In addition to being recognized as a legendary pianist and composer, Herbie Hancock has been an integral part of every jazz movement since the 1960s. As a member of the Miles Davis Quintet, he became one of the pioneers of the avant garde sound. His recordings during the '70s combined electric jazz with funk and rock sounds in an innovative style that influenced a whole decade of music. Rockit and Future Shock marked Hancock's foray into electric dance music and included several chart-topping hits. During the same period he continued to work in an acoustic setting with V.S.O.P., which included ex-Miles Davis bandmates Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams. Hancock has received an Academy Award for his Round Midnight film score and numerous GRAMMY Awards. Many of his compositions, including "Canteloupe Island," "Maiden Voyage," "Watermelon Man," and "Chameleon," are modern standards that have had a profound effect on all styles of modern music.

Bill Cosby, Honorary Co-Chairman
Bill Cosby has been the Honorary Chairman of the Thelonious Monk Institute since 1986. He made his television debut in "I Spy," which was the first in a string of successes that have marked Cosby's career in television. He has since recorded 21 chart-topping comedy albums, written two best-selling books, and appeared in dozens of films and television shows. "The Cosby Show," which ran from 1984 to 1992, is considered one of the most influential hit prime-time sitcoms. Cosby went on to produce the spin-off, "A Different World," which ran for seven successful seasons.

Billy Dee Williams, Honorary Co-Chairman
Billy Dee Williams grew up in Harlem and attended the High School of Music and Art. He received the Hallgarten Award Scholarship to the National Academy of Fine Arts and Design, where he studied portrait painting. Shortly afterward, Williams attended actors workshops and studied with Paul Mann and Sidney Poitier. In 1971 he established himself as a major television star in the ABC Emmy Award-winning production of Brian's Song. In the mid 1970s, Williams starred opposite Diana Ross in Lady Sings the Blues. He returned to the big screen in the 1980s as Lando Calrission in the blockbusters Return of the Jedi and The Empire Strikes Back. More recently, he has appeared in the box-office hit Batman. Since 1990, Williams has generously contributed the artwork for the cover of the Institute's competition souvenir program.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Thelonious S. Monk, Jr., Chairman
Drummer Thelonious S. Monk, Jr. is Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Thelonious Monk Institute and the son of legendary pianist and composer Thelonious Monk. He grew up in a house that was a gathering place for many of the architects of early jazz. Monk was given his first set of drum sticks by Max Roach and his first drum set by Art Blakey. He played in his father's band in the 1970s and with the fusion band Natural Essence. In the 1980s, he formed T.S. Monk, an R&B group that included his sister Barbara. In 1986, he helped to found the Institute in the hopes that he could recreate the kind of learning environment that existed in his childhood home. Monk has since gone on to record numerous successful straight-ahead jazz albums.

Paxton K. Baker
Paxton K. Baker is the Senior Vice President and General Manager of BET J and BET International. An entertainment industry veteran, he is also the President of BET Event Productions. Baker began his association with BET in 1992 when the company sponsored the first St. Lucia Jazz Festival. He began consulting with BET in 1993 and helped to launch the Jazz Channel in 1996. Prior to joining BET, Baker was president and founder of PKB, which he began in 1988. From 1990 to 1993, PKB produced and purchased talent for the Aruba Jazz and Latin Music Festival, the Amsterdam Drum Jazz Festival, and the Trinidad Pan Jazz Festival. During that time, PKB also toured such acts as Gloria Estefan, Herbie Hancock, and Wynton Marsalis throughout the Caribbean and South America. Baker is also artistic director of the Air Jamaica Jazz & Blues Festival.

Jimmy Heath
In his more than 60 years on the jazz scene, saxophonist Jimmy Heath has done it all. Having appeared on more than 125 records both as a soloist and a composer, Heath embodies the history of jazz, known for always making his musical statements with style. Heath grew up in Philadelphia alongside brothers Percy and Tootie, both renowned jazz musicians in their own right. His saxophone style, so reminiscent of Charlie Parker that it earned him the nickname "Little Bird," landed him gigs with Dizzy Gillespie, Cannonball Adderley, James Moody and others. Heath's compositions such as "CTA" and "Gingerbread Boy" have become jazz standards and have been recorded by Miles Davis, Lee Morgan, and Chick Corea. As a member of the Heath Brothers, he was nominated for a GRAMMY Award in 1980. His teaching experience includes a 10-year association with Queens College, where he was a professor in the music department and director of jazz studies. In 1994, Heath was the recipient of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Maria Fisher Founder's Award.

Sonya Jackson
Sonya Jackson is Managing Director of Corporate Social Investment for United Airlines and President of the United Airlines Foundation.  Before joining United Airlines, Jackson served as President and CEO of Reflexxus Communications, Inc., where she provided a broad range of public relations, organizational planning, leadership development, and community investment strategies.  Jackson previously held the post of President, BP Foundation and Senior Global Business Adviser for BP’s Global Social Investment Business Unit.  She has also served as Executive Director of The Sears-Roebuck Foundation and Assistant Director of the Sara Lee Foundation.

Wayne Shorter
Saxophonist Wayne Shorter is the most significant jazz composer since the '60s. Dozens of his more than 200 compositions are considered modern standards and are performed by young artists around the world. In 1964, the same year Shorter recorded Speak No Evil, his first record as a leader for Blue Note, Miles Davis invited him to join a quartet that included Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams. Shorter was the composer who provided much of the material for the group's musical explorations, which would become an inspiration for many jazz artists that followed. He recorded 12 albums with Miles Davis, including Bitches Brew, which sparked the fusion movement of the next decade. In 1970, Shorter joined keyboardist Joe Zawinul to form Weather Report, which combined jazz harmonies with rock and funk rhythms. The group became one of the most influential musical forces of the post-jazz era. Shorter has continued to be a leading figure in the evolution of the music. In 2003, he won two GRAMMY Awards, taking his total to eight over the past 25 years. Today, his quartet with Brian Blade, John Patitucci, and Danilo Perez is recognized as the most groundbreaking jazz group of the 21st century.

Stuart Subotnick
Stuart Subotnick is a general partner and Executive Vice President of Metromedia Company, where he serves as Chief Operating Officer. Metromedia is sold on the American Stock Exchange. Since 1981, Subotnick has negotiated all the major transactions entered into by Metromedia, including the sale of its television, radio, outdoor advertising, paging, cellular, and entertainment divisions. He has also negotiated recent Metromedia acquisitions, including the purchase of controlling interests in Communications Services, Inc. and Chernow Communications, Inc., formerly the long distance telephone divisions of ITT Corporation; Make Systems, Inc., a computer network optimization company in Silicon Valley; and S&A Restaurant Corp., which owns and operates Bennigan's and Steak & Ale restaurant chains. Subotnick is a member of the Boards of Directors of companies and nonprofit organizations including Carnival Cruise Lines, Inc., the New World Symphony, and the Central Park Conservancy.

Clark Terry
Clark Terry's most memorable feature, beyond his superlative skill on the trumpet and greater than his tremendous tone on the flugelhorn, is his warm-hearted spirit. Terry began his career fresh out of the Navy, performing in bands led by such musicians as Charlie Barnet, Eddie Vinson, and Count Basie. His playing from this period had a profound effect on the musical development of both Miles Davis and Quincy Jones. In 1951, Terry joined the Duke Ellington Orchestra, where he remained for eight years and shined as a soloist both on recordings and in live performance. After leaving Ellington, Clark was invited by NBC to join the "Tonight Show" band, making him the first African-American musician to be employed by the network. His character "Mumbles" became a hit during his association with the show. Throughout the 1960s and '70s, Terry worked with a wide range of musicians, including J.J. Johnson and Oscar Peterson. He is a member of the faculty at the University of New Hampshire and conducts clinics at the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Chicago, New York University, and many other colleges and universities. Terry's work as a musician and teacher has earned him honorary doctorates, hundreds of awards, and a permanent place in the hearts of jazz fans.

ADVISORY BOARD

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Los Angeles Lakers legend and NBA Hall of Famer

Frank Alkyer
Publisher
DownBeat Magazine

Debbie Allen
Director, choreographer, and actor

Herb Alpert
Jazz trumpeter and philanthropist

David Baker
Music Professor and Jazz Department Chairman
Indiana University School of Music

Dee Dee Bridgewater
Jazz vocalist, actress, and radio host

Dave Brubeck
Jazz pianist and composer

Kenny Burrell
Jazz guitarist and educator

Ron Carter
Jazz bassist and educator

Nathan Davis
Jazz saxophonist and educator

Clint Eastwood
Actor and producer

Michael Fagien
Publisher
JAZZIZ Magazine

James E. Farmer
Member
President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities

Charlie Haden
Jazz bassist and educator

Barry Harris
Jazz pianist, composer and educator

Quincy Jones
Composer, conductor, arranger and producer

Martin Luther King, III
President and CEO
King Center for Nonviolent Social Change

Jeff Levenson
President
Half Note Records

Bruce Lundvall
President
Blue Note Records

Branford Marsalis
Jazz saxophonist

Ellis L. Marsalis
Jazz pianist and educator

Wynton Marsalis
Jazz and classical trumpeter and educator

Marian McPartland
Jazz pianist and radio host

Carolyn Peachey
President
Campbell, Peachey & Associates

Ahmad Rashad
Television commentator and former NFL player

Glenn Sabin
Publisher and CEO
JazzTimes Magazine

Sigmund Shapiro
President
Samuel Shapiro & Company, Inc.