MUSICIAN

Thelonious Monk

1917 - 1982

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Thelonious Sphere Monk ( October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "'Round Midnight", "Blue Monk", "Straight, No Chaser", "Ruby, My Dear", "In Walked Bud", and "Well, You Needn't". Monk is the second-most-recorded jazz composer after Duke Ellington. Monk's compositions and improvisations feature dissonances and angular melodic twists, often using flat ninths, flat fifths, unexpected chromatic notes together, low bass notes and stride, and fast whole tone runs, combining a highly percussive attack with abrupt, dramatic use of switched key releases, silences, and hesitations. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Thelonious Monk is the 245th most popular musician (down from 227th in 2019), the 1,526th most popular biography from United States (down from 1,275th in 2019) and the 72nd most popular American Musician.

Thelonious Monk is most famous for his contributions to jazz and bebop. He was a pianist, composer, and bandleader. He is considered one of the most important jazz musicians of the 20th century.

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Among MUSICIANS

Among musicians, Thelonious Monk ranks 245 out of 3,175Before him are Alfred Brendel, Moe Tucker, Muddy Waters, Brian Eno, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Pitbull. After him are Isaac Stern, Arthur Nikisch, Paolo Conte, John Zorn, Mauro Giuliani, and Don Shirley.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1917, Thelonious Monk ranks 64Before him are Edward Norton Lorenz, Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich of Russia, Violeta Parra, Leonora Carrington, and John Lee Hooker. After him are Juan Rulfo, Cyrus Vance, Louis Zamperini, Manolete, Sidney Nolan, and Dinu Lipatti. Among people deceased in 1982, Thelonious Monk ranks 53Before him are Meša Selimović, Walter Hallstein, Peter Weiss, Vladimir K. Zworykin, Gershom Scholem, E. H. Carr, Sobhuza II, and Takashi Shimura. After him are Eduardo Frei Montalva, Mario Del Monaco, Vinoba Bhave, and Philip Noel-Baker.

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In United States

Among people born in United States, Thelonious Monk ranks 1,526 out of 20,380Before him are John Gotti (1940), William Gibson (1948), Pitbull (1981), Al Jarreau (1940), Joseph Kosuth (1945), and Adrien Brody (1973). After him are Ronald Wayne (1934), Eric Roberts (1956), Thomas Pynchon (1937), Gary Sinise (1955), Matthew Perry (1969), and Phil Spector (1939).

Among MUSICIANS In United States

Among musicians born in United States, Thelonious Monk ranks 72Before him are Don Cherry (1936), Sean Combs (1969), Moe Tucker (1944), Muddy Waters (1913), Jerry Lee Lewis (1935), and Pitbull (1981). After him are John Zorn (1953), Don Shirley (1927), Joe Satriani (1956), Dave Brubeck (1920), Mike Portnoy (1967), and Randy Jackson (1961).