Thelonious Monk - The Composer

01) 'Round Midnight
02) Off Minor
03) Mysterioso
04) Criss Cross
05) Hornin' In
06) Well, You Needn't
07) Ruby My Dear
08) Let's Cool One
09) Straight No Chaser
10) Ask Me Now
11) Thelonious
12) Evidence
13) Epistrophy
14) Monk's Dream
15) Little Rootie Tootie
16) Reflections
17) Blue Monk
18) Let's Call This
19) Bemesha Swing
20) Rhythm-A-Ning

Thelonious Sphere Monk (October 10 1917 - February 17 1982)

Widely considered one of the most important musicians in jazz – he is one of only five jazz musicians to be featured on the cover of Time. Monk had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "Epistrophy," "'Round Midnight," "Blue Monk," "Straight, No Chaser" and "Well, You Needn't." Often regarded as a founder of bebop, Monk's playing style later evolved away from that form. His compositions and improvisations are full of dissonant harmonies and angular melodic twists, and are impossible to separate from Monk's unorthodox approach to the piano, which combined a highly percussive attack with abrupt, dramatic use of silences and hesitations; a style nicknamed "Melodious Thunk" by his wife Nellie.