Thelonious Monk

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jazz, piano, bebop, jazz piano, free jazz… see all

Thelonious Sphere Monk (1917-1982) was a jazz pianist and composer.

He was known for his unique improvisational style and many contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including his classic work ‘Round Midnight’. While Monk is often regarded as a founder of bebop, his playing style evolved away from the 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.

He died of a stroke on February 17, 1982 and was buried in Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York. Following his death, his music has been rediscovered by a wider audience and he is now counted alongside the likes of Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and others as a major figure in the history of jazz. In 1993, he was posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Monk’s music is arguably the most recorded of any jazz composer.

1	'Round Midnight full track	692
2	Epistrophy full track	609
3	Blue Monk full track	508
4	Straight, No Chaser full track	433
5	Evidence full track	426
6	Pannonica full track	295
7	Brilliant Corners full track	283
8	Nutty full track	278
9	Monk's Mood full track	270
10	Ruby, My Dear full track	268
10	Bye-Ya full track	268
12	Crepuscule with Nellie full track	263
13	Well You Needn't full track	260
13	Thelonious full track	260
15	Off Minor full track	246

Top Albums

Genius of Modern Music, Volume 1
Thelonious Monk
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Monk's Dream
Thelonious Monk
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Brilliant Corners
Thelonious Monk
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Genius of Modern Music, Volume 2
Thelonious Monk
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Babs_05 wrote:
last month

NNME recommends :)

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Justin1983 wrote:
last month

Hm, does anyone have a top 10 Monk album list? (see my post five posts below this one)... People did it on the Miles shoutbox, and it was interesting to see people's top 10 there, I was curious what people's top 10 Monk albums might be.

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XfrostyX wrote:
last month

ahhhhh, my favorite!

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Shaunography wrote:
last month

http://www.last.fm/group/We+love+bad+production!

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Soulful_One wrote:
July 2008

"snazzy"

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ralphpoole wrote:
July 2008

transported again by Monk

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Justin1983 wrote:
July 2008

What are your top 10 favorite Monk albums? Mine in CHRONOLOGICAL order of release are... (1) Genius of Modern Music, Volumes 1 & 2 (2) Thelonious Monk Trio (3) Thelonious Monk with Sonny Rollins (4) The Unique Thelonious Monk (5) Brilliant Corners (6) Monk's Music (7) The Thelonious Monk Quartet With John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall (8) Monk's Dream (9) Solo Monk (10) Underground

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Justin1983 wrote:
June 2008

To Moonman54 & Zero85: I believe you guys have to add Jaki Byard, Jason Moran, Andrew Hill, Bill Evans, Hampton Hawes, Bud Powell, Art Tatum, Dave Brubeck, McCoy Tyner, Matthew Ship, etc....

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dualdisaster wrote:
June 2008

The little drum solo in Straight, No Chaser is very tasty. I would kill to be able to drum jazz.

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coreymonk wrote:
June 2008

are you monkin??

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Moonman54 wrote:
June 2008

to zero85: herbie hancock, this guy, AND Keith jarrett

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Justin1983 wrote:
June 2008

Yeah, the Monk & Coltrane at Carnegie Hall is awesome.

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DocterD wrote:
June 2008

agreed..

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thecurtainwith wrote:
June 2008

I second Monk + Coltrane at Carnegie Hall.

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kuduaty wrote:
June 2008

Chill down, Lee.

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wmk500 wrote:
May 2008

such an inspirational musician!

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zero85 wrote:
May 2008

Herbie Hancock and this gentelman are the best piano players in my opinion.

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Korubi wrote:
May 2008

Monk & Trane at Carnegie Hall. Yes.

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ana_violeta wrote:
April 2008

This Is One Group You Should Also Be A Part Of... http://www.last.fm/group/Music+Is+The+Best+Place+To+Be See You There +

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favdhelm wrote:
April 2008

At last, Monk's misguided mistakes have been corrected. The famous Groiner brothers play Monk better than Monk. See/hear http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=51bsCRv6kI0

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