Thelonious Monk
October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982
Thelonious Monk was a highly influential jazz pianist and composer who was one of bebop’s earliest practitioners. Monk was just six years old when he first took to the piano, and for the most part, taught himself to play. As a teen, he hit the road playing the organ for a traveling evangelist. He made his recording debut with Coleman Hawkins in 1944, leading Hawkins to champion Monk throughout the jazz world. Over the next three decades, Monk worked with the biggest names in jazz while recording some of the genre’s most celebrated recordings. That list includes “Round Midnight,” “Straight No Chaser,” and “Blue Monk.” Monk all but retired from music during the mid ’70s, possibly due to his struggles with mental illness. He reportedly suffered from schizophrenia and manic depression. He may have also suffered brain damage after being misdiagnosed and prescribed the wrong medication. Either way, his physical health began to deteriorate during the final decade of his life. Thelonious Monk ultimately died of a stroke at he age of 61.
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