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Thelonious Monk | Essential albums and listening guide
Explore Thelonious Monk through Brilliant Corners. Discover what to listen for and follow related styles to your next record.
Thelonious Monk
Meet the artist
A composer and pianist with a unique sense of rhythm and harmony. One of the theoretical pillars of bebop. Angular melodies, unexpected accents and sudden silences create a distinctive sense of time.
Apparently clashing harmonies become memorable features of the composition. Blues and older piano traditions remain audible, making novelty and familiarity coexist. Returning to his own tunes reveals new angles rather than mere repetition. Listen to the placement of sounds instead of expecting a conventional flow, and a world of musical humor opens up.
Where to start listening
Try remembering an angular melody as a short, singable shape. Its pauses and accents reveal a distinctive sense of humor and rhythmic bounce.
1957Brilliant Corners
Thelonious Monk
A masterpiece that showcases Monk’s complex compositional techniques and his virtuoso improvisation at its peak. The title piece is also known for having been edited to completion after the performance failed.
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1963Monk's Dream
Thelonious Monk
The first work after joining the Columbia Orchestra. A masterpiece of mature Monk, featuring a stable quartet including Charlie Laughs.
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Years follow the Atlas catalogue. Recording dates, original release dates and digital reissue dates may differ.