Thelonious Sphere Monk 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.
John Carl Hendricks, known professionally as Jon Hendricks, was an American jazz lyricist and singer. He is one of the originators of vocalese, which adds lyrics to existing instrumental songs and replaces many instruments with vocalists, such as the big-band arrangements of Duke Ellington and Count Basie. He is considered one of the best practitioners of scat singing, which involves vocal jazz soloing. Jazz critic and historian Leonard Feather called him the "Poet Laureate of Jazz", while Time dubbed him the "James Joyce of Jive". Al Jarreau called him "pound-for-pound the best jazz singer on the planet—maybe that's ever been".
Monk's Blues is an album by Thelonious Monk accompanied by a big band arranged and conducted by Oliver Nelson. Originally released by Columbia Records in 1968, it was re-released on CD in 1994. Produced by Teo Macero, the album was recorded in Los Angeles by Monk's working quartet augmented by a group of Hollywood studio musicians.
Carmen Sings Monk is a 1990 studio album by the American jazz singer Carmen McRae, focusing exclusively on the songs composed by Thelonious Monk. It was one of the last recordings released in her lifetime. McRae was accompanied by Clifford Jordan on soprano and tenor saxophone, and a rhythm section with pianist Eric Gunnison, bassist George Mraz and Al Foster on drums. Two songs, namely "Get It Straight" and "Suddenly", were recorded earlier that year live at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco with tenor saxophonist Charlie Rouse, who played the longest time with Monk. The rhythm section was almost the same, then with Larry Willis on piano.
Straight, No Chaser is the sixth studio album Thelonious Monk recorded for Columbia records, released in 1967. The album was reissued on CD in 1996, including restored versions of previously abridged performances and three additional tracks.
Live at the It Club is a Thelonious Monk album released posthumously by Columbia Records. Recorded October 31 and November 1, 1964, at the "It" Club in Los Angeles, California, the album features Monk's quartet—with Charlie Rouse on tenor saxophone, Larry Gales on bass, and Ben Riley on drums—performing original compositions as well as jazz standards.
"In Walked Bud" is a 1947 jazz composition by Thelonious Monk. It was composed by Monk in honor of his friend, fellow pianist Bud Powell, and based in part on the Irving Berlin standard "Blue Skies". Monk recorded many renditions of "In Walked Bud" throughout his career, and it has been covered numerous times by other artists.
The Thelonious Monk Orchestra at Town Hall is an album by Thelonious Monk, released in 1959. The concert included Hall Overton’s arrangements on Monk’s tunes.
5 by Monk by 5 is an album by the jazz pianist Thelonious Monk, recorded in 1959. It contains five of Monk's original compositions performed by a quintet.
Thelonious Monk Nonet Live In Paris 1967 is a live jazz album by Thelonious Monk on France's Concert Records LP FC-113, released in 1988.
Lookin' at Monk! is an album by saxophonists Johnny Griffin and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis featuring compositions associated with Thelonious Monk recorded in 1961 and released on the Jazzland label.
Monk's Casino is a live album by German free jazz pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach featuring the complete compositions of Thelonious Monk recorded in Germany in 2003-04 for the Intakt label. According to the liner notes by critic John Corbett, Monk's Casino is the first ever comprehensive recording project to include all Monk's songs.
Benjamin Alexander Riley Jr. was an American jazz drummer known for his work with Thelonious Monk, as well as Alice Coltrane, Stan Getz, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Ahmad Jamal, and as a member of the group Sphere. During the 1970s and 1980s he was a member of the New York Jazz Quartet.
Four for All is an album by the group Sphere featuring saxophonist Charlie Rouse, pianist Kenny Barron, bassist Buster Williams, and drummer Ben Riley which was recorded in 1983 and released on the Verve label.
Epistrophy, sub-titled The Last Concert, is a live album by saxophonist Charlie Rouse which was recorded in 1988 in San Francisco and released on Orrin Keepnews' Landmark label the following year.
In Walked Thelonious is a solo piano album by Walter Davis Jr. It was recorded in 1987 and released by Mapleshade Records.
Monk on Monk is an album by the drummer T. S. Monk, recorded in 1997 and released on the N2K label.
Monk's Dreams: The Complete Compositions of Thelonious Sphere Monk is a 6CD box set by jazz pianist Frank Kimbrough that was released by the Sunnyside label in 2018. The set features 70 compositions by Thelonious Monk.
Moment's Notice is an album by jazz saxophonist Charlie Rouse. It was recorded on October 20, 1977, and was released on LP in 1978 by both Storyville Records and the Danish label Jazzcraft. On the album, Rouse is joined by pianist Hugh Lawson, bassist Bob Cranshaw, and drummer Ben Riley. In 1997, the album was reissued on CD with four alternate takes.
