"Straight, No Chaser" is a decent documentary, but what it fails to do is talk about the music and even less about the history of Monk. Yeah, it has rare performances never before seen, but this doesn't constitute a good film. It's only icing for the cake, but there's not a cake here. I felt it was a rather empty look into his history. I mean everybody who listens and are fans of Monk know where he was born at and how he started playing at a place called Minton's where he met and played with Dizzy and Parker. I would have liked to hear more about his own compositions and how they changed the history of jazz. Interviews with people like Johnny Griffin, Sonny Rollins, Ben Riley, Art Blakey, and other musicians who were more involved with the music making process would have been much more informative than simply interviewing family members and road managers. This may be okay for some people, but it didn't really sit well with me. I actually found these interviews really boring and lacking any kind of character.



I will also say the documentary wasn't really well thought out. It seemed really scatter brained for lack of a better term. At one point, Monk is laying in bed asking for chicken livers, then the next he's playing out live. It's just really a mess of a documentary that really makes no sense. The historical value of the whole thing is incomplete. There is also no focus on his music of the 50s. It seems that his 60s quartet is getting all the press and unfortunately this is what makes this so frustrating, because Monk has made alot of music before he met Charlie Rouse, Larry Gales, and Ben Riley. As great as those musicians are, Monk was blazing trails way before he met those guys.



There are some parts of this film that are priceless like the scenes where he is in the studio recording "Ugly Beauty" for his album "Underground." That to me is something that was unique and different to see, but for me there wasn't enough of this kind of footage to make it worthwhile.



I will only recommend this documentary to hardcore fans of Monk, but if you're new to his music and want to hear more about his music or see him pick up the DVDs "Thelonious Monk: American Composer" or "Jazz Icons: Live in '66."