There is no one more unique than pianist Thelonious Monk.  He was an original who created bebop harmonies and  wrote melodies that are angular and still melodic.  He played in a style that was minimalist, yet Coltrane said that playing with Monk was like going to a jazz university.  Hear the distinctive sounds of jazz legend Thelonious Monk tonight on the 9 O'clock Special.

  Pianist Gene Harris is known for his blues infused soul jazz.  From 1956 to 1970 he recorded with The Three Sounds,.  He retired to Idaho in 1970, but 8 years later Ray Brown got him to come out of retirement and play with his trio.  Gene Harris performed for another 20 years until his death in 2000.  Tonight, under a rare blue moon enjoy Gene Harris on the 9 O'clock Special. Jazz awakes at 8.

From Wynton Marsalis and Eric Clapton's New Orleans blues-tinged release to "I Feel You" from husband/wife duo Herb Alpert & Lani Hall and Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band's "That's How We Roll," tonight hear some of the best jazz duo and group releases from 2011 on the 9 O'Clock Special. Jazz awakes tonight at 8!