Thelonious Monk’s principal jazz instrument was the piano. His angular melodies, unusual chord voicings, rhythmic space, and distinctive percussive touch made him one of the most original pianists in jazz.
Monk was born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, in 1917, and grew up in New York City. He became part of the early bebop scene at Minton’s Playhouse in Harlem, where musicians experimented with new harmonic and rhythmic ideas during the 1940s.
Although Monk was a superb pianist, he was also a major composer. His pieces include “’Round Midnight,” “Straight, No Chaser,” “Blue Monk,” and “Well, You Needn’t.” Listeners sometimes expect bebop piano to sound uniformly fast and dense; Monk’s style was equally notable for pauses, dissonance, repetition, and abrupt accents. His recordings and compositions became foundational to modern jazz.