‘The piano ain’t got no wrong notes’, Thelonious Monk once observed. Born 100 years ago this week, Monk was there at the beginnings of bebop in the 1940s, though he probably has never received the acclaim bestowed upon fellow bebop pioneers such as Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. It is common to describe Monk’s playing as ‘angular’, ‘splintered’ and ‘percussive’. And it is – complex, sometimes dissonant, with its odd accents, sudden changes and silences. But yet… ‘The piano ain’t got […]

Categories: Culture & Books • Tags: bebop, jazz, music, thelonious monk