TheloniousAlthough Born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, Thelonious Monk's home became New York at the age of four. In the early 1940's he worked as a side
man in jazz bands and became house pianist at
Minton's Playhouse in
Harlem. In this position he had a hand in formulating the bop style by
backing up such musicians as Don Byas, Roy
Eldridge, and Helen Humes. In
1944 Monk recorded as a member of the Coleman
Hawkins Quartet. During
this same year his tune 'Round about Midnight was recorded by
Cootie Williams. In addition to these recording ventures, Monk was also
playing at the Spotlite Club as a member of Dizzy
Gillespie's orchestra.
Thelonious recorded under his own name in 1947 in a sextet session for
Blue Note records which included his original compositions Humph and
Thelonious. In 1952 he signed a short-lived contract with prestige
records. After dismal sales, Prestige sold his contract in 1955 to
Riverside Records. Monk remained with Riverside until 1961.
During this
time Monk's career began to take off. He made appearances with Coltrane,
Wilbur Ware, Johnny Griffin, Roy Hanes, and Shadow Wilson at various
night spots. In addition to this he recorded with Art
Blakey and Gigi Gryce during the same time period.
