Thelonious Monk, 40 years later…

Pianist Thelonious Monk.

© Redferns - Gay Terrell

By: Joe Farmer Follow

5 mins

The pianist Thelonious Monk drew the contours of an art whose rites and codes he appropriated with originality and singularity.

Abused, criticized, his expressiveness had taken aback and continues to elicit sometimes severe comments.

However, 40 years after his disappearance, his game and his personality still fascinate.

His son, TS Monk Jr, tells us of his attachment to this revolutionary musician, misunderstood for so long.

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Thelonious Monk was born on October 10, 1917, in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.

He leaves very early, with his parents, the south of the United States for a more lenient life in New York where segregation is less harsh.

He also rubs shoulders with communities from several origins, which plunges him into a very enriching melting pot for a kid of his age.

He first learned classical piano from Professor Simon Wolf who introduced him to the repertoires of Liszt, Rachmaninoff and Chopin, but his ears also picked up the swing of an ever-changing Afro-American jazz.

At 23, Thelonious Monk is passionate about a fledgling form of expression, be-bop.

This new way of playing jazz dusts off the swing of the elders, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington or Cab Calloway, 

On stage, bassist Charles Mingus, bassist Roy Haynes, pianist Thelonious Monk and saxophonist Charlie Parker, in New York, September 13, 1953. © Getty Images - Bob Parent

For the moment, the young Monk observes and accepts the invitations of his contemporaries to go on stage in the clubs of Harlem.

His playing at the piano did not yet seduce many people with the exception of a certain Coleman Hawkins who invited him to the studio in 1944. It was his chance and, although he surprised by his somewhat unpredictable behavior, his piano touch stirred curiosity and, soon, enthusiasm.

The trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie also perceives this strange melodic spontaneity and offers him to participate in his album with Charlie Parker.

We are then in June 1950. Despite his efforts to distinguish himself among his intrepid playmates, Thelonious Monk does not manage to make himself heard.

He tramples, becomes impatient, and sinks into a miserable and inglorious daily life.

It is in Europe and, in particular, in Paris that he will find a form of comfort.

Although his musicality and his attitude challenged his first French followers, his appearance at the Salle Pleyel in June 1954 created an enthusiasm, certainly timid, but sufficiently notable for the presenter of the RTF, André Francis, to open the microphone to him. of French radio and television.

This first performance in Paris will give him the opportunity to introduce himself to a French public who, let's be honest, will not understand much about this music, perhaps too demanding for lovers of traditional swing. 

Pianist Thelonious Monk at the Five Sport Jazz Club, New York, November 22, 1963. © Getty Images - Ben Martin

Back in the United States, Monk still faced the indifference of the American population for his art, but he persisted and managed to give club concerts that well-advised labels decided to follow closely.

His reputation as an unstable artist hardly contributes to his notoriety among decision-makers in the recording industry, but his tone and his audacity gradually raise him to the rank of great innovators.

This is how he found himself in the studio, in April 1957, alongside John Coltrane.

At that time, being black in the United States was a curse.

The intimidations are perpetual and Thelonious Monk is no exception to the rule.

His rebellious temperament also aggravates his social situation, and it is not uncommon for him to find himself condemned to pay fines or to stay in prison for disturbing public order. 

The 60s will be those of recognition.

Thelonious Monk finally obtains a legitimate status of indisputable creator and multiplies studio sessions and public performances.

We see it in Tokyo, Paris, Amsterdam, London, Monterey, Stockholm.

Always so rebellious and rebellious, he will not hesitate to honor the invitation of a student from the Palo Alto high school in California who seeks harmony between whites and blacks after the assassination of pastor Martin Luther King.

Thus, on October 27, 1968, Danny Scher saw his dream come true despite the prohibitions of the authorities and welcomed Monk and his musicians to his school.

The event will be recorded with the means at hand and will finally be released in 2020 on the Impulse label.

This improvised concert will be one of the last great moments of Monk's career.

During the 70s, his creative genius will run out of steam a little and the flame will waver.

His son, TS Monk Jr, will assist him on drums during his final piano performances but envy will give way to boredom and Monk will discreetly leave the stage.

On February 17, 1982, he died at the age of 64.

TS Monk on stage, April 30, 2014, in Osaka, Japan.

© Keith Tsuji/Getty Images for Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz

15 years after the death of Thelonious Monk, his son will salute the memory of his illustrious elder.

He will feature the album 

 in the company of great jazz stars including Ron Carter, Christian McBride, Roy Hargrove, Wayne Shorter, Grover Washington Jr... Since February 15, 2022, the film

 by Bert Stern is again available in a restored and remastered version.

This historical document, produced during the 5th edition of the Newport Jazz Festival, allows us to find Thelonious Monk, more alive than ever, on stage in July 1958. 

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