Robin D.G. Kelley, author of Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original

Thelonious Monk is the gripping saga of an artist’s struggle to “make it” without compromising his musical vision. It is a story that, like its subject, reflects the tidal ebbs and flows of American history in the twentieth century.

She didn’t dance to the music; she danced with it. The melody wrapped his arms around her and the chords ran ivory fingers through her curls. Harmony whispered in her ear and she laughed at all his jokes. She twirled up and down scales with him, the hem of her skirt swirling a single syncopated beat behind her.

Featuring photographs and excerpts from the Paul Desmond biography, "Take Five: The Public and Private Lives of Paul Desmond," by Doug Ramsey