Thelonious Monk

… was born on this date in 1917.

Thelonious Monk, who was criticized by observers who failed to listen to his music on its own terms, suffered through a decade of neglect before he was suddenly acclaimed as a genius; his music had not changed one bit in the interim. In fact, one of the more remarkable aspects of Monk’s music was that it was fully formed by 1947 and he saw no need to alter his playing or compositional style in the slightest during the next 25 years. (All Music)

A must-have jazz album is Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall. All Music has a review and the background — the tape had been lost for decades.

Monk died in 1982.

One thought on “Thelonious Monk”

  1. Thank you for mentioning this musical genius. I’ve grown up with an appreciation for all forms of music, and if there is anyone that was a groundbreaker in their genre, you have certainly pointed one out.

    I may be a little biased, this is also my birthday. Monk is much cooler, though.

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