And a note about unusual, long-lasting friendship between Thelonius and Baroness Nica de Koenigswarter. "Straight, No Chaser" was released on Columbia Records in 1967. One of Monk’s greatest works. the title itself is a good summary of the film, More Of A Concert Than A Documentary, But That's Fine, super-cool and super out there, this is unfiltered Monk, This is a great movie and a great musician, The standard by which all documentaries should be judged. A documentary not just about Thelonius Monk and what made him tick, but also the bands he worked with and other famous musicians. (I have my own opinion as to which album of Monk’s is my favorite, but I’ll probably review that one some other time) With a great group of musicians, jazz standards, and unique and still refreshing to this day compositions. Thank you so much, Charlotte Zwerin, for making this paean to Monk. I knew nothing of this musician before seeing the documentary. They included the track “Straight, No Chaser,” which was put on wax on this day (July 23) in 1951. User Reviews ↓ ... Monk's Moods: Straight No Chaser. CL 2651; Vinyl LP). He was locked inside. "I Didn't Know About You" is brush drums, bass and piano and is smoothly atmospheric. Monk is one of those artists that even the very casual jazz fan knows – a group which I very much include myself in. Monk's angular, overtly logical piano playing can come across cold or distant at times. It is simply sublime, actually. Publication date 1967 Usage Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International Topics Jazz Language English. He is the greatest composer and the most influential musician of the jazz era. Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. Clint Eastwood really did well with this film. There is no mention of the 1959 Town Hall Concert, painstakingly reconstructed in 2009 by MacArthur Fellow Jason Moran. The last years of his life, we learn, were spent sitting quietly in the room of a friend. The makers were able to grasp tension coming from creative process (songs being written on the run, then played in front of huge audience without proper rehearsal), routine of life on tour with ever-tendering wife Nellie by his side, biased or just silly questions from journalists, more or less visible symptoms of mental illness (which might have been confused with artist's mannerisms, stage antics or eccentricities at most). Thelonious Monk: Straight, No Chaser was first shown at the New York film Festival in October 1989 and opened to strong reviews. At the same time, he drifted into himself. It was a shock to see Monk doing what my friend described so long before. The film I will be reviewing is the documentary Thelonious Monk Straight No Chaser. The musical crosstalk between Monk and Charlie Rouse (tenor sax) is vividly captured. 5.0 out of 5 stars "Thelonious Monk: Straight, No Chaser" Portrait Of Artist Reviewed in Canada on February 11, 2001 This documentary captures Monk as an artist probably better than any jazz musician has ever been captured on film. [Some reissues add a studio take of "Straight, No Chaser" as a bonus track.] Edit Release All Versions of this Release New Submission . A New York Times review claims it as "some of the most valuable jazz ever shot" as the close up shots of Monk's hands on the piano reveals his unusual technique. No copyright infringement Addeddate 2020-11-04 11:51:28 Identifier straight-no-chaser_202011 Scanner Internet Archive HTML5 Uploader 1.6.4. plus-circle Add Review. What the film gave me was an opportunity to see Thelonious Monk creating some of it, and, just as importantly, an opportunity to see how those who knew him loved him. 7 release on compilation 'Always Know' Straight, No Chaser 4. That is why "Thelonious Monk: Straight, No Chaser" is vaguely disturbing right from the opening scenes. He was in fact a genuine, hard-working artist trying to make ends meet. Read the Empire Movie review of Thelonious Monk: Straight, No Chaser . The song, a traditional blues with a wobbly melody that loops… It shows the deep devotion of his wife Nellie, and others who helped him, and finally, how he sank into his illness before he died. This is a documentary but almost a straight concert, featuring jazz pianist who performed mainly in the 1950s and 1960s and is a legend in music circles. Chamber, suggestive film in black and white about an extraordinary man. 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