Style:

Waltz, typically played at bright tempo.

Form:

A-B (32 Bars) [16-16]

Arrangements:

The head is typically played twice before the solo form begins. The shots used during the head are sometimes used as a vamp for an extended drum solo.

Key:

No definitive key center, the first chord is F minor.

Harmony/Overview:

This  composition is a modal piece and the harmony is not functional.  Although the composition comes from a suite composed by Evans and Davis  it has come to be most commonly treated as a 32 bar form. The  progression moves through just three different chords total: 8 bars  Fmi11, 8 bars AbmiMaj7, and 16 bars Emi7.

Recordings:

This  composition lived a subterranean life for most of its existence. It  originally stems from a 1963 collaboration between Evans and Miles as a  suite entitled "Time of the Barracudas". It was originally recorded by  the Gil Evans Orchestra in 1963 and went unreleased until The Complete Miles & Gil Studio Recordings in 1996. The same recording was also later re-released on the 1997 reissue of Quiet Nights. For whatever reason, Wayne Shorter's recording from 1965 was also not released until much later in 1980 on his album Et Cetera.  Throughout the years this piece has been referred to as "Time of the  Barracudas", "Waltz", and "General Assembly", but it is most commonly  known as "Barracudas".

JGC Top Picks:

Gil Evans, The Individuality of Gil Evans, 1963

Wayne Shorter, Et Cetera, 1965

Scott Colley, Initial Wisdom, 2002