Musician Spotlight: Thelonious Monk

Thelonious Monk was an American jazz pianist and composer. With unique, improvisational styles, he made quite a significant impact on the standard jazz repertoire of his era. With his compositions and improvisation, he had an unorthodox approach to the piano that was unlike anything that had been heard before. As such he was often referred to as ‘the elephant on the keyboard’.

Who was Thelonious Monk?

As the second-most-recorded jazz composer after Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk had quite a busy career. Born on October 10th, 1917 in Rocky Mount South Carolina, Monk started playing the piano at the age of six. He took lessons from a neighbor called Alberta Simmons. His mother would also teach him to play hymns and would also come with her to church sometimes to sing.

Monk was renowned for his signature look that usually consisted of hats, suits, and sunglasses. He was also remembered for his habits during performing, where he would stop, stand up and dance before returning for the piano. You could say he was certainly feeling the music whilst he performed!

As one of five jazz musicians to also be featured on Time Magazine, he was very much an influential figure of his time.

What genre did Monk cover?

Monk covered a mixture of jazz and cool jazz, as well as bebop and hard bop. His improvisational style meant that these genres were certainly shook up somewhat when he would play them. You could expect a highly dramatic attack on the keys that would happen abruptly, include silences and also hesitations in the music he played.

As an audience member, you probably didn’t know what you were expecting, that’s for sure. Here is an example of his unusual playing style:

Major accomplishments

Monk got the opportunity to be introduced to Lorraine Gordon and her husband Alfred Lion, the founder of Blue Note Records. Shortly after this, he made his first recording with the label and this would spark many collaborations throughout Monk’s career with varying record labels.

He would then go on to record with Prestige Records and by the time he signed with Riverside, he was recognized and regarded highly by his peers and some of the critics. In 1962 he managed to sign with Columbia Records, one of the biggest record labels in America today. By the mid-1970s, Monk would disappear from the scene, doing a few studio recordings until his death in 1982.

What instruments did Monk use?

The only instrument that Monk played was the piano and again, he was more of a composer when it came to music, rather than trying to master multiple instruments. However, even though he only had one instrument to play, his unique style and approach to playing it was certainly a sight and experienced to behold.

Monk most famously said ‘this piano ain’t got no wrong notes’ and he definitely played with that in mind. He would play the piano a lot differently than most would and it’s likely to be this that made his performances stand out more than others.

Learn more about his career and music on his official website.