Ask Me Now

Ask Me Now is an original ballad composed by Thelonious Monk, first recorded on July 23, 1951 with his quintet for the Genius of Modern Music sessions on Blue Note Records. Written as a tonally ambiguous piece rooted in D-flat major, the composition draws from both C major and C minor, with its bridge transposing the main melodic material up a fourth. The harmonic language features mediant progressions and resolutions that sound deliberately askew, giving the ballad a dramatic, slightly square character unlike typical jazz ballads of the era. Monk's own solo piano rendition, captured on Solo Monk in 1964, is particularly striking for its massive ten-note dissonant chord near the end, a percussive climax that erupts amid the repetition of a thirty-second melodic motif. The tune became a staple of Monk's nightclub sets from Minton's Playhouse onward, though sheet music was not widely available until Ted Rosenthal published an arrangement in 1989. Jon Hendricks later wrote lyrics for the melody under the title How I Wish, recorded by Carmen McRae on Carmen Sings Monk, while Mark Murphy sang a separate lyric credited to Ben Sidran. Other notable interpretations include Pee Wee Russell's peaceful clarinet reading, which provides a meditative contrast to Monk's angular intensity. The tune remains a respected deep cut in Monk's catalog, frequently performed but considered a genuine challenge for its ear-defying progressions.