Steve Rodda
Electric Guitar Solo on
Well, You Needn't

About

Steve Rodda's electric guitar solo is the second of two solos on this funk arrangement of Thelonious Monk's Well, You Needn't, following Emma Rawicz's tenor saxophone. He takes two choruses of the 32-bar AABA form at a slightly pushed tempo of 191 BPM, his electric guitar tone bringing a rock-influenced texture to Monk's angular composition. The funk reharmonization provides Rodda with a rhythmically charged foundation for improvisation, and the electric guitar's sustain and timbral flexibility allow him to approach Monk's harmonic framework from a different angle than the preceding saxophone solo. The pairing of electric guitar with tenor saxophone rather than the traditional piano creates an unconventional sonic palette that gives this 2021 performance its contemporary edge.