Jazz and R&B drummer, bandleader, vocalist, and composer Thelonious Monk, Jr. – also known has T.S. Monk - was born Thelonious Sphere Monk III on December 27, 1949, in New York City, New York. T.S. Monk is the son of legendary jazz pianist Thelonious Monk (1917-1982), but chose his own musical path and became interested in the drums at the age of 10. His future was sealed when Art Blakey gave him his first drumkit at the age of 15 and Max Roach gave him lessons. After graduating from high school, T.S. Monk joined his father’s group in the late 1960s and toured with him until Thelonious Monk retired in 1975. T.S. Monk then switched to playing R&B and toured with Natural Essence before he and his sister Barbara (Boo Boo) formed the disco funk band T.S. Monk. They released three albums – House of Music (1980), More of the Good Life (1981), and Human (1982) – before splitting up. His father Thelonious Monk died in 1982, followed two years later by his sister and former bandmate Barbara. T.S. Monk took time out, created the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, and finally felt ready to return to his jazz roots. He signed to Blue Note Records and released the album Take One in 1992. He followed that with the albums Changing of the Guard (1993) and The Charm (1995). Leaving Blue Note, his first independent album was the critically acclaimed Monk on Monk, which received numerous awards. T.S. Monk then released the albums Crosstalk (1999) and Higher Ground (2003).
