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Thelonious Monk
(October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982)
The most important jazz musicians are the ones who are successful in creating their own original world of music with its own rules, logic, and surprises. Thelonious Monk, often regarded as a founder of bebop, was a genius American jazz pianist and composer who was often misunderstood. He was criticized by observers that failed to listen to his music on its own terms.
He suffered through a decade of neglect before he was suddenly celebrated as a genius, though his music had not changed one bit. His compositions were so advanced that the bebop musicians assumed he was crazy. He left a lot of space in his rhythmic solos and had an unusual technique so many people thought that he was an inferior pianist.After a difficult period between 1945-554, he then became widely considered as one of the most important musicians in jazz. He is one of only five jazz musicians to be featured on the cover of Time Magazine. Monk had a unique style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "Epistrophy," "'Round Midnight," "Blue Monk," "Straight, No Chaser" and "Well, You Needn't."