Monk wins a Pulitzer!

[Adam]

Pulitzer Prize Winners for 2006 include:

Two Special Citations

A Special Citation to Edmund S. Morgan for a creative and deeply influential body of work as an American historian that spans the last half century.

and

A posthumous Special Citation to American composer Thelonious Monk for a body of distinguished and innovative musical composition that has had a significant and enduring impact on the evolution of jazz.

Congratulations!

Edited April 18, 2006 by Adam

[Chuck Nessa]

Duh!

Most American prizes are "crap". Too market oriented.

Sorry, congrats to the Monk family.

[Adam]

Oh, here's the rest of the list:

http://www.nytimes.com/ref/arts/pulitzers2006.html

Pulitzer Prizes for Letters, Drama and Music

By THE NEW YORK TIMES

The Pulitzer Prizes were announced on Monday. Following are the winners in Letters, Drama and Music.

FICTION: 'March,' by Geraldine Brooks

Geraldine Brooks's novel concerns slavery, the Civil War and Mr. March of "Little Women."

Review (March 27, 2005)

GENERAL NONFICTION: 'Imperial Reckoning: The Untold Story of Britain's Gulag in Kenya,' by Caroline Elkins

Caroline Elkins's catalog of atrocities and mass killing perpetrated by the British is an important and excruciating record; it will shock even those who think they have assumed the worst about Europe's era of control in Africa.

Review (January 30, 2005)

BIOGRAPHY: 'American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer,' by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin

Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin recount the great tragic epic of the 20th century: the discovery of how to release nuclear energy, and its application to making bombs capable of blasting, irradiating and burning out entire cities.

Review (May 15, 2005)

HISTORY: 'Polio: An American Story,' by David M. Oshinsky

David Oshinsky, a professor of history at the University of Texas, frames the conquest of polio within the cultural upheavals of the time.

Review (April 10, 2005)`

POETRY: 'Late Wife,' by Claudia Emerson

Epistolary poems about losing love and finding it again.

SPECIAL CITATION: Edmund S. Morgan

From the Pulitzer site: A Special Citation to Edmund S. Morgan for a creative and deeply influential body of work as an American historian that spans the last half century.

From the Pulitzer Site

SPECIAL CITATION: Thelonious Monk

From the Pulitzer site: A posthumous Special Citation to American composer Thelonious Monk for a body of distinguished and innovative musical composition that has had a significant and enduring impact on the evolution of jazz.

From the Pulitzer Site

Audio Excerpts: "Straight, No Chaser" from "Jazz Profile: Thelonious Monk" | "'Round Midnight" from "Genius of Modern Music, Vol.1" | "In Walked Bud" from "The Very Best" (mp3 format)

DRAMA: No Award

There was no prize awarded for drama this year.

MUSIC: 'Piano Concerto: "Chiavi in Mano,"' by Yehudi Wyner

Yehudi Wyner's comments on the piece, from the Pulitzer site: "'Chiavi in mano' - the title of the piano concerto - is the mantra used by automobile salesmen and realtors in Italy: Buy the house or the car and the keys are yours. But the more pertinent reason for the title is the fact that the piano writing is designed to fall 'under the hand.'"

From the Pulitzer Site

[Chuck Nessa]

Thanks for the list. First place I've seen it.

[md655321]

At least Wynton will finally have the 'only jazz composer to win a Pulitzer' removed from his name anytime he is mentioned in the press.

[Rooster_Ties]

Great, but where's Duke's Pulitzer??

I'm still pissed Wynton got one (WTF?? ), while Ellington got passed over -- for years, if I remember correctly -- because they couldn't decide if any one individual composition of his was deserving enough.

I don't own a whole lot of Ellington, but in my opinion, if there's any one single jazz artist that really deserved to have won a Pulitzer (especially during his lifetime), it was Ellington. (Or maybe Pops, but there's just something that seems so right about Ellington getting one.)

[Christiern]

Sad to say, the Pulitzer people seriously lowered the standard when they gave the prize to Wynton for that piece of pretentious crap he called "Blood in the Fields."

[Brad]

Well, better late than never I guess.

[Randy Twizzle]

Duh!

Most American prizes are "crap". Too market oriented.

Sorry, congrats to the Monk family.

From Saul Bellow's Humboldt's Gift

''The Pulitzer is for the birds," says Humboldt, insistently immune to the prize his story would take. ''For the pullets. It's just a dummy newspaper publicity award given by crooks and illiterates. You become a walking Pulitzer ad, so even when you croak the first words of the obituary are Pulitzer prizewinner passes."

[brownie]

Looks like Muhal Richard Abrams who served as Pulitzer music juror had a lot to do with the citation.

From The Los Angeles Times today:

ARTS NOTES

MONK IS STILL BLAZING JAZZ TRAILS

by Lynne Heffley

THE bubbly may still be flowing as this year's crop of Pulitzer Prize recipients celebrates amid a flurry of news reports after Monday's announcement of winners. All but overlooked has been what's at the tag-end of the list: the Pulitzers' posthumous recognition of renowned jazz artist Thelonious Monk.

The groundbreaking American pianist and composer (" 'Round Midnight," "Straight, No Chaser," "Ruby, My Dear"), who died in 1982, was honored with a special citation "for a body of distinguished and innovative musical composition that has had a significant and enduring impact on the evolution of jazz."

The citation reflects the Pulitzer board's move to broaden the definition of the music prize beyond classical music, according to Sig Gissler, administrator of the prizes.

Monk's "contribution to American music and world music is inestimable," commented noted jazz composer-pianist Muhal Richard Abrams, the Pulitzer music juror who proposed that Monk be considered for the special award.

"He influenced musicians who went on to be very great and near-genius in their own right," Abrams said in a call from his New York home. "His efforts live on in the work of musicians who are working in the field every day."

The jazz icon's influence continues with the prestigious Monk International Jazz Competition, which recognizes gifted up-and-coming instrumentalists and composers, and the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, established in 1986 at USC, where it offers training, performance opportunities, scholarships and educational programs to students from grade school through the college level.

"Thelonious Monk is one of the greatest composers of all time and the leading composer who bridged bebop to modern jazz," said Jazz Institute President Tom Carter, via e-mail. Monk's work and legacy live on at the institute, he added, through programs that expose young people "to the rich history of jazz and the importance of perpetuating and expanding this art form."

A citation also went to historian Edmund S. Morgan. The two special Pulitzers are the first to be awarded since a citation honoring Duke Ellington posthumously in 1999. (Ellington was recommended for a special citation Pulitzer in 1965, but the board rejected the jazz composer for the honor).

Lynne Heffley

[BruceH]

Great, but where's Duke's Pulitzer??

That's the first thing I thought!!

If I recall correctly, back in the 60's the music committee had actually decided to award Duke the Pulitzer for his long and distinguished career----then the GOVERNING board inexplicably broke their own rules and overturned the judgement of the music committee...so no Pulitzer. When he heard about it, Ellington made some diplomatic quip like, "I'm still too young to win a Pulitzer," or some such, but that epic screwup brought considerable ignomy to the Pulitzer, in the opinion of many.

Edited April 24, 2006 by BruceH

[BruceH]

A citation also went to historian Edmund S. Morgan. The two special Pulitzers are the first to be awarded since a citation honoring Duke Ellington posthumously in 1999. (Ellington was recommended for a special citation Pulitzer in 1965, but the board rejected the jazz composer for the honor).

[Kalo]

I'm surprised that Muhal Abrams was on the panel. That seems pretty hip for the Pulitzers.

As for Monk getting the prize, better late than never, I suppose.