'Round Midnight

Monk probably wrote it in 1940 or 1941; his manager Harry Colomby claims an early version around 1936. It was copyrighted on September 24, 1943 as "I Need You So" with lyrics by Thelma Murray, and also called "'Round About Midnight"; Bernie Hanighen later wrote lyrics, and the form is A1 A2 B A2, originally in E-flat minor. Cootie Williams and His Orchestra made the first recording on August 22, 1944 after Bud Powell urged him, and added an eight-bar interlude that Monk's own recordings omit. Timme Rosenkrantz recorded Monk solo in November 1944. Dizzy Gillespie's introduction, from his January 1945 "I Can't Get Started" coda, was first used on this tune in February 1946, and Monk's November 21, 1947 Blue Note take used that introduction. Tom Lord's discography counts 1,780 recordings.

Monk's own versions include the 1947 quintet (a single with "Well, You Needn't" on the B-side), a 1954 solo in Paris on Piano Solo, a solo take on Thelonious Himself (April 1957, 6:39, with a 21:59 "in progress" outtake on the 1987 CD), Mulligan Meets Monk (August 1957, 8:29), and Live at the Blackhawk (April 29, 1960, 12:07). Miles Davis recorded it in 1953 and his Newport performance in 1955 helped win him a Columbia contract; others include Charlie Parker (1950), Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Dexter Gordon, Linda Ronstadt, Amy Winehouse and Jon Batiste. The Bertrand Tavernier film 'Round Midnight (1986) starred Dexter Gordon with a score by Herbie Hancock. It entered the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1993. We found no Monk statement about the song, and our upload's version is unidentified.