Who is/was Thelonious Monk?
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Name at birth: Thellous Junior Monk\n\nWith the arrival Thelonious Sphere Monk, modern music—let alone modern culture--simply hasn’t been the same. Recognized as one of the most inventive pianists of any musical genre, Monk achieved a startlingly original sound that even his most devoted followers have been unable to successfully imitate. His musical vision was both ahead of its time and deeply rooted in tradition, spanning the entire history of the music from the “stride” masters of James P. Johnson and Willie “the Lion” Smith to the tonal freedom and kinetics of the “avant garde.” And he shares with Edward “Duke” Ellington the distinction of being one of the century’s greatest American composers. At the same time, his commitment to originality in all aspects of life—in fashion, in his creative use of language and economy of words, in his biting humor, even in the way he danced away from the piano—has led fans and detractors alike to call him “eccentric,” “mad” or even “taciturn.” Consequently, Monk has become perhaps the most talked about and least understood artist in the history of jazz.\n\n\nBorn on October 10, 1917, in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, Thelonious was only four when his mother and his two siblings, Marion and Thomas, moved to New York City. Unlike other Southern migrants who headed straight to Harlem, the Monks settled on West 63rd Street in the “San Juan Hill” neighborhood of Manhattan, near the Hudson River. His father, Thelonious, Sr., joined the family three years later, but health considerations forced him to return to North Carolina. During his stay, however, he often played the harmonica, ‘Jew’s harp,” and piano—all of which probably influenced his son’s unyielding musical interests. Young Monk turned out to be a musical prodigy in addition to a good student and a fine athlete. He studied the trumpet briefly but began exploring the piano at age nine. He was about nine when Marion’s piano teacher took Thelonious on as a student. By his early teens, he was playing rent parties, sitting in on organ and piano at a local Baptist church, and was reputed to have won several “amateur hour” competitions at the Apollo Theater. \n\n\nAdmitted to Peter Stuyvesant, one of the city’s best high schools, Monk dropped out at the end of his sophomore year to pursue music and around 1935 took a job as a pianist for a traveling evangelist and faith healer. Returning after two years, he formed his own quartet and played local bars and small clubs until the spring of 1941, when drummer Kenny Clarke hired him as the house pianist at Minton’s Playhouse in Harlem.\n\n\nMinton’s, legend has it, was where the “bebop revolution” began. The after-hours jam sessions at Minton’s, along with similar musical gatherings at Monroe’s Uptown House, Dan Wall’s Chili Shack, among others, attracted a new generation of musicians brimming with fresh ideas about harmony and rhythm—notably Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Mary Lou Williams, Kenny Clarke, Oscar Pettiford, Max Roach, Tadd Dameron, and Monk’s close friend and fellow pianist, Bud Powell. Monk’s harmonic innovations proved fundamental to the development of modern jazz in this period. Anointed by some critics as the “High Priest of Bebop,” several of his compositions (“52nd Street Theme,” “Round Midnight,” “Epistrophy” [co-written with Kenny Clarke and originally titled “Fly Right” and then “Iambic Pentameter”], “I Mean You”) were favorites among his contemporaries. \n\n\nYet, as much as Monk helped usher in the bebop revolution, he also charted a new course for modern music few were willing to follow. Whereas most pianists of the bebop era played sparse chords in the left hand and emphasized fast, even eighth and sixteenth notes in the right hand, Monk combined an active right hand with an equally active left hand, fusing stride and angular rhythms that utilized the entire keybo
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Its the famous Tony Greig.\nCheck out more info on him\nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Greig
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http://members.aol.com/olatou/hughes.htm\n\nhttp://www.who2.com/langstonhughes.html\n\nhttp://www.redhotjazz.com/hughes.html
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I would guess Elvis Costello. I tried to collect them all but there are so many! I have a lot on vinyl that are not on CD's but can't find them all.
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weren't those guys in the monkees?
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His alter-ego was Chris Gaines.  I believe the album was called "The Life of Chris Gaines".
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Wow, I do not have time to write my Doctoral Thesis right now so, I'm just going to have to say Floyd. Remember, we are talking personal fav of the two not who has enfluenced who or who has had the biggest impact on music or culture.
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neil armstrong \nkool guy
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well i am not sure about all of them but i know that Davy Jones still tours and sings and that he acts occasionally. he was on living in TV land. and i went to their official web site and it had a lot of cool information on it. mickey dolanz was still acting and singing a couple years ago. and as for peter tork and mike nesmith i have no clue what they are doing now. boy i love the monkees music and i used to watch their TV show in reruns as a kid. i am only 31 in case you were wondering. hope this info helps it comes from a true monkees fan!
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I really admired John Lennon. I think his consciousness was expanded after the intensive LSD usage and the stay in India in the 1960s. He saw clearly. The day he died I was very upset. He was a guru for sure.
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he is not the devil. He is a disciple, along with some other crooked priests and nuns. Read the book. Awesome.
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Peter Drucker\n\nhttp://www.peter-drucker.com/about.html
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http://www.avalonusa.com/renaissance/monks.htm
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Mr. Funktastic was a gang leader in Bulletproof Monk.  His hideaway was in the underground subways.  I think this is the one you mean.
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THELONIUS is actually ancient German. I believe it means male gender or masculine. Thelonious may have been derived from this, notice difference in spelling. Thelonious Monk, a jazz musician, is only person I Know of who had that name.I know of no other reference.
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Matter of fact, I met Peter Tork, from the Monkees. We were in a Mall, in Cleveland, waiting to get into Hard RockCafe... While waiting, I literally bumped into him, said... sorry dude.. thinking nothing of it.. until some people came up with Monkee lunch boxes... asking him to sign them... Well I then realized who it was and asked if my girl friend and I could get our picture taken with him... Well, he looks at my girlfriend and says.. well I guess this is what I get for going out in public... Now his first mistake was saying it loud enough for me to hear it... so as I saddled up to him to have my picture taken, I smiled...and after it was taken I looked at him and said... ya know, remember this... You are a Monkee... be happy we remember!
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Today's talk will be about Igor Stravinsky, a Russian-born composer.  Although Igor (no relation to Dr. Frankenstein's assistant) composed primitivist, neo-classical and serial works, he is best known for three compositions from his earlier, Russian period: The Firebird, Pétrouchka, and The Rite of Spring. These daring and innovative ballets practically reinvented the genre!!  Amazing,  but true!!   \n\nStravinsky also wrote for a wide range of ensembles in a broad spectrum of classical forms, ranging from opera and symphonies to piano miniatures and works for jazz band. Stravinsky also achieved fame as a pianist and conductor, often at the premieres of his own works.  Too cool, ain't it?\n\nOkay...stop looking at me like that...you started it.