Thelonious Monk: Straight, No Chaser

Director: Charlotte Zwerin

1998 / 90min / DCP

Securing access to a trove of (nearly) never-before-seen footage of jazz giant Monk, both onstage and in the studio, shot in the 1960s by Michael and Christian Blackwood, archival interview footage of the pianist and composer, and access to the friends and family of “the high priest of bebop,” who died in 1982, Zwerin crafted this thrilling portrait-of-an-artist offering keen insights into both his multifaceted personality and his innovative keyboard technique, containing “some of the most valuable jazz sequences ever shot” [The New York Times]. Essential viewing for old acolytes of Monk, curious newcomers, and even for jazz agnostics.