(via: Eric Alba)

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, 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 form. 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 …More on Wikipedia.

Yestreday, we listned to Paul Desmond, and today we'll listen to a friend of him, a man that played a lot with him, for whom Desmond has composed the very famous "Take Five" ; the great Dave Brubeck!
David Warren Brubeck (born December 6, 1920 in Concord, California), better known as Dave Brubeck, is an American jazz pianist. Regarded as a jazz icon, he has written a number of jazz standards, including "In Your Own Sweet Way" and "The Duke". Brubeck's style ranges from refined to bombastic, reflecting his mother's attempts at classical training and his improvisational skills. His music is known for employing unusual time signatures, and superimposing contrasting rhythms, meters, and tonalities. His long-time musical partner, alto saxophonist Paul Desmond, wrote the Dave Brubeck Quartet's most famous piece, "Take Five", which is in 5/4 time and has endured as a jazz classic. Brubeck experimented with time signatures through much of his career, recording "Pick Up Sticks" in 6/4, "Unsquare Dance" in 7/4, and "Blue Rondo à la Turk" in 9/8. He is also a respected composer of orchestral and sacred music, and wrote soundtracks for television such as Mr. Broadway and the animated miniseries "This Is America, Charlie Brown"..…More on wikipedia.

Keith Jarrett (born May 8, 1945 in Allentown, Pennsylvania) is an American pianist, composer and jazz icon. His career started with Art Blakey, Charles Lloyd and Miles Davis. Since the early 1970s he has enjoyed a great deal of success in both classical music and jazz, as a group leader and a solo performer. His improvisation technique combines not only jazz, but also other forms of music, especially classical, gospel, blues and ethnic folk music. In 2003 he received the Polar Music Prize, being the first (and to this day only) recipient not sharing the prize with anyone else. In 2008 he was introduced to the 73rd annual readers poll in the Downbeat Hall of Fame. …More on Wikipedia.

Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American composer, pianist, and bandleader. Recognized during his life as one of the most influential figures in jazz, if not in all American music, Ellington's reputation has increased since his death, including a special award citation from the Pulitzer Prize Board. Ellington called his style and sound "American Music" rather than jazz, and liked to describe those who impressed him as "beyond category", including many of the musicians who served with his orchestra, some of whom were themselves considered among the giants of jazz and remained with Ellington's orchestra for decades. While many were noteworthy in their own right, it was Ellington who melded them into one of the most well-known orchestral units in the history of jazz. He often composed specifically for the style and skills of these individuals, such as "Jeep's Blues" for Johnny Hodges, "Concerto for Cootie" ("Do Nothing Till You Hear from Me") for Cootie Williams and "The Mooche" for Tricky Sam Nanton. He also recorded songs written by his bandsmen, such as Juan Tizol's "Caravan" and "Perdido" which brought the "Spanish Tinge" to big-band jazz. After 1941, he frequently collaborated with composer-arranger Billy Strayhorn, who he called his alter-ego…More on Wikipedia.

Jean-Baptiste Frédéric Isidor, Baron Thielemans (born Brussels, April 29, 1922), known as Toots Thielemans, is a Belgian jazz artist well known for his guitar and harmonica playing as well as his highly accomplished professional whistling. He is often credited by jazz aficionados and jazz critics as being the greatest jazz harmonica player of the century…More on Wikipedia

William John Evans (better known as Bill Evans) (August 16, 1929 – September 15, 1980) was one of the most famous and influential American jazz pianists of the 20th century. His use of impressionist harmony, his inventive interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, and his trademark rhythmically independent, "singing" melodic lines influenced a generation of pianists, including Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Denny Zeitlin and Keith Jarrett, as well as as guitarists Lenny Breau and Pat Metheny. The music of Bill Evans continues to inspire younger pianists like Fred Hersch, Ray Reach, Bill Charlap, David Thompson, Brad Mehldau, Geoffrey Keezer, Lyle Mays and Eliane Elias[3]. Evans is an inductee of the Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame…More on Wikipedia

Earl Rudolph "Bud" Powell (September 27, 1924 – July 31, 1966 in New York City) was an American Jazz pianist. he has been described as one of "the two most significant pianists of the style of modern jazz that came to be known as bop", the other being his friend and contemporary Thelonious Monk.[1] Along with Monk, Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie he was a key player in the history of bebop, and his virtuosity as a pianist led many to call him "the Charlie Parker of the piano"… More on Wikipedia