Thelonious Monk was one of the most influential and legendary jazz pianists of all time. With his unique and remarkable music style, Thelonious Monk gave the jazz music genre some extraordinary pieces that contribute to the making of the present day jazz. This legendary musician composed several masterpieces that include “Blue Monk”, “Round Midnight”, “Straight, No Chaser”, “Ruby, My Dear”, and many more. Often known for his distinct looks and unique style that included using classy suits, hats and sunglasses, he had a charm in his personality. Thelonious Monk was one of the first inventors of modern jazz and bebop. With several of his music compositions becoming guidelines for modern day jazz, he is truly a music legend. So let’s explore the life and music career of Thelonious Monk.
Thelonious Monk was brought into the world on October 10, 1917, in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. At the point when he was only four, his folks, Barbara and Thelonious Sr. moved to New York City, where he would go through the following fifty years of his life. By the time Monk was thirteen, he had won the week by week novice rivalry at the Apollo Theater so often that the administration prohibited him from reentering the challenge. At age seventeen, Monk left the regarded Stuyvesant High School to pursue his music vocation. He visited with the purported “Texas Warhorse,” an evangelist and confidence healer, prior to amassing a group of four of his own. In spite of the fact that it was average to play for a major band right now, Monk favored a closer work dynamic that would permit him to explore different avenues of music.
In 1941, Thelonious Monk started working at Minton's Playhouse in Harlem, where he joined the house band and built up the school of jazz known as bebop. Thelonious Monk made five Blue Note recordings somewhere between 1947 and 1952, including “Confuse” and “Proof.” These are for the most part viewed as the primary works for Monk's extraordinary jazz style, which grasped percussive playing, strange reiterations, and conflicting sounds. In 1952, Monk made an agreement with Prestige Records and went on to release several incredible pieces like “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” and “Packs' Groove.” In the following years, he released several stellar albums like his 1956 album titled “Brilliant Corners”. This was one of his most successful and legendary albums ever released.
In 1957, the famous Thelonious Monk Quartet, which encompassed John Coltrane, started performing routinely at the Five Spot in New York. Appreciating immense achievement, they toured the United States and even performed in Europe. By 1962, Monk was famous to the point that he was given an agreement with Columbia Records. In 1964, Monk was one of four jazz performers to appear on the front of Time Magazine. Having had a remarkable and inspiring music career and life, Thelonious Monk is one of the best jazz musicians we have ever seen, and his music still continues to live on to this day.
