![]() ![]() ![]() In 1960, Monk signed with Columbia where he recorded prolifically. Many of these recordings were masterworks. Monk's recordings between 19 were released by Prestige, Riverside, and Milestone (Disappointed in his sales, in 1955 Prestige sold Monk's contract to Riverside for the value of an $108.27 royalty overpayment). He made his first recordings in 1947 for Blue Note, for whom he recorded until 1952, unveiling his first wave of classic compositions: "Straight, No Chaser," "Well, You Needn't," "Ruby, My Dear" and his enduring "'Round Midnight." Rocking and lurching in rhythm, dropping the bottom out with unexpected empty spaces, Monk kept you guessing. Monk was mainly a self-taught pianist, growing a personal style that spanned jazz decades from the "left hand" rhythmic bounce of Harlem stride piano past bebop to modern jazz. Monk often played with Dizzy Gillespie and Coleman Hawkins through the early 1940s.Īs Minton's house pianist, Monk was entrenched as THE bebop pianist: At Minton's, with Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Kenny Clarke, and others, he helped codify the new harmonic and rhythmic style of bebop. ![]() He began piano lessons around age 12, playing Harlem rent parties then graduating to Harlem clubs such as Minton's Playhouse. Monk's family moved from North Carolina to New York City while he was still an infant. Thelonious Sphere Monk is one of the true great jazz originals. ![]()
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