Music of the Day - 'Round Midnight

I was exposed to jazz throughout my childhood but only in my early teens did I become actively interested. Still, it was odd at first, I was more intrigued than in love. 'Round Midnight, a standard written by Thelonious Monk was my first love. It was catchy, dark, melancholic and bluesy at once. The first version I heard was performed by Monk himself, it was a live recording. I was able to rediscover the tune again and again,. Every interpretation of it retains some of the tune's haunting sensitivity. Miles Davis recorded one of the best renditions, and then there is the one I'm sharing with you here, not very well known: Joe Henderson, live at the Junk Clubin Japan, '71. It starts of with a long saxophone introduction. The space and silence in between the notes is very magnetic. Henderson was joined that night by a group of local Japanese musicians, not known internationally, and everyone is performing at their peak.