Bright, Early jazz, Ebullient, Jazz vocalists, Playful, Round, Sincere

A minimalist jazz pianist who took bebop to even higher heights, Thelonious Sphere Monk was a unique character and a maverick in the music industry. How else can we describe a man who kept his grand piano in his kitchen? Not interested in using his music to please people, Monk strove to discover ways

Beats, Bebop, Enigmatic, Improvised, Loose, Playful, Quirky, Slangy

"I've got to keep experimenting. I feel like I'm just beginning. I have part of what I'm looking for in my grasp, but not all." John Coltrane's music is an experiment in emotional expression. He consistently pursued new domains of musical and spiritual intensity, and developed a style charged with pa

Beats, Distorted, Excessive, Experimental, Free jazz, Hard bop/post-bop, Improvised, Religious

According to Gene Santoro, John Zorn's "idiosyncratic mixtures of musical genres reflect the way popular music is currently transmitted from one culture to another...eclectic is far too weak a word to describe his intensely demanding yet playful sonic assaults." John Zorn's work doesn't simply titill

Cartoonish, Collage, Contemporary/downtown, Excessive, Free jazz, Free/avant-garde, Polychromatic, Psychedelic, Quirky