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"Och ett päron mognar i skuggan": Thelonious Monk i svenska medier 1948–63

Bjerstedt, Sven LU orcid (2024) In Svensk tidskrift för musikforskning STM-SJM 106. p.241-266
Abstract (Swedish)
Following the record company Blue Note’s publicity campaign for jazz pianist Thelonious Monk in 1948, the image of Monk commonly presented in Swedish as well as American media was one of an eccentric, mysterious, even weird musician, sometimes viewed as a genius. This article presents and discusses the development of the Swedish media image of Monk during the period 1948–63, from the first mentions of him in Swedish press until his second concert performance in Stockholm. The presentation includes an overview of epithets commonly associated with Monk in Swedish media; a brief look at two poems on Monk; summaries of how Monk was depicted as a musician and as a human being; a presentation of the few interviews with Monk published in Sweden;... (More)
Following the record company Blue Note’s publicity campaign for jazz pianist Thelonious Monk in 1948, the image of Monk commonly presented in Swedish as well as American media was one of an eccentric, mysterious, even weird musician, sometimes viewed as a genius. This article presents and discusses the development of the Swedish media image of Monk during the period 1948–63, from the first mentions of him in Swedish press until his second concert performance in Stockholm. The presentation includes an overview of epithets commonly associated with Monk in Swedish media; a brief look at two poems on Monk; summaries of how Monk was depicted as a musician and as a human being; a presentation of the few interviews with Monk published in Sweden; and a summary of the media coverage of Monk’s Stockholm concerts in 1961 and 1963. In sum, the media image of Monk went through a process of radical development during the period: from being presented as unknown over being dismissed as bizarre and incomprehensible to being described as familiar and ‘hip’. In a concluding section, the presented material is discussed from the perspective of social constructionism. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Thelonious Monk, jazz, media, reception history, social constructionism
in
Svensk tidskrift för musikforskning STM-SJM
volume
106
pages
26 pages
publisher
Svenska samfundet för musikforskning
ISSN
1653-9672
language
Swedish
LU publication?
yes
id
07500fd2-1346-4706-a0a8-cd939f831c32
alternative location
https://publicera.kb.se/stm-sjm/article/view/22921/27226
date added to LUP
2024-11-15 13:25:12
date last changed
2024-11-18 09:23:09
@article{07500fd2-1346-4706-a0a8-cd939f831c32,
  abstract     = {{Following the record company Blue Note’s publicity campaign for jazz pianist Thelonious Monk in 1948, the image of Monk commonly presented in Swedish as well as American media was one of an eccentric, mysterious, even weird musician, sometimes viewed as a genius. This article presents and discusses the development of the Swedish media image of Monk during the period 1948–63, from the first mentions of him in Swedish press until his second concert performance in Stockholm. The presentation includes an overview of epithets commonly associated with Monk in Swedish media; a brief look at two poems on Monk; summaries of how Monk was depicted as a musician and as a human being; a presentation of the few interviews with Monk published in Sweden; and a summary of the media coverage of Monk’s Stockholm concerts in 1961 and 1963. In sum, the media image of Monk went through a process of radical development during the period: from being presented as unknown over being dismissed as bizarre and incomprehensible to being described as familiar and ‘hip’. In a concluding section, the presented material is discussed from the perspective of social constructionism.}},
  author       = {{Bjerstedt, Sven}},
  issn         = {{1653-9672}},
  keywords     = {{Thelonious Monk; jazz; media; reception history; social constructionism}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  month        = {{11}},
  pages        = {{241--266}},
  publisher    = {{Svenska samfundet för musikforskning}},
  series       = {{Svensk tidskrift för musikforskning STM-SJM}},
  title        = {{"Och ett päron mognar i skuggan": Thelonious Monk i svenska medier 1948–63}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/200061050/Bjerstedt_Och_ett_pa_ron_mognar_i_skuggan_.pdf}},
  volume       = {{106}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}