The first full biography of Thelonious Monk, written by a brilliant historian, with full access to the family's archives and with dozens of interviews.

-- First comprehensive study of Monk, one of the 20th century's most original and influential creative artists, available in the States. -- Thoroughly revised and beautifully redesigned for American readers, including fifty studio, performance and personal photographs. -- Lively and authoritative biographical section reveals the public as well as the private life of this pivotal figure. -- Analysis of Monk both as a pianist and composer, by an established jazz critic and musician. -- Up-to-date narrative discography gives detailed descriptions of all Monk recordings currently available on record and CD. Gives readers the story behind the music. -- Fifty carefully selected photographs documenting the modern jazz movement. -- Complete and current catalog of Monk material, including video as well as CDs and rare recordings. -- Glossary of key jazz terminology.

(Artist Books). The music of Thelonious Monk is among the most requested of any jazz composer, but accurate lead sheets and sources have never been widely available until now. This folio has 70 of the master composer/pianist's most familiar pieces, as well as a number of obscure and unrecorded tunes, in easy-to-read versions. Includes counterlines and ensemble parts for many pieces, as well as bass-lines and piano voicings where applicable. Also includes a biography, a glossary, and a definitive discography of the compositions in the book. Titles include: Ask Me Now * Bemsha Swing * Blue Monk * Blue Sphere * Boo Boo's Birthday * Bright Mississippi * Brilliant Corners * Bye-Ya * Crepuscule With Nellie * Criss Cross * 52nd Street Theme * Functional * Gallop's Gallop * Hackensack * I Mean You * In Walked Bud * Jackie-ing * Let's Cool One * Little Rootie Tootie * Misterioso * Monk's Mood * Nutty * Off Minor * Pannonica * Played Twice * Rhythm-a-ning * 'Round Midnight * Ruby, My Dear * Straight No Chaser * Thelonious * Well You Needn't * and 39 more.

"Read this invigorating graphic narrative, then—quickly, before the spell breaks!—play one of Monk's records." —Saul Williams She is Kathleen Annie Pannonica de Koenigswarter, a free-spirited baroness of the Rothschild family. He is Thelonious Sphere Monk, a musical genius fighting against the whims of his troubled mind. Their enduring friendship begins in 1954 and ends only with Monk’s death in 1982. Set against the backdrop of New York during the heyday of jazz, Monk! explores the rare alchemy between two brilliant beings separated by an ocean of social status, race, and culture, but united by an infinite love of music. This breathtaking graphic novel by Youssef Daoudi beautifully captures the life of the “the high priest of bop” in spontaneous, evocative pen and ink that seems to make visible jazz itself.

In early 2005, an engineer at the Library of Congress accidentally discovered, in an unmarked box, the recording of Thelonious Monk's and John Coltrane's performance at a 1957 benefit concert at Carnegie Hall. Long considered one of the most important musical meetings in modern jazz, Monk's and Coltrane's work together during a scant few months in 1957 had, until this discovery, been thought to be almost entirely undocumented. In this book, Gabriel Solis provides an historical, cultural, and analytical study of this landmark recording, which was released by Blue Note records later in 2005. Taking a wide-ranging approach to the recording, Solis addresses issues of "liveness," jazz teaching and learning, enculturation, and historiography. Because nearly a half century passed between when the recording was made and its public release, it is a particularly interesting lens through which to view jazz both as a historical tradition and as a contemporary cultural form. Most importantly Solis accounts for the music itself. Offering in depth analytical discussions of each composition, as well as Monk's and Coltrane's improvisational performances he provides insight into Monk's impact on Coltrane as he developed his signature "sheets of sound" style, as well as into the influence of a strong side-man, like Coltrane, on Monk at his creative and professional peak. The first study of one of the most significant jazz releases of the twenty-first century, Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall is essential reading for all jazz scholars, students, musicians, and fans.

The threads of Billie Holiday's mystique are unraveled in this study of a woman who needed to create art at any cost. Griffin liberates Holiday from stereotypes of black women and pries her away from the male tradition of jazz criticism while presenting Holiday's independent spirit. of photos.

(Personality). Explore the songs of one of the greatest jazz composers with this collection of 11 solo guitar arrangements in standard notation and tab. Songs: Bemsha Swing * Blue Monk * Little Rootie Tootie * Monk's Dream * Nutty * Played Twice * Reflections * Round Midnight * Ruby, My Dear * Ugly Beauty * We See. Includes in-depth performance notes, an introduction, and a discography.