Style:

Swing, usually played at an up tempo.

Form:

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

Arrangements:

A brief 12 bar intro typically begins the performance, and it is also sometimes used as an ending. This intro can be heard on the first recording from Larry Young's album Unity.

Key:

No definitive key center; A sections resolve to DMaj7#11.

Harmony/Overview:

The harmony of this composition is not functional, and it remains very loosely associated with any sort of definitive key center. The A  sections begin with BbMaj7 and proceed with Amin7. Bars 5-6 seem to be  an area of contention amongst some musicians as varying lead sheets tend to include different chord changes. One commonly used set of changes is  Cmi7 - Dmi7 - Ebmi7 - Fmi7; Larry Young plays these chords on his recording from Unity. However,  another commonly used set of changes is to play CMaj7 - F9sus - BbMaj7 -  EbMaj7; in this instance the melody lands on the Maj7 of F9sus so it is to be voiced with care. The later set of changes seem to be more in  line with how Woody Shaw would approach the tune himself, as the root  motion that cycles through 4th's is very characteristic of his sound. The bridge begins on EbMaj7 and remains static for a brief moment. The  last 4 bars of the bridge finish with a cycle made up of min7 chords moving in parallel motion: down a whole tone, then repeated up a minor  3rd (Gmi7 - Fmi7, Bbmi7 - Abmi7, C#mi7 - Bmi7). It is worth noting that  the bass line can very easily voice lead upward through these changes with a half/whole diminished scale, and that even the melody here is  derived from the diminished scale.

Recordings:

This song has been recorded over 20 times to date, and was first introduced on Larry Young's album Unity in 1965. Woody Shaw would record this composition multiple times throughout his career, including on his album The Moontrane, as well as alongside Dexter Gordon on Sophisticated Giant, and Freddie Hubbard on The Eternal Triangle.

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JGC Top Picks:

Larry Young, Unity, 1965

Dexter Gordon, Sophisticated Giant, 1977

Adam Rogers, Sight, 2009