Thelonious Monk

Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Monk, foreground, performing at Expo 67 in Montreal. (Credit: Library and Archives Canada)
Background information
Birth name	Thelonious Sphere Monk
Also known as	Monk
Born	October 10, 1917(1917-10-10)
Origin	Rocky Mount, North Carolina, U.S.
Died	February 17, 1982 (aged 64)
Genre(s)	Jazz, bebop, hard bop
Occupation(s)	Pianist, composer
Instrument(s)	Piano
Label(s)	Blue Note, Prestige, Riverside, Columbia

Thelonious Sphere Monk (October 10, 1917-February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer.

Widely considered one of the most important musicians in jazz, Monk had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "Epistrophy", "'Round Midnight", "Blue Monk", "Straight No Chaser" and "Well, You Needn't". Often regarded as a founder of bebop, Monk's playing style later evolved away from that form. His compositions and improvisations are full of dissonant harmonies and angular melodic twists, and are impossible to separate from Monk's unorthodox approach to the piano, which combined a highly percussive attack with abrupt, dramatic use of silences and hesitations; a style nicknamed "Melodious Thunk" by his wife Nellie.