Thelonious Monk: Straight, No Chaser

The profile of a genius and a lovely tribute. The concert footage is incredible but I would've liked to see more information about the man.

As with most biographies, it doesn't go very deep. However just viewing the clips of Monk going about his business interacting with others is enlightening. One scene shows how Monk's band members would ask him a question about how they should play, Monk would mumble a vague responses, and then the band members would turn to each other and discuss what they think he might have meant. That's more interesting than most voiceover narration or second-hand interviews could ever hope for.

It's like his piano playing is an extension of his thoughts...on the brink of insanity. A genius.

A very nice look at an interesting life, including good original footage. I feel it could have had more depth, though.