+K Gutierrez He muttered it to himself when he was walking down the street once. No one heard.

regardless whether he actually ever said it or not, he sure made it seem that way, nonetheless haha check wikipedia

Maya only appogiature xD

Chopin: Hold my wodka...

Respect the force of nature!...

His middle name was Sphere.

Your middle name was Sphere.

@@rileysdad1923 lmaoooooo

art pepper was another great jazz name 😁

@@G123G intredesting 🤔

sydysydy yes ^^^ this.

That's, maybe called 'Keeping it Real'.How many today .....??and One

Now I know what it must have felt like to have seen Bach or Beethoven.

Oh yes: Bach had eyes popping back in his day.

As a person used to functional harmony I was quite anxious to hear it resolve to something simple, didn't happen, enjoyed the ride though

Yeah, good dictum. Playing a 'wrong' or splashed note again makes it kinda right. It's the essence of improvisation, going where the sounds take you . . .

he didn't play a single wrong note tho

That's because repetition legitimizes

@@bendover7648 repetition legitimizes

@@bendover7648 Yep. Hitting it once says "mistake", twice says "I totally meant to do that"

He also had a rothschild as his wife 🤣😭

@@Zuentax Really or Your just joking?

@@californialove6940 really.... look into it..

@@Zuentax Im in The Dark man My 1st time hearing about this Piano Player I know absolutely nothing all new 2 Me

At various times he almost made a mistake, but as he knew a lot of harmonization, the mistakes didn't happen

Alan Senzaki my father saw him live at the Five Spot in ‘62

Damn... how old were you?

Wow, wasn't even born.

Thanks from Italy for your testimonial

3:11 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 @alansenzaki4148 must’ve been amazing ❤

The exclamation mark of a truly shitty pianist.

too bad the piano in the video is out of tune. it is hard to listen to.

​@@snoolee7950go listen to a sine wave or something if you can't handle a little dissonance

Well, he plays flat-fingered, but I don’t know how that is anything like drumming. The flat-fingered playing looks and sounds fairly awkward, but it does give him a distinctive sound when he wants to emphasize an isolated note here and there. Mostly, though, it just seems like a perversely self-imposed obstacle, sort of like Clapton never using his little finger.

That makes sense since technically piano is both a stringed and percussion instrument since the hammer hits the string.

👍👍👍🎵🎵🎵💪💪💪

a very cool way to see it

I see the other way around.

I can dig it... but I think both hands are up to some glorious tomfoolery

Never looked at it like that!!! Good perspective Broble!!!!

In Shaolin they call it Snake and Crane technique ...

+markwest1987 Exactly :)

+markwest1987 : In the fifties Leonard Feather in Downbeat mag. had a blindfold test where musicians commented on various records. Monk's unknown pianist was Oscar Peterson and after listening for a few bars he said " excuse me i've got to go and be sick". Monk also said that he could play like them.but they couldn't play like him. Absolutely true.

+james webb People who don't like his "poor phrasing" or his "loud dynamics" are clearly classical pianists who wouldn't know true creativity if it bit them in the ass....AND I adore classical music.

People were often unfair to Oscar Peterson, saying he was too clean, schmaltz, whatever. But Art Tatum loved him. Try explaining that to Monk!

"Make no mistake, this man knows exactly what he's doing in a theoretical way..." -Bill Evans on Thelonious Monk

samesies i was laughing too

Douglas Chappell so true! I’ve never heard that commentary before but it’s so true. So of his choices in notes and phrasing are so wacky and whimsical and yet so musical and genius. And there’s nothing you can do but smile and laugh when you’re bludgeoned with such genius. It’s like some kind of cosmic joke that someone who can play that way actually exists

yeah, good jazz can do that to you

I like that last run down the piano; it's like "so there."

I remember listening to this as a kid in the mid sixtieth, enjoying each and every note, and my mother coming barging in yelling "why don't you turn off that crap"!

im saying the same thing

his higher self wins

Indeed

Every Bozo that has used that lame name thinks he's the first to use it; go listen to your Lawrence Welk albums.

@@TheToocold That's what his wife called him.

@@TheToocold holy shit everyone in this comment section is taking this so seriouisly. it's monk guys, just enjoy it

Curt Kobain

@@merklesyrup3701Burt Cokain

Jason Lee.. I never thought of it like that... You have a very good ear sir!!

And timing too

very

Every hair is, hair of the head, numbered

Yes. Well observed. Crazy intention.

If he's the high priest dizzy is the king

Cage Englander and Bird is God!

No, dizzy, dizzy is saint god and king.

+Kolef88 and universe beauty too

+Kolef88 As close to an embodying description of Thelonious as anyone will ever get.

🤣🤣🤣

Tru tho, hey that's not bad

It's not a "song." Nobody sings anything; nothing has been sung, there is no singer. It's a fucking piece of music, an instrumental piece.

@@DieFlabbergast calm down, I thought only classical musicians were this petty when talking about technical naming differences.

@@egosumguessum 🤣🤣🤣

“All artists are thiefs”

Is it the blackness that rubbed off, or the musicality? 😆

I wouldn't exactly call it "precise," but it's soulful.

But yet so sweet and carries you away...

It's (basically) the blues, masterful stride piano combined with intricate bebop harmonic/voicing sensibilities, timing and execution.

I would call it precise. Great word choice.

@@TheJackhammer46every bite and every pause between notes is insanely precise here

If you practiced classical repertoire in this manner you'd probably develop tendinitis or carpal tunnel syndrome. There's a lot more freedom in jazz

Also, your hand'll get tired pretty quickly

Straight wrists ,flat Fingers , give Him the Nuance,Time and "Feel" that is somewhat Percussive in Nature .That's His take to getwhat He feels. . Real Jazz Drummers etc. know this and play w/ that mindfulness. Also, some do play Piano... Monk Had It All.

He still can’t play like that.

Great stuff. Teachers are often well-intended but not always correct. Piano lessons got me to hate playing the piano. Wish I had kept playing.

Yes he is.

No ... he isn't.

Love him...just love him!

Remember; "greatest" is a subjective word. There has never been nor will there ever be a "greatest" anyone or anything. You could say he's your favorite pianist and they would be no argument.

Nope. Bill Evans.

It really hits home when you see or rather behold him playing. Makes me smile every time.

Probably Autism Spectrum as well.

@@craigbrowning9448 Why would someonefrom the autistic spectrum not understand any music? What?

@@S.Lijmerd I was referring to Monk, Himself also my own experience.

Its very very heavy on the dissonance, to the point that it turns off almost everyone, but, if you realize he could play it very normal, but chooses not to, well now its punk rock.

we sure do!!

I watch him and think "What the fuck"? I could never do that. Genius.

+tom knoll Agreed Monk is the original. But little Joey Alexander may just be the ticket... lol

I totally disagree with you. Your a 'straight' player - probably a type A personality. You probably read first and had to get your head around rhythm and soul to learn even a little bit about improvisation. I've been playing professionally for over 30 years and I've lectured and listened to all the players you've listed. Your impression that Monk was 'sloppy' only reveals your short-comings in the face of truly unique genius. Some people do what they know [like you], others know what they're doing [like Monk]. Keep doing what you know, because that's all you have, dear.

+4v3nir I like Joey, fo sho'!

+jennifer86010 Right - and that's why you're so famous and Monk is only ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL VOICES IN THE HISTORY OF THE GENRE - because, as you put it, he was sloppy and his phrasing was poor. You, ma'am are a top caliber idiot. ;)

+jennifer86010 Wow - who pays you to spend your time doing this?

Exactly. Criticism of him often tried to impose Eurocentric standards on his creativity.

It just proves that you can do your own thing without fear. As long as you are pursuing your own taste, the result will eventually be something unique and beautiful. Thus when you practice, there are no wrong notes, only notes you like and notes you don't.

Go view Serge Prokofiev’s First concerto to see and hear the similarities.

Maybe outwardly...but inside monk touches ur inner child...

He's actually imitating Monk's familiar style of _dancing_ during many of his live performances. But eventually, he gets so caught up in the masterly Monk performance taking place right in front of him, that he rubs his forehead and just listens! - j q t -

@@quill444 I think he realized the camera was on him at that point.

I wasn't a fan of jazz at first. I much preferred classical music. I think it was John Coltrane and Billy Holiday who got me into jazz.

Always takes my heart. Yes! That's what I went looking for when I found my wife. That's what I go looking for when I place the needle on the vinyl.

You have improvisational government now. You can't have everything.

The past is a foreign country, they do things differently there. LP Hartley. 50, 40&30. years ago people were lest controlled by the media, progressive wasn’t a dirty world and the neo cons didn’t exert their influence. We are in another era of cultural despair because the arts and music have taken third place to economics and materialism.

Neither is mine!!

nor mine

i assume you don't play piano?

Neither does Monks

That was mud in the eye of his naysayers! Classical flair. Take this! haha What a trip 👍

Debussy would be closer. Blue Monk comes from Debussy.

His left hand is a monster.

i know that part made me laugh so much

Ben be strollin'! hahaha

Was he messing with Monk? I heard him laugh

yes

For him

digging what you dig is easy

it was easy for him.