WELL YOU NEEDN'T - Free Jazz Leadsheet

“well you needn't” is a composition by Thelonious Monk, written in 1944. It became a mainstay of the bebop repertoire and one of Monk’s signature tunes.

The first recording was made by Monk’s quartet in the mid-1940s. Subsequent recordings include interpretations by Miles Davis, Art Blakey, and Bill Evans.

The piece features dissonant intervals, angular melodies, and unexpected rhythmic accents, typically in a 32-bar AABA form. The music conveys a playful tension, consistent with Monk’s modern harmonic style.