTHS IN JAIL, BUT HIS CAREER SUFFERED WHEN NEW YORK STATE REVOKED HIS CABARET CARD FOR 6 YEARS, WITHOUT WHICH HE COULDN'T PLAY IN JAZZ CLUBS. THROUGH HIS MID-1950'S CONCERTS IN PARIS, MONK GAINED WORLD RENOWN. IN 1955, HE RETURNED TO NEW YORK FOR A CONCERT WITH SAX PLAYER JOHN COLTRANE. FOR 8 MONTHS, MONK PLAYED THE FAMOUS FIVE SPOT CLUB, WHERE AUDIENCES LINED UP TO SEE HIS UNPREDICTABLE PERFORMANCES. HE WOULD DANCE OR WANDER THROUGH THE ROOM, WEARING HIS TRADEMARK SUNGLASSES AND HAT. HE WAS DESCRIBED AS MOODY, AND SOME SPECULATED THAT HE HAD A MANIC-DEPRESSIVE DISORDER. NEVERTHELESS, HE MADE DOZENS OF RECORDINGS AND WAS IN DEMAND FOR LIVE PERFORMANCES. PART OF MONK'S APPEAL WAS HIS ABILITY TO SUSPEND THE TEMPO, USING SILENCE TO EMPHASIZE A PREVIOUS OR UPCOMING PHRASE. HE OFTEN SHARED THE STAGE WITH COLEMAN HAWKINS, CHARLIE PARKER, MILES DAVIS AND OTHER PRESTIGIOUS JAZZ MUSICIANS OF THAT ERA. BY 1964, HE WAS FEATURED ON THE COVER OF TIME MAGAZINE AS A PHENOMENON IN THE JAZZ WORLD. HIS SON, JAZZ DRUMMER T.S. MONK, DESCRIBES THE PERSONAL SIDE OF HIS FATHER'S LEGACY.
"THELONIOUS IS A BRIGHT SPOT ON THE HORIZON FOR MANY, MANY PEOPLE. HE'S A SYMBOL OF PERSEVERANCE. THIS IS A GUY THAT EVERYBODY KNOWS THEY TOOK AWAY HIS CABARET CARD AND HE WASN'T ALLOWED TO WORK FOR MANY, MANY YEARS. THIS IS A GUY THAT THEY KNOW WAS PANNED BY THE CRITICS, COMPLETELY PANNED BY THE CRITICS ON EVERY LEVEL -- FROM THE MUSIC HE WROTE TO THE WAY HE PLAYED IT TO EVEN THE BANDS HE CHOSE -- AND HE PERSEVERED AND HE STAYED THE COURSE. AND PEOPLE REALLY RESPECT THAT."
GROWING WEAKER PHYSICALLY FROM ILL HEALTH, THELONIOUS MONK PLAYED HIS LAST CONCERT AT NEW YORK CITY'S LANDMARK CARNEGIE HALL IN MARCH OF 1976. HE RECEIVED A SPECIAL TRIBUTE AT FORMER PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER'S WHITE HOUSE JAZZ PARTY OF 1978, BUT DIED IN FEBRUARY OF 1982 AFTER A MASSIVE STROKE. MONK HAS BEEN HAILED AS ONE OF THE CENTURY'S OUTSTANDING JAZZ COMPOSERS AND MUSICIANS.
DURING BLACK MUSIC MONTH, VOA HONORS OUTSTANDING AFRICAN-AMERICAN ARTISTS FOR THEIR MUSICAL CONTRIBUTIONS. TODAY'S FOCUS WAS ON THE LIFE AND CAREER OF THELONIOUS MONK.
23-May-97
Source: Voice of America
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