sideshowbob
Champagne fascia aficionado
I think there's a temptation to assume that this stuff just flowed out of Monk instinctively almost like some kind of idiot savant but it does him a disservice not to recognise his intellect and the determination with which he applied it.
There's a solo version of the old clunker Tea For Two on the 1956 Prestige album The Unique Thelonious Monk which is one of the best illustrations of exploring musical language I know. He dissects the tune in real time and completely rearranges it in multiple ways. It's modernism in motion. Incredible stuff. He was extraordinarily smart.