(Sphere) (1917-1982) US jazz pianist and composer. He took part in the development of bebop. He had a highly idiosyncratic style, but numbers such as ‘Round Midnight’ and ‘Blue Monk’ have become standards. Monk worked in Harlem, New York, during the Depression, and became popular in the 1950s.

ETYM as. munuc, munec, munc, Latin monachus, Greek, from monos alone. Related to Monachism.
A male religious living in a cloister and devoting himself to contemplation and prayer and work; SYN. monastic.
Man belonging to a religious order under the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, and living under a particular rule; see monasticism.