Thelonius Monk was a jazz pianist and composer. 

He was born in 1917 and died in 1982. In his early career, Thelonius Monk was not famous. It wasn't until the late 1950s that his career took off. He played with many other famous jazz musicians such as John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Rollins, Miles Davis and more. He is known for his influential compositional style, improvisations, and eccentric personality. Among other things, Monk danced on stage when others improvised, and played notes with his elbows! 

 

Here are some sources of information as well as videos: