Tune in to WKCR on Thursday, October 10, for 24 hours of Thelonious Sphere Monk’s music in celebration of the 107th anniversary of his birth. Monk was born in North Carolina, but moved into the San Juan Hill (now Lincoln Center) neighborhood of Manhattan at 4 years old. He started playing piano at age 9, learning in the stride piano style. Monk dropped out of high school to pursue music. In 1941, Kenny Clarke hired Monk to be the house pianist at Minton’s Playhouse, the epicenter of “modern” music.
Monk helped jazz progress during the bebop revolution in the ‘40s and ‘50s. His companions (like longtime friends Bud Powell and John Coltrane) recognized his genius early on––but it took longer for critics and the public. It didn’t help that Monk did not have his cabaret card for most of the ‘50s (after a false arrest for narcotics possession). His cabaret card restored, Monk landed a long residency at the Five Spot Café, where his career took off. In the ‘60s, he signed with Columbia Records, toured Europe with his quartets, and appeared on the cover of Time magazine. But his music was still misunderstood: many critics, audiences, and interviewers mistook his eccentricity for irrationality. In the late ‘60s and ‘70s, Monk’s health declined. He moved into the house of “The Jazz Baroness,” Pannonica de Koenigswarter, where he passed away in 1982.
Today, Monk is recognized among the general public as one of the great composers and improvisers of the 20th century, and among jazz musicians as a genius who redefined the harmonic landscape of his time. Monk was a gift to us all and we are honored to continue our tradition of celebrating his music here at WKCR. WKCR made one of the first ever recordings–– and the earliest performance on radio–– of Thelonious Monk back in 1941, from a show at Minton’s Playhouse, which was later released in 1973 as Midnight at Minton’s. We’ve been playing his music on the station for over 80 years and we have no intention of stopping!
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