Summary: Great presentation of improvisation in art form.
One of the important steps to reading great books, is surrounding yourself with people that like to read and recommend great books. Even more, find people who like to read books that you would not normally pick up on your own.
A facebook friend of mine is an expert in graphic novels. He is an artist himself and has written several books, but he also runs a very good graphic novel review site, goodokbad. I do not read a ton of graphic novels. But when I do, I pay attention to Seth’s recommendations. If you like recommendations, follow the website or follow one of his social media accounts where he has a daily recommendation.
Yousef Daoudi’s graphic novel biography of Thelonious Monk is excellent. Going in, I liked Monk’s music but knew not a thing about his life. I now want to read more, which I always consider a good way to see whether a book is any good.
The most striking thing about the biography of Monk as a musician is the way that Daoudi draws the concept of improvisation.
I do not have enough skill and experience to really review a graphic novel, especially about a subject that I do not know all that much about. But I did enjoy reading this and I would love to see additional biographical graphic novels of other jazz greats.
Monk!: Thelonious, Pannonica, and the Friendship Behind a Musical Revolution by Youssef
Daoudi Purchase Links: Hardcover, Kindle Edition