The Daily Music Break periodically re-post artists and posts from earlier in the site’s run. Here is the great Thelonious Monk’s “Blue Monk.” This post originally appeared on April 6, 2012.
There’s never been a sound or a persona quite like Thelonious Sphere Monk’s. This short biography at the Monk Zone strips away a lot of the mystique. Monk, according to this version, was a family man and a savvy veteran of the New York City jazz scene. The stories of his excessive eccentricities were inventions of the press. Perhaps, perhaps not. PBS offers more information and links.
Monk was interesting to look at as well as to listen too. Perhaps that’s the reason there are great videos available of him. Here are two ‘Round Midnight and Epistrophy. I find Nutty, which I believe is a bit lesser known, easier to understand.
Links to the The Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz and a discography provide more insight.
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