Thelonious Monk
Sign in to saveAmerican jazz pianist and composer (1917–1982)
AI overview
Thelonious Monk was an American jazz pianist and composer who lived from 1917 to 1982 and is recognized as one of the most influential figures in jazz history. His distinctive playing style and innovative compositions helped shape modern jazz and continue to influence musicians today.
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Person · Open Library
- Born
- 1917
- Died
- 1982
- Works
- 29
Top works
- European Tour
- Thelonious Monk and Max Roach
- Thelonious Monk Favorites
- Thelonious Monk - Omnibook for Piano
- Thelonious Monk Play-Along
via Open Library + Wikidata
Film & TV
Acting · Rocky Mount, North Carolina, USA
Known for
- Rewind & Play — Self (archive footage)2023
- Monk & Pannonica: An American Story — Self - Jazz Musician (archive footage)2022
- Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool — Self - Musician (archive footage)2019
- Blue Note Records: Beyond the Notes — Self (archive footage)2019
- It Must Schwing: The Blue Note Story — Self2018
- Thelonious Monk: Paris 19692013
- Thelonious Monk Quartet at Salle Pleyel, Paris, 1969 — Himself2012
Article
Thelonious Sphere Monk (/θəˈloʊniəs/ October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "'Round Midnight", "Blue Monk", "Straight, No Chaser", "Ruby, My Dear", "In Walked Bud", and "Well, You Needn't". As of 2009, Monk was the second-most-recorded jazz composer in history, after Duke Ellington.
Monk's compositions and improvisations feature dissonances and angular melodies, often using flat ninths, flat fifths, unexpected chromatic notes, low bass notes and stride, and fast whole tone runs. His playing style combined a highly percussive attack with abrupt, dramatic use of switched key releases, silences, and hesitations. "As a leading figure in the rhythm section of modern jazz, Thelonious Monk serves as a model for accompaniment improvisation."
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Categories
1917 births1982 deaths20th-century African-American musicians20th-century American jazz composers20th-century American male composersAfrican-American jazz composersAfrican-American jazz pianistsAmerican jazz pianistsAmerican male jazz composersAmerican male jazz pianistsBebop pianistsBlack Lion Records artists