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Thelonious Monk, Bebop Jazz Musician, born.

Thelonious Monk

Thelonious Monk was born on this date in 1917. He was a Black jazz pianist and musical genius.

Thelonious Sphere Monk was from Rocky Mount, NC, and moved with his family to San Juan Hill, New York City, when he was five. In his preteen years, he took piano lessons and later played house parties and church revivals. Teddy Wilson and stride piano players influenced him. In the early 1940s, he frequently gigged in New York, scoring his most crucial gig with Coleman Hawkins. He later played with Dizzy Gillespie and formed his band in 1947, using the talents of such players as Art Blakey, Sonny Rollins, and Milt Jackson. Over the years, other band members included saxophonists John Coltrane and Charlie Rouse.

While Monk made his recording debut with Blue Note in 1947, it was during his long association with the Riverside label and co-owner Orrin Keepnews that he made his mark on the jazz world. In the ‘60s, he recorded widely with Columbia. Each of Monk's albums proved to be an adventure to listen to. However, he reinterpreted many of his best-known and favorite pieces, including "'Round Midnight," "Straight, No Chaser," "Ruby, My Dear," and "Epistrophy" on his later recordings. Each visit was so charged with imaginative impulses that his music teemed with surprises, never sinking to the level of bland predictability.

He was ordained as the High Priest of Bebop during his early days as a bandleader. Monk's radical playing was more driven by stride, blues, and swing influences than by bop. While he gained recognition from his musical peers and eventually the record-buying public, Monk was often misunderstood and unfairly criticized as a neurotic for his behavior and newfangled tunes. He married Nellie Monk, and their son is T. S. Monk.

In his final years, Monk was nearly invisible. His last recording was the 1971 Black Lion sessions, and one of his last appearances occurred at the 1974 Newport Jazz Festival. Although he was almost forgotten when he died in 1982, his music became extremely popular in subsequent years as young jazz upstarts began to comprehend the wit, poetry, and genius in his compositions.

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