Thelonious Sphere Monk is recognized as one of the most influential figures in the history of Jazz and his impact as a composer and pianist has had a profound influence on every genre of music. Monk probably composed ” Round Midnight” in 1938, though no one knows for sure. Monk soon became known as a great jazz innovator, one of a small group of musicians who were part of the bebop revolution of the 1940s. The album is a ballad both tender and haunting, capturing that “last call” feeling late into the evening, with a sense of solitude, sadness, and reverie. In 1955, Miles Davis played “‘Round Midnight” at the Newport Jazz Festival, with Monk on piano. Davis’s performance of the song, after several troubled years, reawakened critical interest in him, and led to the formation of his quintet with John Coltrane , and signing to Columbia Records . The following year Davis released his first album with Columbia, called “Round About Midnight”, and “‘Round Midnight” was the opening track.

Thelonious Monk’s birth certificate