Origin:

First recorded by Jimmy Dorsey and his Orchestra in 1939

Style:

Typically played either straight or swung, or a combination of both.

Form:

A1-A2-B-A3 (64 Bars) [16-16-16-16]

Key:

Most commonly played in A minor.

Harmony/Overview:

The  harmony of this composition is very functional. The A sections begin on  the relative minor, and while many lead sheets will include the minor  cliché of Imi - ImiMaj7 - Imi7 - Imi6 it is also common to treat it in a  more modal fashion instead. While bars 5-6 can simply remain on VImi  the alternate changes that are often used feature VImi7 followed by  bIIImi7 before a II - V of I. Instead of resolving to IMaj7 however it  stays on IV7 for the following 2 bars. Bars 9-10 can also stay on IImi7,  although a IIImi7b5 - VI7 is also commonly used. It is then followed by  IImi7 - bIIIdim7 before a final II - V resolves back to the tonic to  finish the section. The second time through A however instead of using a  minor II - V to set-up the relative minor once again, a II - V of bVI  is used to set up the modulation to bVI in the bridge. The bridge takes  place entirely in bVI and for the most part remains on the tonic while  using II - V's to generate motion. The final 4 bars however are often  approached with alternate changes. Speaking in terms of the original  key, the changes typically either move through IVmi7 - IVmi7/bIII -  IImi7b5 - V7b9 - IMaj7, or IVmi7 - IVmi7/bIII - bII7 - I7 before a minor  II - V returns back to the relative minor again. The final A section  ends slightly differently than the first two and uses a IVmi - IMaj7  cadence to conclude the form.

Recordings:

This  song has been recorded over 260 times to date. It was first recorded by  Jimmy Dorsey and his Orchestra with Bob Eberly on vocal in 1939. Slowly  but surely this piece began to make it into the repertoire of some of  the leading jazz bands of the day, with recordings being made by Frank  Sinatra, Count Basie, and Billie Holiday to name a few. George Shearing  was one of the first jazz instrumentalists to record this piece in the  studio on his album Latin Affair in 1959, and Freddie Hubbard would soon follow suit on his album Open Sesame in 1960. John Coltrane left behind a legendary recording of it on his album Ballads, and there is also an alternate take from the same date.

JGC Top Picks:

Freddie Hubbard, Open Sesame, 1960

John Coltrane, Ballads, 1962

Kurt Rosenwinkel, East Coast Love Affair, 1996