Listening today to Robin D.G. Kelly on Fresh Air speak about his new book
Thelonious Monk
“Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original” and about Monk’s dancing in a circle. Kelly says that Monk was actually leading the rhythm section of the band or quartet when he got up from the piano and started to rotate.
I’ve seen Monk a few times at the Randall’s Island Jazz Festival and at New York Town Hall and remember the dancing and not finding it strange at the time and I never got he was doing anything other having a good time. I’ll take Kelly’s research in writing this book as fact and I did not see it that way at the time. Monk’s dancing only got strange when he started to do the dance when not on stage.
Monk’s repetitive movements could have been a sign of autism and here again Kelly dismisses this completely. I think we will never really know sure. The book sounds like a good read and present for the holidays.
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