Thelonious Sphere Monk
Thelonious Monk was a pianist and composer renowned for his unique improvisational style and contributions to the standard jazz repertoire. His angular melodies, dissonant harmonics, and percussive approach to the piano were polarizing at first but later recognized as visionary. Songs like "Round Midnight," "Straight, No Chaser," and "Blue Monk" are among the most recorded jazz compositions.
“The genius is the one most like himself.”
— Thelonious Monk
“The piano ain't got no wrong notes.”
— Thelonious Monk
“All musicians are subconsciously mathematicians.”
— Thelonious Monk
“I say, play your own way. Don't play what the public wants. You play what you want and let the public pick up on what you're doing, even if it does take them fifteen, twenty years.”
— Thelonious Monk
“Sometimes I play things I never heard myself.”
— Thelonious Monk
“Talking about music is like dancing about architecture.”
— Thelonious Monk
“A genius is the one most like himself.”
— Thelonious Monk
“You've got to dig it to dig it, you dig?”
— Thelonious Monk
“The loudest noise in the world is silence.”
— Thelonious Monk
“Just because you're not a drummer doesn't mean you don't have to keep time.”
— Thelonious Monk
Brilliant Corners
1957
Monk's Dream
1963
Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane
1961
Solo Monk
1965
Monk Alone
1998