Happy Birthday Monk!

Today, October 10, is the birthday of Thelonious Sphere Monk, who lived from 1917-1982. Monk was one of the pioneers of Be-Bop Jazz in the late 1940's along with Charley Parker ("Bird") and Dizzy Gillespie ("Diz"). Monk's approach to Be-Bop was a bit different than that of Bird and Diz, however. The styles of Bird and Diz are characterized mainly by harmonic exploration. Monk tended to focus instead on melody. Melodic-based improvisation (rather than harmonic-based) is one of the distinguishing characteristics of Monk's style. Another distinguishing characteristic of Monk is that he stayed with the Be-Bop style throughout his career, even after it became passe. Jazz musicians like Miles Davis and John Coltrane got their start in Be-Bop, but then moved on to other styles. Monk, however, stuck with Be-Bop. This won him the praise of some, and the criticism of others. In my humble opinion, I like the sound of the "mature" Monk, best represented by the series of recordings he did for Columbia Records in the 1960's.

Love him or hate him, Monk had a big impact on jazz in the last half of the 20th Century. His tunes 'Round Midnight and Straight, No Chaser have been recorded by countless artists, and are now considered classics in the jazz repertoire. Monk also has the distinction of being one of only four jazz musicians to ever grace the cover of Time Magazine.

Here's an interesting story jazz fans will appreciate. In the mid 1950's, John Coltrane ("Trane") was fired from Miles Davis' group for using heroin. Trane then joined up with Monk for a while. Trane's time with Monk allowed Trane to get his act together and set his priorities straight. After his stint with Monk, Trane rejoined Davis but only for a brief period of time. Trane soon went on to have a very successful solo career which included the 1964 album A Love Supreme, considered by many to be one of the greatest jazz albums of all time. Who knows what would have happened to Trane if Monk hadn't taken him in when Davis fired him.

So please join me in celebrating Monk's Birthday!