Style:

Swing, usually taken at a comfortable medium tempo.

Form:

A-A-B-A (32 Bars) [8-8-8-8]

Key:

C Major

Harmony/Overview:

The harmony of this composition is very conventional and is made up almost entirely of II - V - I's. The A sections begin on IMaj7 and start by modulating II - V's down in whole-steps before arriving at bVIMaj7 in the 5th bar. A final II - V then returns back to the tonic to finish off the section. The B section is centered around a II - V in the home key, and it is very common for the bass to pedal on beats 2 & 4 for the first 6 bars of this section. The final II - V which concludes the bridge is also oftentimes approached with a chromatic II - V from a semi-tone below.

Recordings:

This song has been recorded over 60 times to date and is one of John Lewis' most popular compositions. John Lewis first recorded it himself in 1949 for Prestige Records alongside Sonny Stitt and J.J. Johnson, however this was not released until 1956. Phineas Newborn Jr. was the first to release a recording of this tune on his album Here Is Phineas earlier that year. It has since been covered by a wide range of jazz musicians and it continues to be performed to this day.

JGC Top Picks:

Phineas Newborn Jr., Here Is Phineas, 1956 

Sonny Rollins, Now's The Time, 1964 

Steve Grossman, Bouncing With Mr. A.T., 1989