“Round Midnight” by Thelonious Monk

"'Round Midnight" was already a jazz standard by the time Thelonious Monk sat down with Gerry Mulligan for Mulligan Meets Monk in 1957. Monk had written it years before: it was copyrighted in 1943 under another name, "I Need You So", and Cootie Williams, prodded by Bud Powell, made the first recording in 1944, three years before Monk got around to cutting it himself. Williams shares the composer credit, and Bernie Hanighen supplied the lyrics.

This take pares it down to four players: Monk's piano up against Mulligan's baritone saxophone, with Wilbur Ware on bass and Shadow Wilson on drums. Orrin Keepnews produced. Few tunes by a jazz musician have been recorded more often.

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