Style:

Swing, usually taken at an up tempo.

Form:

A-B1-A-B2 (32 Bars) [8-8-8-8]

Key:

D Major

Harmony/Overview:

The harmony of this composition is conventional and is made up almost entirely of II - V's. The main theme revolves around IImi11 - V7#11 -  IMaj7, and II - V's continue to descend in whole steps for the first 12  bars of the composition. The final 4 bars of both B1 and B2 however are  slightly different, with B1 finishing on IImi7 before a V7 of bVIMaj7 resolves to bVIMaj7, and B2 returning back to the tonic with a II - V.  John Coltrane would later use the changes of this tune as the basis for his composition "Countdown".

Recordings:

This song has been recorded over 60 times to date. It was first introduced on Miles Davis' 1954 album Blue Haze, and he would also record it in 1956 for his seminal album Cookin' with the Miles Davis Quintet.  Many leading musicians of the day found favor in the song's bop oriented changes and it has since been recorded by the likes of Sonny Rollins, Sonny Stitt, Grant Green, and Hank Mobley to name a few. It  continues to be performed frequently to this day and is a common jam session number. There is some speculation as to whether or not Eddie Vinson actually composed the tune, although it is unclear as to whether or not this is true.

JGC Top Picks:

Miles Davis, Cookin', 1956

Sonny Rollins, Newk's Time, 1957

Wes Montgomery, Movin' Along, 1960