Thelonious Monk: Straight, No Chaser

Composer and pianist Thelonious Monk has been known until today as the eccentric genius of jazz. Charlotte Zwerin’s film about the high priest of bebop and modern jazz had its beginnings in 1967 when documentary film-maker Michael Blackwood was commissioned by West German Television to make a one hour film about Monk. He accompanied the mercurial music master over a sixmonth period capturing Monk on and offstage, Monk in the studio and Monk on the road, Monk at work and Monk at rest in New York, Atlanta and several European cities. With this footage, supplemented by newly-filmed interviews, new interpretations of Monk’s music by Barry Harris and Tommy Flanagan and rare archival photographs, Zwerin has realised a vibrant portrait revealing Monk’s complex character, his dramatic mood swings, his idiosyncratic irreverence and his legendary sense of humour which also fleshes out the nature of his musical contributions. (DOK.fest München)