https://modestwalrus.com/tags/round-midnight/Recent content in 'Round Midnight on Modest WalrusHugoen-usMon, 15 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://modestwalrus.com/music/round-midnight-by-thelonious-monk/Mon, 15 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://modestwalrus.com/music/round-midnight-by-thelonious-monk/<h2 id="why-i-reacted-to-this-song">Why I Reacted To This Song</h2> <p>Thelonious Monk is one of the great jazz pianists. His approach to the instrument is unlike anyone else; angular, unpredictable and completely his own. &ldquo;&lsquo;Round Midnight&rdquo; is the song that defines him and it demanded a reaction.</p> <h2 id="original-by-artist">Original by Artist</h2> <div style="position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden;"> <iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share; fullscreen" loading="eager" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IrAfjW5qiyo?autoplay=0&amp;controls=1&amp;end=0&amp;loop=0&amp;mute=0&amp;start=0" style="position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; border:0;" title="YouTube video"></iframe> </div> <h2 id="about-this-song">About This Song</h2> <p>&ldquo;&lsquo;Round Midnight&rdquo; was written by Thelonious Monk around 1944 and has since become one of the most recorded jazz standards in history. The title captures the mood perfectly; a piece that sounds like the loneliness and stillness of the late-night hours. Monk&rsquo;s harmonic language was ahead of its time, full of dissonance and surprise, and nowhere is that more apparent than here. Miles Davis, Coltrane and countless others have covered it, but Monk&rsquo;s own recordings remain the definitive versions.</p>