T.S. Monk
This funk group was formed by New Yorker Thelonious Sphere Monk Jnr., the son of the legendary and revolutionary jazz pianist. Jazz greats Max Roach and Art Blakey started him on the road to being a drummer by giving him his first drum kit. He played in his father's group for a couple of years in the early '70s and can be heard on two of tenor man Paul Jeffrey's albums. In 1974 he recorded on Atlantic with Natural Essence, which is where he met singer Yvonne Fletcher. Together with Yvonne and his sister Boo Boo he formed the group Cycles in 1976 and did backing sessions for hit producer Sandy Linzer. Linzer, known for his work with Odyssey, then worked with the trio and placed them (with the new name T.S. Monk) on Mirage Records. Their first single Bon Bon Vie made the R&B Top 20 and hit the UK charts as did the follow-up Candidate For Love, both being taken from their US Top 100 album HOUSE OF MUSIC. Despite the encouraging start their sophomore album MORE OF THE GOOD LIFE made a lesser impact and the act, which also included an eight-piece band, soon vanished from sight.