Style:

Typically played swung.

Form:

A1-B-A2-C (32 Bars) [8-8-8-8]

Key:

Most commonly played in Eb Major.

Harmony/Overview:

The  harmony of this composition is functional, with the main theme  revolving around the constant borrowing of sub-dominant minor sounds to  return back to the tonic. The A section begins with IVmi - IMaj7, and  continues with a variation of the same by using a mi II- V (IVmi  functions similarly to IImi7b5). The first A section then finishes with a  II - V of bIII. The B section is relatively straightforward, beginning  with the common progression of IIImi7 - bIIIdim7 - IImi7 - V7. The  section finishes with a turnaround that makes its way back to the tonic:  IMaj7 - V7/III - IIImi7b5 - VI7 - IImi7 - V7. The final C section  begins on IVMaj7 and uses a minor II - V of III to set up the final III - VI -  II - V which concludes the form.

Recordings:

This song has been recorded over 250 times to date. It was first introduced in the 1955 musical Silk Stockings,  which would later be adapted to film in 1957. Ahmad Jamal was one of  the first musicians to see the potential of the tune as a jazz vehicle,  recording it just three months after the initial Broadway debut on his  album Ahmad Jamal Plays. Since then many jazz musicians have recorded it, from the likes of Miles Davis Bill Evans, McCoy Tyner, and many more.

JGC Top Picks:

Miles Davis, 'Round About Midnight, 1956

Bill Evans, Sunday at the Village Vanguard, 1961

McCoy Tyner, Live at Newport, 1963