Blog 4

Thelonious Monk was greatly influenced by many aspects of the community and his life, his life was unique and consisted of a very culturally diverse influence that shows in his music. San Juan Hill was a cutthroat area where violence was extremely prevalent and common. “Because every block is a different town… you go to the next block and you’re in another country” (Kelley, 19). Every block was unique in its culture and expression as was Thelonious Monk himself. The San Juan Hill community consisted of all kinds of people, blacks, whites, Chinese, blacks from the Caribbean, and even Europeans. (Kelley, 19). This diversity made the environment of every block unique.

Coming from a diverse background and community greatly influenced Monk’s music. He was able to learn from the many different cultures that he was constantly surrounded by and picked up bits from all their varying cultural styles of music. “With the music, cuisine, dialects, and manners of the Caribbean and the American South everywhere in the West 60s, virtually every kid became a kind of cultural hybrid. Thelonious absorbed Caribbean music (Kelley, 23). The avant-garde style that worked well with Thelonious because his background was so diversely influenced and not just one genre from a particular region was the right category for his music.

Monk was no stranger to racism, he had experienced it and witnessed it especially coming from San Juan Hill. In 1958 there was an incident where Monk was unjustly discriminated and later arrested which led to his cabaret card being revoked that incident proved a lot about Monk’s response toward this injustice. “Thelonious was so mad he wouldn’t move. He took hold of the car door… and couldn’t be budged until one cop started beating on his hands with a billy club, his pianist’s hands” (Kelley, 254). Although not a man of violence Monk always stood for what he believe was right, even when he was being beaten he stayed strong.

Monk’s art was special in the way that it reached a diverse group of people. Black people found interest in it just as many from the white community did. The Bohemian community was very fond of Monk’s music, it was music that very artistic and nonconformist people could relate to. “Monks music embodies a vision of a new community of artistic souls- rebels against middle class conformity” (Stewart, Lecture).

Monk experienced a lot through his lifetime, living in San Juan Hill, being a musician, and being targeted for his skin color. All of these experiences shaped not only his life but also the way he made and performed music. The influences of diversity and violence a strongly seen in his music and shaped it into its unique form that reached a new group of enthusiasts.