Style:

Waltz

Form:

minor blues (24 bars)

Similar to a traditional minor blues, only with an extended form and an unconventional turnaround.

Key:

C minor

Harmony/Overview:

While  this composition is based on a standard minor blues, the turn-around is not entirely functional. On the original recording Herbie Hancock can  be heard playing F#m7b5 - FMaj7#11 - Emi7b5 - EbMaj7#11. However, this tends to be a place of contention among many musicians as varying lead  sheets include different sets of changes. Other common turnarounds used  on this tune include: F#m7b5 - F7#11 - E7alt - Eb7#11, and also F#m7b5 -  B7alt - Emi7b5 - A7alt. Some lead sheets will even only include D7 -  Db7. It is worth noting that there are countless possibilities in the  reharmonization of this passage, and that the majority of differing changes revolve mainly around substituting Maj7 sounds for Dominant  sounds, along with the utilization of tri-tone substitution. The use of  metric modulation and super-imposition of different time signatures is  also commonly used when approaching this tune; as first heard on the highly influential recording from Miles Smiles. The ostinato figure played by the bass during the head is often abandoned as the performance goes on.

Recordings:

This song has been recorded over 175 times to date. It was first recorded by Wayne Shorter on his album album Adam's Apple in 1966. Miles Davis would also record it as a leader later that same year on his album Miles Smiles. Since then it has become one of the most popular standards in the repertoire among instrumentalists, and it continues to be performed and  recorded frequently to this day. It also remains an especially popular jam session vehicle.

JGC Top Picks:

Miles Davis, Miles Smiles, 1966

Quest, Circular Dreaming, 2012

Lionel Loueke, Reuben Rogers & Eric Harland, Close Your Eyes, 2021