# 'Round Midnight (song)

"'Round Midnight" (sometimes titled "'Round About Midnight") is a 1943 composition by American jazz pianist Thelonious Monk that quickly became a jazz standard and has been recorded by a wide variety of artists. A version recorded by Monk's quintet was added to the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1993. It is one of the most recorded jazz standards composed by a jazz musician.

## Composition and Monk's first recording

It is thought that Monk composed the song sometime in 1940 or 1941. However, Monk's longtime manager Harry Colomby claims the pianist may have written an early version around 1936 (at the age of 19). The song was copyrighted September 24, 1943, in C minor under the title "I Need You So", with lyrics by a friend of Monk's named Thelma Murray. The first recording was made by Cootie Williams on August 22, 1944, after the pianist Bud Powell persuaded Williams to record the tune. Monk first recorded the song on November 21, 1947. It later appeared on the Blue Note album Genius of Modern Music: Volume 1, and Monk recorded it several times after that. His first version was transcribed by Lionel Grigson in A Thelonious Monk Study Album (Novello, 1993).
Jazz trumpeters Cootie Williams and Dizzy Gillespie further embellished the song, with songwriter Bernie Hanighen adding his own lyrics. Williams composed an eight bar interlude, played by the ensemble on his recording. This interlude is not included on any of Monk's recordings and is rarely if ever played. The lyrics were copyrighted November 27, 1944, and again April 13, 1945, under the title "Grand Finale". Both Williams and Hanighen received co-credits for their contributions. The commonly played intro to "'Round Midnight" was originally composed by Dizzy Gillespie for the end of his arrangement for "I Can't Get Started", but later adopted it to the intro for "'Round Midnight". Gillespie later reused the arrangement for "I Can't Get Started", and recorded it for Birks' Works and Something Old, Something New.

## Later versions

The song is sometimes incorrectly called "'Round About Midnight", as Miles Davis used this as the title of his 1957 Columbia Records album 'Round About Midnight that included a version based on Dizzy Gillespie's arrangement. It became a signature song for Davis; his performance of it with Monk at the 1955 Newport Jazz Festival, which was heard by producer George Avakian, was crucial in securing him a recording contract with Columbia Records. He had previously recorded the song in the studio two other times, once for Prestige in 1953 and again in 1956 as released on Miles Davis and the Modern Jazz Giants. Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers also apparently preferred to use the title "'Round About Midnight", as opposed to the original "'Round Midnight", in several recordings they made of the song.
A recording by Jimmy McGriff was used as the 6pm closedown theme in the early days of Radio Caroline in 1964.
In 1971, Ron Grainer used a down-tempo variation by Cootie Williams to accompany a memorable scene from The Omega Man. The song later appeared on a 2004 Gotan Project CD, Inspiración Espiración, featuring Chet Baker.
In 1986, the song was used as the title for the film Round Midnight which starred veteran saxophonist Dexter Gordon in a fictional story about an expatriate American jazz musician living in Paris. The soundtrack by Herbie Hancock prominently features the song "'Round Midnight" along with a number of other jazz standards and a handful of original pieces written by Hancock.
In 2002, Italian pianist Emanuele Arciuli commissioned a number of composers to create the Round Midnight Variations. The composers included Roberto Andreoni, Milton Babbitt, Alberto Barbero, Carlo Boccadoro, William Bolcom, David Crumb, George Crumb, Michael Daugherty, Filippo Del Corno, John Harbison, Joel Hoffman, Aaron Jay Kernis, Gerald Levinson, Tobias Picker, Matthew Quayle, Frederic Rzewski, Augusta Read Thomas and Michael Torke.

## Notable recordings
### By Monk

| Recording date | Appears on | Duration | Release date | Note |
| 1947/11/21 | Genius of Modern Music | 3:10 | 1951 | The same version was already released in 1947 as a single with "Well You Needn't" as the B-side; today the compilation Genius of Modern Music: Volume 1 is more established. |
| 1954/06/04 | Piano Solo | 5:13 | 1954 | France only release |
| 1957/04/12 | Thelonious Himself | 6:44 | 1957 | The original CD reissue, released in 1987 via Original Jazz Classics/Riverside Records, includes an extensive 22-minute solo recording of "'Round Midnight" outtakes and experimentation in the studio. |
| 1957/08/13 | Mulligan Meets Monk | 8:29 | 1957 | |
| 1958/07/09 | Thelonious in Action | 6:15 | 1989 | Bonus track on 1989-CD reissue |
| 1960/04/29 | Thelonious Monk at the Blackhawk | 12:07 | 1960 | |
| 1961/04/15 | The First European Concert '61 | 7:09 | 1991 | unofficial release |
| 1961/05/16 | Thelonious Monk In Stockholm | 6:52 | 1987 | unofficial release |
| 1963/02/09 | Spastic And Personal | | | unofficial release |
| 1964/10/31 | Live at the It Club | 6:32 | 1982 | |
| 1964/11/03 | Live at the Jazz Workshop | 9:10 | 1982 | |
| 1966/03/27 | Switzerland 1966 | | 1991 | unofficial release |
| 1968/11/19 | Monk's Blues | 3:49 | 1990 | with quartet and big band; originally released in 1968, but the track was first featured on the CD reissue in 1990 as a bonus track (recorded at the same session) |
| 1968 | Straight No Chaser – Music From The Motion Picture (OST) | 2:14 | 1989 | |
| 1970/10/04 | Thelonious Monk In Tokyo | | | |
| 1971/11/14 | The Giants of Jazz | 8:17 | 1972 | as "The Giants of Jazz" with Art Blakey, Dizzy Gillespie, Al McKibbon, Sonny Stitt and Kai Winding; other recordings of the group have been made while touring Europe in 1971 and released as bootlegs |
| 1972/06/15 | The Last Concerts | 6:54 | 2009 | |
| 1972/09/16 | Live At The 1972 Monterey Jazz Festival | 5:15 | 2008/08/05 | as "Art Blakey and The Giants of Jazz" |
| 1975/07/03 | The Last Concerts | 7:40 | 2009 | |

### By others

| Recording Year | Interpreter | Appears on | Release Year | Note |
| 1944 | Cootie Williams | Cootie Williams and His Orchestra 1941–1944 | 1995 | First known recording of the song |
| 1946 | Dizzy Gillespie | Modern Jazz Trumpets | | Gillespie added an introduction and later that year a cadenza for big band arrangement, which "proved so popular that Monk added it (albeit an altered version) to his own performance... It is now a standard part of the song." |
| 1950 | Charlie Parker | One Night In Birdland | 1977 | Released by Columbia Records on LP. |
| 1953 | Miles Davis | Collectors' Items | 1956 | |
| 1954 | Bud Powell | Jazz Original | 1955 | |
| 1955 | Miles Davis | Miles Davis at Newport 1955-1975: The Bootleg Series Vol. 4 | 2015 | Monk on piano; this gig has become comeback for Davis; it earned him the contract with Columbia Records, resulting in his 'Round About Midnight the following year |
| 1956 | Miles Davis | 'Round About Midnight | 1957 | |
| 1956 | Miles Davis | Miles Davis and the Modern Jazz Giants | 1959 | Monk participated on the record but not on the track. |
| 1956 | June Christy | The Misty Miss Christy | 1956 | |
| 1956 | Kenny Dorham | 'Round About Midnight at the Cafe Bohemia | 1957 | |
| 1956 | Art Farmer & Donald Byrd | 2 Trumpets | 1957 | |
| 1957 | Jimmy Smith | Jimmy Smith Trio + LD | 1957 | |
| 1957 | Billy Taylor | The New Billy Taylor Trio | 1958 | |
| 1958 | Michel Legrand | Legrand Jazz | 1958 | |
| 1958 | Mel Tormé | Tormé | 1958 | |
| 1958 | Gil Evans | New Bottle Old Wine | 1958 | |
| 1959 | Art Pepper | Art Pepper + Eleven – Modern Jazz Classics | 1960 | arranged by Marty Paich |
| 1959 | Wes Montgomery | The Wes Montgomery Trio | 1959 | |
| 1959 | Sun Ra | Sound Sun Pleasure!! | 1970 | |
| 1960 | Julie London | Around Midnight | 1960 | |
| 1960 | The Nashville All-Stars | After the Riot at Newport | 1961 | featuring Hank Garland, Chet Atkins, Boots Randolph, Floyd Cramer, Bob Moore, Buddy Harman, Gary Burton & Brenton Banks |
| 1961 | Ella Fitzgerald & Lou Levy | Clap Hands, Here Comes Charlie! | 1962 | |
| 1961 | George Russell | Ezz-thetics | 1961 | |
| 1961 | Miles Davis | Directions | 1980 | Compilation; the whole concert recording was released in 2003 as In Person Friday and Saturday Nights at the Blackhawk, Complete. |
| 1961 | Grant Green | Green Street | 1961 | |
| 1961 | Art Farmer & Benny Golson | The Jazztet at Birdhouse | 1961 | |
| 1961 or 1962 | Bud Powell | 'Round About Midnight at the Blue Note | 1994 | Trio with Pierre Michelot and Kenny Clarke |
| 1962 | Milt Jackson | Big Bags | 1962 | |
| 1962 | Barry Harris | Chasin' the Bird | 1962 | |
| 1962 | Jimmy McGriff | I've Got a Women | 1963 | |
| 1962 | Betty Carter | 'Round Midnight '63 | 1963 | |
| 1962 | Sam Jones | Down Home | 1962 | |
| 1963 | Bill Evans | Conversations with Myself | 1963 | |
| 1963 | Bill Evans | Time Remembered | 1983 | |
| 1963 | Bill Evans | At Shelly's Manne-Hole | 1963 | |
| 1963 | Sarah Vaughan | Sarah Sings Soulfully | 1963 | |
| 1963 | Dizzy Gillespie | Something Old, Something New | 1963 | |
| 1963 | Freda Payne | After the Lights Go Down Low and Much More!!! | 1964 | |
| 1963 | Oscar Peterson & Nelson Riddle | Oscar Peterson and Nelson Riddle | 1963 | |
| 1964 | Bill Evans | The Bill Evans Trio "Live" | 1971 | |
| 1964 | Sonny Rollins | Now's the Time | 1964 | |
| 1964 | Ella Fitzgerald | Ella in Japan: 'S Wonderful | 2011 | |
| 1964 | Bud Powell | Return to Birdland | 1989 | Trio with John Ore and J. C. Moses |
| 1965 | Bud Powell | Ups 'n Downs | 1973 | Solo piano; was ill. |
| 1965 | Bill Evans | Trio '65 | 1965 | |
| 1965 | George Russell | George Russell Sextet at Beethoven Hall | 1965 | |
| 1965 | Andy Bey | 'Round Midnight | 1965 | |
| 1966 | Wes Montgomery & Jimmy Smith | Further Adventures of Jimmy and Wes | 1966 | |
| 1966 | Baden Powell | Tristeza On Guitar | 1967 | |
| 1967 | Bill Evans | California Here I Come | 1982 | |
| 1969 | Miles Davis | 1969 Miles – Festiva De Juan Pins | 1993 | The whole concert recording was released in 2013 as Live in Europe 1969: The Bootleg Series Vol. 2. |
| 1969 | Bill Evans | Autumn Leaves | 1980 | |
| 1969 | Bill Evans | You're Gonna Hear from Me | 1988 | |
| 1969 | Betty Carter | Round Midnight '75 | 1975 | |
| 1969 | Illinois Jacquet | The Blues; That's Me! | 1969 | |
| 1970 | Joe Henderson | If You're Not Part of the Solution, You're Part of the Problem | 1970 | |
| 1971 | Joe Henderson | Joe Henderson in Japan | 1971 | |
| 1972 | Kenny Burrell | 'Round Midnight | 1972 | |
| 1973 | Joe Pass | Virtuoso | 1973 | |
| 1976 | Barry Harris | Live in Tokyo | 1976 | |
| 1976 | Dexter Gordon | Homecoming: Live at the Village Vanguard | 1977 | |
| 1977 | Joe McPhee | Variations on a Blue Line | 1979 | |
| 1978 | Art Pepper | Among Friends | 1978 | |
| 1979 | Joe Pass & Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen | Northsea Nights | 1979 | |
| 1979 | Ella Fitzgerald | A Perfect Match | 1979 | |
| 1980 | Sun Ra Arkestra | Sunrise in Different Dimensions | 1981 | |
| 1981 | Chick Corea | Trio Music | 1981 | |
| 1981 | Herbie Hancock | Quartet | 1982 | |
| 1981 | Freddie Hubbard | Keystone Bop Vol. 2: Friday & Saturday | 1996 | |
| 1981 | Mal Waldron & Steve Lacy | Live at Dreher, Paris 1981 | 1996 | |
| 1982 | Abdullah Ibrahim | African Dawn | 1982 | |
| 1984 | Dorothy Ashby | Django/Misty | 1984 | |
| 1984 | Various Artists | That's the Way I Feel Now: A Tribute to Thelonious Monk | 1984 | Interpretation by Joe Jackson |
| 1984 | Michel Petrucciani | Live at the Village Vanguard | 1985 | |
| 1984 | Stanley Jordan | Magic Touch | 1985 | |
| 1984 | Kronos Quartet | Monk Suite | 1984 | |
| 1985 | Herbie Hancock | Round Midnight | 1986 | Soundtrack for Bertrand Tavernier's 1986 movie of the same name |
| 1985 | Dexter Gordon | The Other Side of Round Midnight | 1986 | Recorded during the shooting of for the 1986 film; produced and arranged by Hancock as well. |
| 1985 | Ahmad Jamal | Live at the Montreal Jazz Festival 1985 | 1986 | |
| 1986 | Linda Ronstadt | For Sentimental Reasons | 1986 | |
| 1986 | Helen Merrill | Music Makers | 1986 | |
| 1987 | Matia Bazar | Melò (album) Oggi è già domani... Intorno a mezzanotte ('Round Midnight) | 1987 | Text and adaptation in Italian by Aldo Stellita |
| 1987 | Mikio Masuda | Smokin' Night | 1988 | |
| 1988 | Carmen McRae | Carmen Sings Monk | 1988 | |
| 1988 | Hue & Cry | Bitter Suite | 1989 | |
| 1989 | Charlie Rouse | Epistrophy | 1989 | |
| 1989 | Charlie Haden | The Montreal Tapes: Tribute to Joe Henderson | 2004 | |
| 1989 | Chick Corea | Alive | 1991 | |
| 1990 | Art Ensemble of Chicago & Cecil Taylor | Thelonious Sphere Monk: Dreaming of the Masters Series Vol. 2 | 1992 | |
| 1990 | Chick Corea & Bobby McFerrin | Play | 1990 | |
| 1991 | Big Sugar | Big Sugar | 1991 | |
| 1991 | Cassandra Wilson | Live | 1991 | |
| 1991 | Ran Blake | Epistrophy | 1991 | |
| 1991 | Emil Viklický | 'Round Midnight | 1991 | |
| 1991 | Cassandra Wilson | After the Beginning Again | 1997 | |
| 1992 | GRP All-Star Big Band | GRP All-Star Big Band | 1992 | |
| 1993 | Elkie Brooks | Round Midnight | 1996 | |
| 1996 | Lee Konitz | Alone Together | 1997 | with Brad Mehldau & Charlie Haden |
| 1996 | Kurt Rosenwinkel | East Coast Love Affair | 1996 | |
| 1996 | Elkie Brooks | Amazing | 1996 | |
| 1997 | Ronnie Earl | The Colour of Love | 1997 | |
| 1997 | Bill Holman | Brilliant Corners: The Music of Thelonious Monk | 1997 | |
| 1998 | Steve Rochinski | A Bird In The Hand | 1999 | this version was arranged by Tal Farlow specifically for Steve Rochinski |
| 1998 | Andy Summers | Green Chimneys | 1999 | vocals by Sting (musician) |
| 1999 | Keith Jarrett | Whisper Not | 2000 | with his "Standards Trio" |
| 2000 | Jessica Williams | The Real Deal | 2004 | |
| 2001 | Billy Cobham | The Art of Three | 2001 | |
| 2002 | Ledisi | Feeling Orange but Sometimes Blue | 2002 | |
| 2003 | Alexander von Schlippenbach | Monk's Casino | 2005 | |
| 2004 | Amy Winehouse | Frank (Deluxe edition) | 2004 | |
| 2004 | Gotan Project | Inspiración Espiración | 2004 | |
| 2004 | Chaka Khan | ClassiKhan | 2004 | |
| 2007 | Keith Jarrett & Charlie Haden | Last Dance | 2014 | |
| 2011 | Joanna MacGregor | Joanna MacGregor Plays Gershwin & The American Songbook | 2011 | Transcription of Thelonious Monk's 1954 solo recording. |
| 2012 | Sylvia Brooks | Restless | 2012 | |
| 2013 | Earl Klugh | HandPicked | 2013 | |
| 2017 | Miho Hazama | The Monk: Live at Bimhuis | 2018 | with Metropole Orkest |
| 2017 | Wadada Leo Smith | Solo: Reflections and Meditations on Monk | 2015 | |
| 2018 | Jon Batiste | Anatomy of Angels: Live at the Village Vanguard | 2019 | |
| 2022 | Jeanfrançois Prins | Blue Note Mode | 2024 | In quartet with Danny Grissett, Jay Anderson, and E. J. Strickland. Prins partly re-harmonized the tune, making it resolve in minor. |