The Most Influential Jazz Musicians

3. Thelonious Monk

Not only does this jazz master have one of the coolest possible names in the entire music industry, but his attitude as a performer easily classifies as on-spot. A pianist and composer, the Monk had the ability to put his audience in a trance by alternating the rhythmic sections in his songs, improvising, and painting a soundscape full of rich and uneven colours. You could go so far as to call him the Picasso of jazz musicians.