Quick Facts
- American composer and jazz (bebop) pianist
- Started playing piano at the age of 6
- His first job was playing church organ for a traveling evangelist.
- Monk’s piano playing was unique: forceful with lots of dissonance and unusual rhythms
- At first, his career was slow in taking off since his style was misunderstood.
- By the mid-1950s, he was a celebrity, even featured on the cover of Time Magazine in the 60s.
- Monk is now the most-covered jazz composer.
YouTube
- Thelonious Monk poster (PDF)
