Thelonious Monk Documentary -- 1/10

[akeithneal]

"It says IM FAMOUS ain't that a bitch..."

[asdfg67891]

Greatest part of this video is at 6:13- during 'Round Midnight he decides he's gonna wipe his brow with a handkerchief from his pocket, then drops a few notes in while still holding the handkerchief in his playing hand… and still kills it. Just amazing...

[Ingr9821]

The most interesting comment I read was that his music was unique to one thing - him- with a specific "sound" like the music from an ice cream truck.

[beetz15s]

im famous aint that a bitch!

[aaronamccoy]

he got that homemade sound, his friend bud powell, monk said, could only play his songs correctly..

[KiaKaha888]

Just wonderful! Thanks so much for posting this.

[bigmtnfudgecake]

Monk the only dude that starts the first four bars of his chorus with a sprint back to the piano.

[DUANESKEE]

Just the coolest cat ever to walk the planet..

[fastborzoi]

ABSOLUTE JOY to see the raw footage, thank you!

[NowsNu]

"Yeah.. I'm famous.. ain't that a bitch.." 2:31

After all he had been through at that point, pretty ironic. I love monk. A true artist who listened for what to play, not afraid to be silent. Pure, witty, crazy, strong, stubborn, true, dedicated, funny, original, uncompromising, sensitive, special - spatial - spacial. Thelonious Sphere Monk. Amen.

[jaisenlaviero]

0:30 So good.

[pcmorris1000]

great find. he's one of the greatest dancers of our generation...

[MscBlggr]

Q-TIP SENT ME! (twitter)

[bertfreez]

@MscBlggr me too bruv lol

[oluham]

I never felt he could really play, but he was a MONSTER composer

[326Ka]

the great thelonious monk.love me some monk.

[aaronamccoy]

I hear he didn't study at Juliard

[guber]

Don't go to tvshow website!!! It is a spam generator and you cannot watch anything there

[DUANESKEE]

YEP, all u have to hear is one bar of his playing and you know it's MONK.

[HendrixClaptonSRV]

"man im famous?.... aint that a bitch" - Thelonious Monk

YESSSS!

[LooseLeafLoser]

@HendrixClaptonSRV Its actually quoted "damn um famous...aint that a bitch? lol

[HendrixClaptonSRV]

@LooseLeafLoser lol? same difference?

[xmuscularghandix]

The Big 3. Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk.

[Loumademe]

Love this doc. Thanks for posting it.

[datguyjaz]

the truth

[superjules]

I'm Famous. Ain't that a bitch?

[aloliver331]

Organic, fractal, chaos. Like seaweed. Once you acquire a taste for it, nothing else satisfies. I listen to Monk while I sleep, just to try to absorb something of his essence.

[ThesisOfRock]

Woah, Clint Eastwood listens to Thelonious Monk?

The universe has just collapsed under this kind of epic.

[jackdelawack]

@ThesisOfRock Clint is a major Jazzbo--do a little research you'd find out he composes for his films and is quite good at it.......

[danielrl13]

@ThesisOfRock clint eastwood is a fan of jazz music he also made as director and producer a great movie call "bird" based on the life of the greatest charlie parker

[tchiasson10]

thank you thank you thank you thank you for this post!! i've been wanting to see this for a long long time!

[sonjaxfactor]

thanks for uploading.

[KatzenImNebel]

This is fantastic! Thanks for uploading this documental film!

[EMCEMITCH]

its cool seein him play round midnight in a up tempo

[jfreijser]

Let's call Monk this:

the greatest composer of the 20th century...Why are so few people playing his tunes now? They are timeless, and so generous... I could be on an infinite loop of Monk's music...

[mossimo654]

there are so many people playing his tunes now it's ridiculous. I'd say with the exception of maybe coltrane he's the most covered jazz artist nowadays

[jfreijser]

@mossimo654 Really? Who is playing Monk then? In the US, NY ? I don't think I've heard a Monk tune covered by any musician in the last 20 years. A reference here and there, sure, but Epistrophy, Trinkle Tinkle, Round Midnight, etc. no way, not here. (Here is Amsterdam, Netherlands and environs).

[mossimo654]

pianists like mehldau etc cover him all the time. Didn't svensson just come out with an entire monk record?

Either way who cares!

Let's just celebrate his incredible talent and know that he goes down in the jazz pantheon as one of the most talented pianists of all time

[jfreijser]

@mossimo654 thanks! Mehldau is coming to NL in March, and Svensson indeed seems to have been a great Monk afficionado. Unfortunately he isn't around anymore, but I'll find some recorded stuff. Yeah, I celebrate Monk nearly every day, for the last 35 years or so, and i'll continue to do so till the day i die! cheers!

[KlavierPlaya]

Where do I get a hat like that? 2:20

[Morahman7vnNo2]

Lol, "Evidence," I first I thought I was there to indicate that he really did dance in between some jam sessions.

[harrycarrysghost]

He was a mathematician who discovered a whole new mathematical formula...and very few ever got it.

[JonLawry]

When I first saw this documentary 15 years ago, I was amazed at 6:08 during "Round Midnight," where he juggles the cigarette and handkerchief while maintaining such an amazing "second-nature" sense of timing, almost as though he used the smoke and rag to help him define the solo.

[Fezziekid]

The only jazz musician you'll always identify after hearing him play just one bar.

[wiliscool]

@Fezziekid I dont know man, All of the greats, Parker, Davis, Coltrane, and so on, they all got their own special sound.

[irockyouroll]

@Fezziekid absolutely true! man this guy is amazing

[suereed]

@Fezziekid

Miles?

[melodyattack]

Does anyone know if that version of "Evidence" that Monk is banging out at the beginning of this clip is available in it's entirety? It's still the best version of that song I've ever heard.

[pfaessel1]

Actually it's not 'Evidence' it's 'Just You, Just Me', which Evidence is based off of. Rouse keeps referring to the melody in his solo, which was part of his style. Monk's solo also refers to it as well.

[johnteddyJoe]

das kann einfach nicht wahr sein. "Yeah I´m famous, biatch"

[SometimeAngel]

Clint Eastwood documentary, right? I saw this on Ovation TV - very good!

[aaronamccoy]

the drunken master

[tomitstube]

"i'm famous, ain't that a bitch?" no man, it means your great!

problem with thelonious is, he's still ahead of our time. it's a level of genius, it takes time. just ask mozart.

[boobtuber06]

never will you hear a musician that can make dissonance sound so consonant!

[hugolp]

I agree. He was great.

[jodhpurs]

very nice way of putting it

[boobtuber06]

Thank you very much! Schoenberg couldn't of pulled that off; hats off to Monk!

[ftlotmusic]

@boobtuber06 exactly x

[michaeljamsmith]

Thanks for posting this. Monk's era was likely the greatest in the history of American music.

[Soulnik]

Fantastic ♫♫♫♫♫

[phishfan08]

"Damn, I'm famous... Son of a bitch" LMFAO!!!!

Wow, Thelonious is very interesting.

[igotasweetass]

i heard "damn i'm famous ain't that a bitch"....EVEN better!

[CarlosMacMartin]

ENERGY!!!

[lifestraight]

Whats the title of this dvd so i can buy it?

[bichomaldito]

"Straight no Chaser"

[GrynHelix]

amazing, simply amazing, he's in his world at that piano, genius

[rayjr62]

He was a genius. End of story.

[CadillacL]

Or This isn't the one on Bet on Jazz, anyhow I have seen this one too.

[CadillacL]

I've seen this on Bet on Jazz MANY times. Never get tired of it. Monk was way ahead

of his time.

[daddysevenpointfiver]

me lovee monk. there's just 'somethin' about it....'

[Pentagonshark666]

a real master.

[AngeloAnnieMate]

First part [ACE of hearts]...What I love about this part of his life is that he began by himself, without any help, and then he studied... Somewhere along the way he found the best teachers, TRUE ARTISTS!