Colorblind

Thelonious Monk was perhaps one of the most keynote, revolutionary, and unique jazz musicians of all time. He is attributed for his unique, whimsical style of playing the piano (in terms of his body movements while playing), as well as his unique take on race relations and race in general.

Monk has said “there’s no reason why I should go through that Black Power shit now” (Gioia, 19). From first glance, one would think that Monk would buy into the Malcolm X-like Black Power belief system, since Monk faced harsh reality in his encounters with racist police officers who prolonged the racist tensions and divide. However, Monk was able to transcend traditional race politics. He did not view race as a dichotomy of blackness and whiteness. In other words, he did not view races in terms of a divide between Blacks and Whites. Instead, he saw race as a continuum and as a culmination of numerous, various ethnicities.

This way of thinking could be attributed to the fact that he grew up in San Juan Hill in New York, the epitome of an American salad bowl at the time. He states: “[E]very block is a different town. It was mean all over New York, all the boroughs. Then, besides fighting the ofays, you had to fight each other. You go to the next block and you’re in another country” (Gioia, 19). In San Juan Hill, each block had a different ethnicity; for example, there was a Jewish block, an Irish block, an African-American block, an Italian block, etc. Although traditionally, Jews, the Irish, Italians, and other Europeans were clumped under the white category, Monk was able to see past that misconception because he had lived in San Juan Hill in which each ethnicity had its subculture, directly competing with one another and each having its own set of rules and commonalities. However, despite these standards, Monk fell in love with a woman named “Nica”, of Jewish descent. In 1958, she was jailed due to their inter-racial relationship. Monk’s very relationship with her signifies his lack of race consciousness in terms of his genuine interactions with others- a new colorblind approach that was uncommon. The police’s continuation of racist policies never stopped or changed Monk’s beliefs or actions.

According to Gioia, “the black residents of San Juan Hill established a strong sense of community” (20). This community was expanded by Simon Wolf, whom served as a friend, mentor, and teacher of classical music to Monk. Importantly, Wolf was a Jewish Austrian immigrant. Wolf as well as the San Juan Hill community and structure as a whole played a key role in the musical compositions and stylings of Monk- he was introduced to a competitive yet compassionate community, as well as rich diversity of each culture. The concept of community was crucial in understanding Monk’s impact on music and art of his generation. He was able to transcend skin color to team up and create a safe space for open self-expression and for open advocacy for change in racial relations. He helped create a sort of “bohemian” community that rebelled against the norm and against the way of life at the time that even persists today, one that embodied dissonance in its art forms as a means of rebelling against conformity. He fostered a community (comprised of both Blacks and Whites) in which tolerance was key; thus, a sort of free-spirited musical and artistic revolution followed, due to Monk’s influential nature. His unique rejection of “Black Power” aided him in remaining positive and open about learning new styles and new things musically, whether he was learning from a “White” man or an African American man.