Thelonious Sphere Monk (October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Widely considered one of the most important musicians in jazz—he is one of only five jazz musicians to be featured on the cover of Time—Monk had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "Epistrophy," "'Round Midnight," "Blue Monk," "Straight, No Chaser" and "Well, You Needn't."
Often regarded as a founder of bebop, Monk's playing style later evolved away from that style. His compositions and improvisations are full of dissonant harmonies and angular melodic twists, and are impossible to separate from Monk's unorthodox approach to the piano, which combined a highly percussive attack with abrupt, dramatic use of silences and hesitations; a style nicknamed "Melodious Thunk" by his wife Nellie.
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