Talk:Thelonious Monk

Philip Larkin doesn't belong here
Philip Larkin's opinion on Monk shows up in the second paragraph of this article.

Here's a poem by Philip Larkin:

"'Prison for strikers, / Bring back the cat, / Kick out the niggers, / How about that?'"

I removed the reference to Larkin's opinion on Monk, but it was restored on the grounds that it was verifiable. It's eminently verifiable; so is the fact that Monk was African-American, or, as Larkin would have called him, a 'nigger.' Larkin's opinion does not belong anywhere that claims to promote a neutral point of view, and certainly not in the introduction to the biography of a magnificent American musician. 2600:6C52:7C00:203:B987:D72F:EAC3:93C8 (talk) 09:26, 24 November 2018 (UTC)

Agreed. Ridiculous inclusion. If this statement is representative of criticism of Monk, even then it does not belong in the introduction to the article. It reads very out of place. It should be moved elsewhere in the article. I'll propose an edit... (Edit: fixed signature) Cstanford.math (talk) 19:08, 8 August 2021 (UTC)

Moved to a different section. Please discuss here. Cstanford.math (talk) 19:19, 8 August 2021 (UTC)
 * Larkin was being ironic. See his other provocative poems which are also tongue-in-cheek. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 27.33.87.227 (talk) 06:33, 24 April 2023 (UTC)

Larkin was indeed often outrageously 'tongue in cheek' (try reading This be the Verse, but whatever his racist views, they didn't impair his judgment of jazz. He most famously opined that in the sphere of the arts, 'Louis Armstrong was more important than Picasso'. As the first of his Desert Island Discs (14 July 1976), he chose Armstrong’s 1929 recording of Dallas Blues, telling presenter Roy Plomley:  'Louis is such a combined Chaucer and Shakespeare of jazz'.  Hardly the words of a racist?  On the other hand,  he openly despised bebop, vilifying Parker as 'that crazed junkie who spoilt it all'.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Izigabo (talk • contribs) 10:57, 14 June 2023 (UTC)

BMG documentary
Towards the end of the Thelonious Monk-American Composer film, Ben Riley has some information on a final studio session that might be of interest ... 50.111.8.23 (talk) 10:46, 2 January 2021 (UTC)

Part Native American?
Was Monk part Native American (American Indian)? 173.88.246.138 (talk) 05:34, 15 November 2021 (UTC)

Round Midnight, the film
I think we should quote the film Round Midnight (director: Bertrand Tevernier, with D. Gordon, H. Hancock etc) among other tributes. It's not directly related to him, but the title, which is an important item of a movie, is him. --Simoneschiaffino (talk) 13:29, 18 December 2021 (UTC)

Pieces
We often say "he studied Mozart and Bach..." and so on. It's no sense. We must say exactly what, or nothing. Gigantic differences: practicing a Sonatina or a Minuetto is enormously different from the Chopin studies, or Bach fugues. Be precise. Thanks. Regards. Simoneschiaffino (talk) 10:42, 7 April 2023 (UTC)


 * I think it would be difficult to know precisely what pieces pretty much any pianist studied unless he went on them to record them or play them in a documented concert. I would recommend the opposite: Be LESS specific. Just say he studied classical, and leave it at that. TheScotch (talk) 20:17, 24 September 2023 (UTC)

Reference or award?
There's a railcar bearing his name on MetroNorth Railroad. Not sure what category that falls under. Here is a reference: https://www.ttmg.org/insidersguide/new-york-mta-mnrr-shorliner-car-names/ 103.179.202.32 (talk) 18:24, 16 April 2023 (UTC)