Thelonious Sphere Monk (1917–1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. His fans and fellow artists said, "He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire. Some of his best known recordings include: "'Round Midnight" (1944), "Ruby, My Dear" (1947), "In Walked Bud" (1947), "Well, You Needn't" (`1947), "Straight, No Chaser" (1951), and "Blue Monk" (1954).

Thelonious Monk was born on October 10, 1917 in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. When he was just four, his parents, Barbara and Thelonious, Sr., moved to New York City, New York where he spend the next five decades of his life. Monk began studying classical piano when he was eleven. He had already shown some aptitude for the instrument. "I learned how to read music before I took lessons," he later recalled.

Monk was one of the greatest jazz musicians of all time and one of first creators of modern jazz and bebop. For much of his career, he played with small groups at Minton's Playhouse, a jazz club and bar located in Harlem, Manhattan. Experts noted, "His spares and angular music had a levity and playfulness to it."

Monk was an important member of the jazz revolution that took place in the early 1940s. His unique piano style and his talent as a composer made him a leader in the development of modern jazz. Monk is the second-most-recorded jazz composer after Duke Ellington.

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