Style:

Ballad.

Form:

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

Key:

Ellington first recorded this piece with his orchestra in F Major, while his legendary recording featuring John Coltrane was performed in Db.

Harmony/Overview:

The harmony of this composition is functional, and for the most part takes place in the relative minor. The song begins on VImi and proceeds with a very traditional/spiritual sounding lament. After the blues tinged pentatonic melody is initially stated the A sections finally resolve to the relative Major. The bridge revolves around a I-VI-II-V in bVI before  a II-V of the relative Major deceptively resolves back again to the  relative minor.

Recordings:

This  song has been recorded over 600 times to date. Ellington first recorded it with his orchestra in 1935, although his historic recording alongside John Coltrane in 1963 has come to be one of his best-known  renditions of the tune.

JGC Top Picks:

Duke Ellington & John Coltrane, Duke Ellington and John Coltrane, 1962

McCoy Tyner, Atlantis, 1974

Chris Potter, Concentric Circles, 1994