Bill Evans and The Craft of Improvisation PDF

Bill Evans and the Craft of Improvisation
Volume I
by
Austin Andrew Gross
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
of the
Requirements for the Degree
Doctor of Philosophy
Supervised by
Professor Robert Wason

and
Professor Matthew Brown
Department of Music Theory

Eastman School of Music
University of Rochester
Rochester, New York
2011
ii
Copyright 2011 Austin Andrew Gross

iii
Curriculum Vitae
! Austin Gross was born in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, and grew up in Emmaus,
Pennsylvania. He attended West Chester University from 2000 to 2004 as a member of
the Honors Program, graduating summa cum laude and earning a Bachelor of Music with
a double major in Music Education and Music Theory and Composition. He earned a
Master of Arts in Theory at the Eastman School of Music in 2007. During the 2010-2011
academic year, he taught at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

iv
Acknowledgements
! It is a pleasure to be able to thank three mentors who have shaped my perspective,
initially in classes and later in my work on this project. Some of the ideas for this study
were first fostered during my time in Robert Wasons seminar on Bill Evans. As an
advisor, his comments both early on in the project as well as in its final stages have
helped shape my understanding of the relationship between jazz theory and practice. I
have appreciated his keen insights and his encouragement along the way.
! I am also grateful to have had Matthew Brown as a teacher and advisor. He
provided crucial support while I worked to frame the theoretical issues. His method of
inquiry into musical processes have left their mark on me as well as on this work, and his
thoughtful support has always been a welcome constant. I will always look back fondly
on our many conversations together.
! Dariusz Terefenkos classes on keyboard techniques helped to stimulate an
interest in the bridge between performance and theoretical ideas, where understanding is
achieved in part by working toward a true fluency in the language of music, not only by
making statements about it, but by speaking it as well. His model and inspiration in this
area helped to shape the essence of this work. His sensitivity as a reader helped to bring
the work to its present form, and I am also thankful to him for his generosity in
proofreading my transcriptions. I have taken many of his suggestions.
! My mom and dad, Charlotte and Jeffrey, have served and continue to serve as
wonderful parents. Their endless support and unswerving devotion have filled me with a
sense of meaningful place, purpose, and direction.

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! My sister, Ellen, has been my musical counterpart and friend for as long as I can
remember. Having a lifelong musical companion and friend as a kind of birthright is a
wonderful way to go through life.
! For her immeasurable support, strength, and love, I am eternally grateful to my
wife, Jaclyn.
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Abstract
! Patterns have a long and deep history in the tradition of improvisation. Jazz
musicians often use the tonal frameworks of tunes from the Great American Songbook as
plans for their improvisations. On top of these tonal plans, players may draw from a set
of memorized licks. The present study mediates between these two levels of structure by
codifying specific melodic frameworks at the level of the phrase in the solos of jazz
pianist Bill Evans. Analyses show that Evans utilized the same melodic frameworks in
different performances, but used them to create new melodic lines. These frameworks
provide specific ways of navigating the voice-leading strands of a tune, often referred to
as guide tones in the study of jazz harmony. At the same time, they allow the performer
the flexibility and freedom to create new melodic material in each performance, since
they can be elaborated in different ways.
! Although Evans left no extant descriptions of his own structural models for many
of the tunes he played, his repeated performances of certain tunes throughout his career
offer a way to determine the melodic models used in his solos. The present study
compares different performances of the same tune with one another, as a performance
family, codifying melodic frameworks that occur across each set of performances. In
addition, since many of the underlying phrase models of standard tunes occur across the
repertoire, comparisons can be made between Evanss performances of different tunes.
Wherever the fixed aspects can be understood as governing the variable aspects, the fixed
elements can be conceived as structural frames for the solo.
! Acknowledging the existence of such cross-performance structures provides
insight into one kind of knowledge that a player can have when approaching a jazz
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performance, and aligns with the study of expert behavior by cognitive psychologists. At
the same time, positing such structures blurs the traditional distinction between
composition and improvisation. In Evanss case, comparing multiple performances of the
same tune provides one way to distinguish learned from improvised behavior,
illuminating a level of invariant structure that mediates between the global tonal plan and
local licks. Since they exist at the level of the phrase and are neither as general as a tonal
plan nor as succinct as licks, these melodic frameworks can be useful in jazz pedagogy as
a fruitful starting point for aspiring improvisers.

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Table of Contents
Volume I
Introduction! 1
Part I: The Craft of Improvisation! 13
Chapter 1: Improvisation as Problem-Solving! 14
Chapter 2: Determining the Syntax and Deriving the Models! 48
Part II: Tunes! 95
Chapter 3: Autumn Leaves ! 96
Chapter 4: Beautiful Love ! 129
Chapter 5: Alice in Wonderland ! 178
Chapter 6: My Romance ! 191
Chapter 7: I Should Care ! 196
Chapter 8: Sweet and Lovely ! 208
Conclusion! 219
Works Cited! 221
Discography! 225
Copyright Permissions! 226
Volume II
Note on the Transcriptions! iii
List of Transcribed Performances! iv
Transcriptions! 1
ix
List of Tables
TABLE 1: List of Performances! 9
TABLE 2: List of Interviews! 11

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List of Examples
EXAMPLE 1.1: Basic Melodic and Harmonic Framework of How About You ! 21
EXAMPLE 1.2: Formal Plan of First A Section of How About You! 22
EXAMPLE 1.3: Tonal Plan of How About You! 23
EXAMPLE 1.4: Evanss First Eight Measures of How About You! 24
EXAMPLE 1.5: Example of a Top-Flight Solo on How About You ! 27
EXAMPLE 1.6: Demonstration of working simply on How About You ! 28
EXAMPLE 1.7: Demonstration of a vague solo on How About You ! 28
EXAMPLE 1.8: Top-Flight and Simple Solos with Analysis! 30
EXAMPLE 1.8 (cont.): Top-Flight and Simple Solos with Analysis! 31
EXAMPLE 1.9: Evanss Vague and Approximate Solo with Analysis! 33
EXAMPLE 1.10: Diagram of typical jazz resources and processes! 44
EXAMPLE 2.1: Chopin, Mazurka, Op. 6, No. 1, mm. 1-4! 53
EXAMPLE 2.2: Schumann, Ich will meine Seele tauchen, mm. 1-9! 55
EXAMPLE 2.3: Schumann, Im wunderschnen Monat Mai, mm. 1-8! 56
EXAMPLE 2.4: Deep Middlegrounds in Two Types of Deceptive Openings! 59
EXAMPLE 2.5: Basic Melodic and Harmonic Framework of I Love You, by Cole
Porter ! 61
EXAMPLE 2.6: Evanss phrase shifts in Who Can I Turn To Solo! 65
EXAMPLE 2.7: Alternate approaches to beginning a solo on Autumn Leaves ! 67
EXAMPLE 2.8: Expanding V chords into ii-V motions in the B section of Rhythm
Changes in Bb major! 70
EXAMPLE 2.9: Contrapuntal Reinterpretation of V as ii-V Progression! 71
EXAMPLE 2.10: Reharmonizing a Chain of Dominants by Reharmonizing

Suspensions! 72
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EXAMPLE 2.11: Common Practice Period Behavior of Scale Degree 7 in Dominant-

Tonic Cadences! 75
EXAMPLE 2.12: Jazz Behavior of Scale Degree 7 in Dominant-Tonic Cadences! 75
EXAMPLE 2.13: Jazz Behavior of Scale Degree 2 in Dominant-Tonic Cadences! 76
EXAMPLE 2.14: Essential Voices of Melodic Closure in Evanss Right-Hand

Improvised Lines! 78
EXAMPLE 2.15: Polyphonic Origins of Example 2.16! 79
EXAMPLE 2.16: Setting of 5-1 line within the context of the 2-1 and 5-4-3 lines!79
EXAMPLE 2.17: 5-1 descending line over dominant-to-tonic motions! 80
EXAMPLE 2.18: Polyphonic Setting of Models! 81
EXAMPLE 2.19: 5-1 Ascent in Major! 82
EXAMPLE 2.20: 5-1 Ascent as Single Line! 82
EXAMPLE 2.21: 5-1 Ascent Model with upper pedal on scale degree 5 and chromatic
passing tones! 83
EXAMPLE 2.22: Pedal 5 elaborated with Arch Contour! 83
EXAMPLE 2.23: Derivation of V/V of V! 84
EXAMPLE 2.24: Possible Model behind Example 2.23! 85
EXAMPLE 2.25: Considering off-tonic openings as abbreviations of tonic

openings! 86
EXAMPLE 2.26: b5-1 line over V/V - V - i Progression! 86
EXAMPLE 2.27: b5-1 line over V/V - V - i Progression with Added Voices! 87
EXAMPLE 2.28: Creating a circle-of-fifths sequence by dominant extension! 88
EXAMPLE 2.29: Creating a circle-of-fifths sequence in a jazz setting! 89
EXAMPLE 2.30: Adding Voice-leading Strands to a circle-of-fifths sequence! 90
EXAMPLE 2.31: Tonic Break in C major! 91
EXAMPLE 2.32: Dominant Break in D minor! 92
EXAMPLE 2.33: Dominant Seventh Chord Expansion (C7)! 93

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EXAMPLE 3.1: Basic Melodic and Harmonic Framework of Autumn Leaves ! 98
EXAMPLE 3.2: Voice-leading strands of A Sections of Autumn Leaves ! 100
EXAMPLE 3.3: Melodic Underpinning of Melody of A Sections of Autumn

Leaves ! 100
EXAMPLE 3.4: Derivation of C Section of Autumn Leaves from A Section

Counterpoint! 101
EXAMPLE 3.5: Linear Underpinning of Melody of Autumn Leaves ! 102
EXAMPLE 3.6: ii-V-I arpeggiated patterns as a method for navigating guide-tone

lines! 103
EXAMPLE 3.7: Reproduction of Example 3.2! 104
EXAMPLE 3.8: Parsing of A Sections of Autumn Leaves ! 106
EXAMPLE 3.9: Triadic Settings of 5-1 Descent! 106
EXAMPLE 3.10: Contrapuntal Derivation of ii-V Progression (Reproduction of

Example 2.9)! 108
EXAMPLE 3.11: Jazz Settings of 5-1 Descent! 108
EXAMPLE 3.12: Delay of 5-1 Descent! 111
EXAMPLE 3.13: Portrait in Jazz (Take 2): IA: 1-4 (1-4)! 111
EXAMPLE 3.14: Birdland 4/30/60: IA: pickups to 1-4 (pickups to 1-4)! 112
EXAMPLE 3.16: Portrait in Jazz (Take 2): IA: pickup measure through 1-4 (pickup to
8-13)! 114
EXAMPLE 3.17: Portrait in Jazz (Take 2): IIA: 1-4 (41-44)! 116
EXAMPLE 3.18: Portrait in Jazz (Take 2): IIIA: 1-4 (65-68)! 116
EXAMPLE 3.19: Birdland 3/19/60: IIIA: 1-4 (65-68)! 116
EXAMPLE 3.20: Portrait in Jazz (Take 2): IIIB: 5-8 (85-88)! 117
EXAMPLE 3.21: Birdland 3/12/60: IIIB: 5-8 (85-88)! 117
EXAMPLE 3.22: Setting of 5-1 Descent in G minor! 118

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EXAMPLE 3.23: Alternate Settings of 5-1 Descent in G minor! 119
EXAMPLE 3.24: Examples of D-Delay with Encircling! 120
EXAMPLE 3.25: Portrait in Jazz (Take 1): IIA: 5-8 (37-40)! 120
EXAMPLE 3.26: Birdland 3/19/60: IA: 5-8 (5-8)! 121
EXAMPLE 3.29: Portrait in Jazz (Take 1): IIIA: pickups to 5-8 (pickups to
69-72)! 121
EXAMPLE 3.32: Birdland 4/30/60: IIA: 5-8 (37-40)! 122
EXAMPLE 3.37: Birdland 3/12/60: IIA: 4 into 8 (36 into 40)! 124
EXAMPLE 3.39: Portrait in Jazz (Take 1): IVA: 5-8 (109-112)! 125
EXAMPLE 3.40: Setting of 3rds and 7ths over V/V - V - i! 125
EXAMPLE 3.41: Typical Evans voicings for V/V - V - i! 125
EXAMPLE 3.42: Evanss Scaffold for V/V - V - i, as at the opening of the B Section of
Autumn Leaves ! 126
EXAMPLE 3.43: Examples of V/V - V - i Chromatic Scaffold ! 127
EXAMPLE 4.1: Basic Melodic and Harmonic Framework of Beautiful Love ! 130
EXAMPLE 4.2: Voice-leading of Beautiful Love ! 131
EXAMPLE 4.3: Lead-in! 132

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EXAMPLE 4.4: Generic Fingering Plan for Lead-in Paradigm! 134
EXAMPLE 4.5: Fingering Plan for Example 4.3, Excerpt 1! 134
EXAMPLE 4.6: Fingering Plan for Example 4.3, Excerpt 2! 134
EXAMPLE 4.7: Alternate Approach for Lead-in of Beautiful Love ! 136
EXAMPLE 4.8: 5-1 Descent Paradigms! 137
EXAMPLE 4.9: Excerpts based on Paradigm 4.8-a! 139
EXAMPLE 4.10: Excerpts based on Paradigm 4.8-b! 140
EXAMPLE 4.11: Octatonic Notes Relationship to A7 chord! 141
EXAMPLE 4.12: Excerpts based on Paradigm 4.8-b with octatonic line! 142
EXAMPLE 4.13: Arpeggiation! 144
EXAMPLE 4.14: Reproduction of Second Excerpt in Example 4.13, with

analysis! 145
EXAMPLE 4.15: 5-1 Ascent Paradigm! 146
EXAMPLE 4.16: Mixing Paradigms in D Minor: 5-1 ascent and a 5-1 descent! 147
EXAMPLE 4.17: Excerpts using a 5-1 ascent paradigm! 147
EXAMPLE 4.18: Prolonging 5! 148
EXAMPLE 4.19: Prolongation! 149
EXAMPLE 4.20: Gestural Similarities! 151
EXAMPLE 4.21: Gestural Similarities Realigned! 152
EXAMPLE 4.22: Structural Similarities! 152
EXAMPLE 4.23: Interpretation of Double b7-b6-5 Complex in D minor! 154
EXAMPLE 4.24: Double b7-b6-5 Complex! 155
EXAMPLE 4.25: Rhythmic Tension utilizing the Underlying Pitch Framework! 156
EXAMPLE 4.26: 5-1 Descent in F major! 157
EXAMPLE 4.27: 5-1 Descent in F major with Scale Degree 6 Prefix! 157
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EXAMPLE 4.28: 5-1 Ascent in F Major! 158
EXAMPLE 4.29: Upper Neighbor of Upper Neighbor on 5-1 Descent in F Major!158
EXAMPLE 4.30: Upper Neighbor of Upper Neighbor on 5-1 Ascent in F major! 159
EXAMPLE 4.31: Eb-D Prefix to 5-1 Descent in F major! 160
EXAMPLE 4.32: 5-1 Chromatic Ascent in F major! 161
EXAMPLE 4.33: Phrase preceding Example 4.32! 161
EXAMPLE 4.34: Embedded Paradigm! 162
EXAMPLE 4.35: C-Bb-A-G-F canon derived from parallel sixths! 163
EXAMPLE 4.36: Registral Transfer of 5-1 Descent in F major! 164
EXAMPLE 4.37: bvi Complex in F major! 165
EXAMPLE 4.38: Rhythmic Alterations to 5-1 Descent! 166
EXAMPLE 4.39: Composite Paradigm! 166
EXAMPLE 4.40: Concatenation of Paradigms! 167
EXAMPLE 4.41: Final eight measures of Beautiful Love (with pickup)! 168
EXAMPLE 4.42: Paradigm 1! 169
EXAMPLE 4.43: Paradigm 1a! 169
EXAMPLE 4.44: Chorus IA: 8-13: Sections using Paradigm 1a ! 170
EXAMPLE 4.45: Paradigm 1b! 171
EXAMPLE 4.46: Paradigm 1a/b! 171
EXAMPLE 4.47: Other Examples utilizing Paradigm 1a or Paradigm 1a/b! 172
EXAMPLE 4.48: Excerpts using a linear descent in one register (Paradigm 1 or

1b)! 174
EXAMPLE 4.49: Unfolded Thirds Traversing an Octave! 175
EXAMPLE 4.50: Registrally Transferring a Motive while Maintaining Fixed

Lines! 176
EXAMPLE 4.51: 5-1 Descent over measures 9-12 of the A sections! 177
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EXAMPLE 5.1: Structure of the melody of Alice in Wonderland ! 179
EXAMPLE 5.2: Opening of Evanss Solos on Alice in Wonderland ! 181
EXAMPLE 5.3: Opening of A Sections in Evanss Solos on Alice in

Wonderland ! 182
EXAMPLE 5.4: Alternate Approach for A Sections of Alice in Wonderland! 183
EXAMPLE 5.5: Pedal 5 on opening of A Sections in Alice in Wonderland! 184
EXAMPLE 5.6: Model for measures 5-8 of A sections of Alice in Wonderland !185
EXAMPLE 5.7: Model for measures 9-16 of A sections of Alice in

Wonderland ! 186
EXAMPLE 5.8: B Sections in Alice in Wonderland ! 188
EXAMPLE 6.1: Basic Melodic and Harmonic Framework of My Romance ! 192
EXAMPLE 6.2: Lead-in to solo from My Romance (Take 1) from Waltz for
Debby! 193
EXAMPLE 6.3: Evanss Solos at the Opening of My Romance ! 194
EXAMPLE 6.4: Structural Similarities at Temporal Distance of One Measure! 194
EXAMPLE 6.5: Realignment of Example 6.4! 195
EXAMPLE 7.1: Basic Melodic and Harmonic Framework of measures 1-4 of I Should
Care ! 196
EXAMPLE 7.2: Reharmonization of the opening of I Should Care ! 197
EXAMPLE 7.3: Left-hand voicing structures for chain of dominants! 197
EXAMPLE 7.4: Lead-in! 198
EXAMPLE 7.5: b5-8 chain through circle-of-fifths! 200
EXAMPLE 7.6: I Should Care: 1A: 1-4 (17-20)! 202
EXAMPLE 7.7: Other examples of 1-b5 openings to A sections! 203
EXAMPLE 7.8: Reproduction of Example 7.3! 204
EXAMPLE 7.9: Chordal members in Evanss left- and right-hand lines! 204
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EXAMPLE 7.10: Right-hand lines and typical left-hand voicings for mm. 1-4 of I
Should Care ! 205
EXAMPLE 7.11: Diminished Seventh Chords over Dominants! 206
EXAMPLE 8.1: Tonal Diagram of the A Sections of Sweet and Lovely ! 210
EXAMPLE 8.2: Structure used in A sections in the third chorus: mm. 1-4! 211
EXAMPLE 8.3: Interpretation 1 of Evanss Structure! 212
EXAMPLE 8.4: Excerpts utilizing the Dom7/Dim7 Chordal Pairing Paradigm in Evanss
Third Chorus, mm. 1 into 5! 213
EXAMPLE 8.5: Interpretation 2 of Evanss Structure! 214
EXAMPLE 8.6: Interpretation 3: Combination of Interpretation 1 and Interpretation

2! 215
EXAMPLE 8.7: Structure used in A sections in the third chorus, mm. 5-8! 216
EXAMPLE 8.8: Third chorus, A sections: mm. 5-8! 216
EXAMPLE 8.10: Third chorus, A sections! 218

1
Introduction
! Bill Evans is widely cited as one of the most influential pianists in jazz history.
Following the bebop revolution, Evans helped to establish a more subtle aesthetic
through his contributions to Miles Daviss album, Kind of Blue (1959). He developed
this approach further in his trio with bassist Scott LaFaro and drummer Paul Motian, with
all three players striving for a more interactive and nuanced approach. Unfortunately,
this trio dissolved following the tragic death of Scott LaFaro just days after the groups
famous Village Vanguard performance of June 25, 1961. Evanss reputation remained
strong, however, through performances and recordings with later trios in the 1960s and
1970s.
! While jazz players find Evans influential, they also simply enjoy listening to him.
Shortly after his passing in 1980, jazz pianists ranked Bill Evans as their own favorite
jazz pianist.1 One reason for his influence and appeal is surely his left-hand voicings.
These innovative sonorities created a lush cushion for his right-hand lines as well as for
the solos of the other members of the group. But while these voicings may be central to
Evanss playing, it seems unlikely that any jazz pianist could have achieved such a
formidable reputation without the ability to play stellar melodic lines as well.
! Yet the task of codifying Evanss melodic techniques can prove to be a much
more elusive task than that of cataloging his voicings. Although the technique for
building melodic lines lies at the heart of every jazz players craft, the knowledge
involved in constructing melodies cannot often be as easily explained or discerned as can
the knowledge of chordal voicings. While chordal voicings can be tabulated by simply
1 Cited by Gioia 1997: 302.

2
labeling the distance of notes from a chordal root as well as their registral placement,
melodies are multi-faceted, usually existing over successive chords, utilizing a specific
rhythmic setting, and often elaborating multiple strands of counterpoint.
! Since this melodic knowledge seems elusive, from a historical perspective it is
perhaps fitting that Evans sometimes referred to his work as a craft.2 Craftsmanship
entails not only technique, but also knowledge about basic materials and the way that
they can be combined and developed. Since it has a direct bearing on a craftsmans
success, this knowledge is often treated with reverence.
! For example, for craftsmen in the medieval guild system, knowledge was one of
the crucial components to being a master, both in keeping authority over the workshop as
well as maintaining the ability to sell ones wares. Because of this, it carried a lot of
economic power. In fact, sociologist Richard Sennett describes knowledge as it relates to
economic gain in this period as knowledge capital. 3 Since keeping this knowledge
from ones competitors meant staying in business, secrecy of knowledge meant self-
preservation. For this reason, a youth had to take an oath upon becoming an apprentice,
stating that he would not divulge the secrets of his master.4
! While the guild system no longer exists as it once did, the knowledge involved in
craft is still valued highly by practitioners in different fields. Evans himself claimed that
knowledge was a key to his development, remarking often that he had attained his level
of success not by being innately talented, but by being very analytical, and proceeding
2 See Evans 1966. See also Aikin 1980: 54.

3 Sennett 2008: 57.
4 Sennett 2008: 63.
3
through a step-by-step learning procedure. 5 The idea that Evanss success was built on
his knowledge suggests that Sennetts knowledge capital has a broader applicability.
! But like the medieval master, Evans kept a rather tight lid on his own precise
solutions to practical problems. While he frequently advocated an analytical approach,
he left few descriptions about how he structured many of his own musical creations,
whether compositions or improvisations. Because of this, determining what this
knowledge consisted of for Evans is a difficult task. He even refrained from sharing
some of his own discoveries with his brother, Harry. In fact, Harry recounted that on one
visit Bill was reluctant to show him a set of chord voicings, even after a few days of
prodding. However, as Harry explained, Bills reluctance stemmed not from his desire to
withhold knowledge for his own gain or power, but from the fact that he wanted his
brother to be able to find the same enjoyment that he had found through the process of
discovery.6
! Yet while he appreciated the process of self-discovery, Evans also noted that he
considered students who wanted to learn everything on their own to be trying to
circumvent the great problems of music, a viewpoint he described as naive.7 Since
Evans already tackled some of these problems as they relate to jazz improvisation, we
might do well to examine them and consider some of his solutions. Working to
understand these problems as they relate to Evanss work can lead to discoveries about
some of the ways that he solved them, and can provide a springboard for further
creativity and discovery in this area.
5 Evans 1966: 11:40-12:53.

6 Evans 1966: 36:51-39:31.
7 Evans 1966: 35:43-36:34.
4
! To know what Evans did, it is useful first to examine his own musical inheritance.
As with most jazz players of his time, Evans relied heavily on a body of popular songs as
vehicles for his improvisations, songs that were written for Broadway plays and movies
from the 1920s to the 1960s. These tunes are commonly referred to as standards, or
collectively as The Great American Songbook. Like many other players, Evans adapted
the harmonic progressions of these standard tunes for use as tonal plans for his
improvisations.
! But how does one create a solo from such a tonal plan? In the jazz tradition and
in jazz pedagogy, the aspiring improviser confronts many options for navigating these
tonal plans. One of these is the tradition of using memorized licks. When used, these
memorized figures can help to create a convincing solo in the style. Specifically, they
provide concise modules by which to construct a melody within the given tonal
framework. In his own work on Bill Evans, Gregory Smith used a variant of this
approach in codifying short melodic units in Evanss playing, which he called
formulas. 8
! Near the opposite structural extreme, on a more global level, a player can utilize
strands of voice-leading as guiding lines for a solo. In fact, these lines are often referred
to in the study of jazz harmony as guide tones, because of their practical importance in
providing a framework for a solo. Paralleling this approach, Steve Larson has shown
8 See Smith 1983. Barry Kenny offers an alternative approach to finding local gestures in Evanss playing.
Like Smith, Kennys formulas are also short in duration. See Kenny 1999. It is important to note that other
researchers have used the word formula to refer to longer units than Smith and Kenny. For example, in
citing formulas in John Coltranes solos, Barry Kernfeld includes longer note-sequences. See Kernfeld
1983.
5
how some of Bill Evanss solos derive from the deeper patterns inherent in the underlying
tonal plan.9
! Both approaches have their strengths and weaknesses. As noted, licks provide a
way for players, even when starting out, to create an idiomatic solo in the style. They can
also be used as motives, whereby a player alters a lick throughout a solo to create a sense
of overall coherence. Guide tones, on the other hand, provide overall coherence by
acting as an overarching model. They are also flexible, allowing the actual musical
surface to be crafted during the moment of performance.
! Yet for an aspiring improviser, utilizing either of these two approaches begs some
questions. In an approach based on a repertoire of licks, how are the licks to be strung
together to create a convincing whole? When should a phrase commence and when
should it end? If using a guide-tone approach, how is the time to be filled out before the
chords move? Also, how is the guide-tone line to be parsed to make individual phrases?
Additionally, the jazz player seeking a unique voice must confront the issue of
authorship, as both of these pedagogical approaches rely heavily on pre-composed
units.10
! However, these two approaches are not mutually exclusive. In fact, rather than
superseding either of them, the present approach suggests that melodic frameworks offer
a way to incorporate aspects of both approaches into a single packet of information. This
packet can itself be useful because it exists at the level of the phrase. In addition, the
models presented here are more specific than guide-tone lines in that they often navigate
9See Larson 1997-98, 1998, 2002, 2005, and 2006.

10While jazz players may decorate a guide-tone line in creating their solo, the framework of these
contrapuntal strands is created not by the improviser but by the authors of the original tune. In addition,
many of the licks that jazz players use are part of a common vocabulary within the jazz community. For
Bill Evans, many of these licks came from the bebop vocabulary of the late 1940s and early 1950s.
6
between different voice-leading strands. At the same time, they provide a more general
outline from which to play than in the tradition of licks, and are thus flexible enough to
incorporate different motives. Ultimately, then, these models focus on an area of
structure that mediates between the songs written by songwriters and the licks used by the
larger jazz community. The way a player parses and navigates the structure of a pre-
written tune gives rise to a sense of authorship at a middle level.
! Codifying models at the level of the phrase offers a fertile starting point for
beginners. Since the frameworks are already parsed into phrases, aspiring improvisers do
not have to worry about how to divide up a larger structure or how to build a coherent
phrase from more local gestures. At the same time, these models mediate between local
and global concerns. In this way, these phrase models offer a direct approach for an
improviser to create novel solos in a performance. Ultimately, then, while these models
provide a structural vantage point from which to understand aspects of Evanss work,
they also serve a pedagogical purpose.
Methodology
! I codified the models presented in this study through analyses of Evanss recorded
work, and used his comments along with claims from cognitive science to help interpret
some of the findings. The performances selected centered on his work from the early
1960s. The analyses were based on transcriptions I made of Evanss solos, from which I
compared solos from different performances of the same tune. Because of similarities in
these solos, I grouped each set of performances of a tune together into a performance
family. By comparing Evanss solos from the different performances in a performance

7
family, melodic frameworks that Evans used consistently in different performances of the
same tune become apparent.
! Naturally, using a consistent melodic framework across performances blurs the
distinction between improvisation and composition. These consistencies suggest that
certain component parts of each performance family are actually composed units, but are
flexible enough to be elaborated differently in different performances. These melodic
frameworks are more specific than the tonal framework that would be common to many
players performances of the tune, but at the same time are more general than the local
licks that many improvisers use in their own playing. Thus, these models seem closer to
coming from Evans himself.
Overview
! Evans spoke of learning to create music as a kind of problem-solving. Chapter 1
follows this line of thinking by considering improvisation as a form of problem-solving.
It investigates Evanss own comments on creating music in jazz, as well as his
demonstration of different approaches that a beginner might take in learning to improvise.
Then, it frames some of the issues for learning to play jazz by reconfiguring a model from
cognitive science developed by John Sloboda and adapted by Matthew Brown.
! Adding theoretical substance to these issues, Chapter 2 outlines some of the
specific tonal issues involved in playing jazz. Rather than debating whether a traditional
tonal model or an adapted jazz model works best to explain a certain kind of musical
passage, this study advocates a nuanced approach, suggesting that the model invoked
depends upon the context. Whereas traditional tonal models may work in certain
8
instances, they may fall short elsewhere. After laying out some of these issues, the
chapter proceeds by showing some of the basic melodic frameworks found in Evanss
performances.
! These models provide a basis for the analyses presented in Chapters 3 through 8.
Here, each chapter covers a different tune. In most cases, each of these chapters includes
analyses from multiple performances of a single tune, thus showing how Evans
maintained certain structures in different performances, but varied them in different ways.
Often alternate takes of performances issued on CD re-releases of an album are
considered against the originally released version. By doing this, Evanss mental models
become more readily apparent, since they emerge in different performances of a tune, but
with different realizations.
! To study Evanss playing in this way, I transcribed his solos from different
performances of the same tune. From these transcriptions, I selected performances on six
tunes that exemplify certain aspects of Evanss technique. These performances, listed
below in Table 1, constitute the musical source material for Part II of this work. They are
grouped by tune, along with the date that each performance was recorded, the album or
CD re-issue on which the tracks were released, and the CD track number, with the disc
number listed as well for multi-disc releases. The transcriptions for Evanss solos on
these performances are included in Volume II of this work.

9
TABLE 1: List of Performances

List of Performances
! Date (yr/mo/day) ! Album!! ! ! ! ! ! CD Track
! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! (Disc)
Alice in Wonderland
! 61/6/25, Take 1! Sunday at the Village Vanguard! ! ! 6
! 61/6/25, Take 2! Sunday at the Village Vanguard! ! ! 5
! 66/11/12! ! Secret Sessions [Live at the Village Vanguard]! 2 (3)
Autumn Leaves
! 59/12/28, Take 1! Portrait in Jazz!! ! ! ! ! 2
! 59/12/28, Take 2! Portrait in Jazz!! ! ! ! ! 3
! 60/3/12! ! The 1960 Birdland Sessions! ! ! ! 1
! 66/3/unlisted! ! Secret Sessions [Live at the Village Vanguard]! 8 (1)
! 80/9/8! ! ! The Last Waltz [Live at Keystone Korner]! ! 5 (8)
Beautiful Love
! 61/2/2, Take 1!! Explorations! ! ! ! ! ! 4
! 61/2/2, Take 2!! Explorations! ! ! ! ! ! 3
! 66/2/21! ! Bill Evans at Town Hall! ! ! ! 6
! 68/2/4! ! ! Secret Sessions [Live at the Village Vanguard]! 1 (6)
! 79/11/26! ! Paris Concert, Edition 1! ! ! ! 8
I Should Care
! 62/6/5! ! ! How My Heart Sings! ! ! ! ! 2
! 66/2/21! ! Bill Evans at Town Hall! ! ! ! 1
! 66/7/3! ! ! Secret Sessions [Live at the Village Vanguard]! 9 (1)
! 78/1/15! ! Getting Sentimental! ! ! ! ! 1
My Romance
! 61/6/25, Take 1! Waltz for Debby [Live at the Village Vanguard]! 6
! 61/6/25, Take 2! Waltz for Debby [Live at the Village Vanguard]! 7
Sweet and Lovely
! 61/2/2! ! ! Explorations! ! ! ! ! ! 9
! In many ways, Evanss approach changed greatly over the years, with long rubato
introductions prefixing many later performances. When playing with bassist Eddie
Gomez, Evans often let Gomez have the spotlight, letting the tune pass without soloing
himself. Just over half of the performances considered in this work come from Evanss
work with his first trio, though, with LaFaro and Motian. These are supplemented by
10
additional performances of the tunes from later years, and in one case by performances of
another tune altogether (I Should Care).
! Besides emphasizing Evanss work with LaFaro and Motian, this study also
focuses on recordings that maintained a medium to medium-up swing tempo. Surely
much could be gained from comparing these tunes with Evanss ballads, but the similarity
of tempo and harmonic rhythm makes it easier to compare one tune with another, since
the figures that Evans used differ when playing swing than when playing ballads, where
he abandoned some of the bebop inflections of his uptempo lines.
! While his recorded work provides a way to cross-analyze multiple performances
of a tune, the interviews that Evans gave throughout his career offer insights into his own
thinking about jazz improvisation. Whereas his recorded work contains the residue of the
decisions that he made, Evanss comments in interviews provide insight into his general
approach to acquiring and cultivating the knowledge required for producing a jazz solo.
Because of this, his comments can help to frame the analytical findings from the
transcriptions. Table 2 provides a list of interviews used in this study.

11
TABLE 2: List of Interviews

List of Interviews
Year Interviewer Bibliographic Information
1966 Evans, Harry The Universal Mind of Bill Evans: Jazz Pianist on the
Creative Process and Self-Teaching.
Videorecording. Rhapsody Films, 1991.
1968 McPartland, Marian Bill Evans, Genius. In All in Good Time. New York:
Oxford University Press, 1987. 105-111.
1972 Tomkins, Les Bill Evans Today. Crescendo International, Vol. 10, No. 7
(February 1972). 7-8, 10.
1976 Lyons, Len Bill Evans: New Intuitions. Down Beat: The
Contemporary Music Magazine, Vol. 43, No. 5
(March 11, 1976; on sale February 26, 1976). 12-13,
36-37.
1977 Spector, Michael Bill Evans: For Twenty Years A Major Voice In Jazz
Piano. Contemporary Keyboard, Vol. 3, No. 3
(March 1977). 24-26.
1978 McPartland, Marian Marian McPartlands Piano Jazz. Recorded November 6,

1978. Audio Recording.
1980 Aikin, Jim Bill Evans. Contemporary Keyboard, Vol. 6, No. 6 (June
1980). 44-45, 50-52, 54-55.
! Evans seemed to be the most forthcoming when talking to fellow pianist Marian
McPartland. His interview with her in 1968 finds him talking about general music
education, and he offered further comments in 1978 on learning to play jazz, providing
demonstrations at the piano.
! Also notable is his 1966 interview with his brother, Harry. In this educational
video, Bill spoke candidly about his own development, first as a pianist and then as a jazz
musician. He offered advice for the beginning jazz player as well, demonstrating
different approaches to learning to solo as well as a professional-level performance that a
beginner might work toward. In this way, this 1966 interview provides glimpses of
learning stages while his later 1978 interview with McPartland provides only
12
professional-level, goal performances. Thus, while both provide valuable information,
the 1966 interview with Harry offers a rare overview of Evanss own development and
learning process.
! Because of this, this interview provides a wonderful springboard for learning
about the craft of improvisation as practiced by Bill Evans. It therefore serves as a focal
point in the next chapter, offering some of the guiding principles framing the analytical
findings in the remainder of the work. With these comments from the master craftsman
himself, we can understand improvisation as a form of problem-solving, and work toward
seeking solutions to these problems in continuing the development of the craft.

13
Part I: The Craft of Improvisation

14
Chapter 1: Improvisation as Problem-Solving
! The act of improvising a solo and the act of learning how to improvise a solo are
two very different tasks. Like many activities, learning to craft a successful jazz
improvisation takes much more time than the time one has to improvise it. Jazz pianist
Bill Evans claimed to have learned to solo by using analytical rigor and by solving
problems one at a time, and advocated just such an approach when advising others.1 And
although Evans left little in the way of pedagogical works, his comments in interviews,
coupled with the results of his mental processes as encapsulated in his recorded output,
provide a body of work by which to study his improvisational process.
! Understanding Evanss working process and examining the resulting musical
products can provide valuable insights into how successful jazz solos can be structured.
This knowledge can then inform the way others learn the process of jazz improvisation.
But specifying what knowledge a jazz player is utilizing while improvising can be an
elusive task, in part because the very idea of learned improvisation presents a paradox.
On the one hand, an improvisation exists as a creation of the moment, where the
performer forges a new work different from any previously heard work. On the other
hand, since no performer is free from the effects of previous training and study, each
new performance would arise in part by the performer reassembling or modifying
previously composed material, or by using procedures learned prior to the performance. 2
Because of this, an improvisation would most likely contain some previously composed
material.
1 See especially Evans 1966.

2 Pressing makes this point. See Pressing 1984: 345.
15
! Since some of the musical material of an improvisation predates the improvised
performance, discerning the improvised from the composed can become quite difficult.
But such difficulties should not preclude investigation. In seeking a better understanding
of the improvisational process, two areas must be considered. First, how does the
performer adapt or create the material that exists prior to the performance? Second, how
does the performer combine, embellish, alter, and supplement this pre-performance
material during the performance? A consideration of these two areas can help to
determine what kinds of knowledge is required for the task of improvisation in jazz, as
well as how this knowledge is acquired and cultivated.3
! Compounding the issue is the fact that there are multiple layers to each of these
domains. The previously composed material may exist at different levels of organization
in the piece depending upon the musical tradition. In addition, it may or may not have
been composed by the performer. For instance, jazz musicians often utilize the large-
scale harmonic plan of the standard tunes of the Great American Songbook, which are
written not by the performers but by earlier composers. The jazz player adapts the
harmonic plan to use as a framework for the solo sections of the piece. On a more local
level, the licks, or formulas, that recur throughout the jazz repertoire may have been
created by other performing musicians, eventually reaching a point of common currency.
Thus, other players use them during performance simply as elements of the style.
! Yet the gulf that exists between the large-scale level of the harmonic plan of the
standard and the local licks can seem vast to a beginning improviser. How are the licks to
3In his study of improvisation in the classical tradition, Aaron Berkowitz poses the questions of what
knowledge is required, how it is acquired, and how it is cultivated. In doing so, he models his own inquiry
of knowledge in improvisation on Chomskys inquiry of knowledge in language. Berkowitz 2010: xv.
16
be arranged? How are the chord changes to be navigated? While the common approach
of using guide tones, or voice-leading strands, as a skeleton for a solo may be a start, its
usefulness decreases as the harmonic rhythm slows, since the notes of the voice-leading
strands move only as each chord moves to the next.
! Ultimately, I will suggest that one of the problems that Evans solved was how to
bridge this gap between global structures and local figures.4 Specifically, many of
Evanss solos exhibit consistently used melodic frameworks at the length of the phrase.
These melodic frameworks are embellished in different ways, resulting in his improvised
lines. While it would be difficult to ascertain the degree to which these models were or
were not conscious for Evans, his years of practice and performance resulted in their
repeated use; indeed, they may well have been the byproduct of other processes in his
work in trying to find fruitful ways to construct a phrase while navigating the tonal
syntax. These melodic frameworks acted as specific guides by which to create new
melodic material, thereby freeing Evans from the task of having to create large-scale
structures during performance and allowing him instead to focus on the precise melodic
content.
Hints of Evanss Solo-Building Process
! Although Evans spoke many times about the type of learning approach he
advocated, he rarely offered specific information about the actual musical decisions he
made and why he made them. Evanss brother, Harry, noted that Bill was reluctant to
4When speaking of the task before someone learning to improvise, Evans paraphrased the famous maxim
of knowing ones problem as the first step in solving it, saying that students should recognize at the
beginning that knowing the problem is 90% of solving it, and that the problem is to be clear and get
down to basic structure. McPartland 1978: Track 10 (0:00-0:49).
17
show him a particular set of chord voicings because Bill didnt want to deprive him of the
enjoyment of finding his own solution.5 Thus, while Evanss comments provide a general
idea of the way in which he approached musical problems, one rarely hears him
divulging his solutions and how he arrived at them.
! Fortunately, evidence for some of Evanss solutions can be found by examining
his recorded performances. The few comments that he does provide when demonstrating
at the piano in interviews can then help to frame these analytical endeavors. For instance,
Steve Larson has shown how Evanss comments and demonstrations at the piano from a
1978 interview with Marian McPartland demonstrate some of his techniques of tonal
construction and phrase displacement.6 Since this interview occurred near the end of his
career, and since Evans claimed that he was showing what he would be thinking about
while playing, this performance can be understood as demonstrating aspects of his idea of
the goal state of a jazz performance. But while Evans offered information in these
discussions about the knowledge that he found essential for jazz performance, he
provided less commentary about how he acquired and cultivated this knowledge.
! Earlier in his career, though, Evans offered insights about his own development in
an interview with his brother, Harry. The two brothers had watched the available
educational films on jazz, yet had found something missing in them.7 Bill stated that he
and his brother decided to make a program that would go into the psychological things
you have to go through to master this nebulous craft; not to put it in terms that were so
theoretical. 8
5 Evans 1966: 36:56-39:31 (see especially 38:30-39:31).

6 See Larson 1998 and Larson 2006. For the original interview, see McPartland 1978.
7 Pettinger 1998: 178.
8 Cited in Pettinger 1998: 178.
18
! During the interview, Evans spoke about the approach that a beginning improviser
might take in moving toward a professional-level performance. In doing so, he provided
a more exact sense of the learning process as he understood and practiced it. Specifically,
he advocated a focused analytical approach, suggesting that the process of learning to
improvise consisted of finding solutions to a body of problems:
! I think the problem is that...[some people] tend to approximate the product

rather than attacking it in a realistic, true way, at any elementary level, regardless
of how elementary, but it must be entirely true and entirely real and entirely
accurate. They would rather approximate the entire problem than to take a small
part of it and be real and true about it. And I think this is a very important thing,
that you must be satisfied to be very clear and very real and to be very analytical
at any level. You cant take the whole thing. And to approximate the whole thing
in a vague way gives one a feeling that...theyve more or less touched the thing,
but in this way you just lead yourself toward confusion..., and ultimately youre
going to get so confused that youll never find your way out.
! But it is true of any subject that the person that succeeds in anything has
the realistic viewpoint at the beginning in knowing that the problem is large and
that he has to take it a step at a time and he has to enjoy the step-by-step learning
procedure.9
! Here, Evans suggested that a beginner must begin simply, building on top of basic
skills rather than trying to approximate a goal performance from the very beginning. He
warned that an approach that approximates the product cant progress because it builds
on top of confusion. Thus, locating simple patterns on which one can build would seem
to align with Evanss own approach and advice to others wishing to learn how to
improvise.
! Fortunately for posterity, Evans moved to the piano to demonstrate immediately
after making this statement. He played solos that he suggested exhibited different skill
levels and different approaches. These included one professional-level performance and
two performances that he claimed a beginner might play. Because these performances
9 Evans 1966: 11:40-12:53.

19
exhibit different skill levels, they can provide a more detailed picture of the stages of the
learning process than in Evanss later interview with McPartland.
! After first playing a few measures of the melody of the tune to orient listeners,
Evans performed what he claimed would be a professional-level performance, offering
this as an exemplar that a beginner might work toward. He then provided two ways that
one might attempt to move toward this goal. The first involves working simply and
honestly with the framework, and thus exists as a first step toward the goal, but in his
view still stands on its own as a successful solo because of the integrity of the approach.
The second performance shows what he thought a beginner should not do: approximate
the goal performance from the beginning, without working on the problems involved in
soloing in any logical or organized way.
! Before embarking on an examination of his solos, though, it is appropriate to
consider Evanss statement that when improvising he first found the most fundamental
structure and worked from there.10 An analysis of his improvisations proceeds fruitfully
by traversing the same path. In this way, one can work toward finding the basis for some
of the steps that Evans took in determining what to play.
Finding the most fundamental structure: How About You?
! For his demonstration in the interview with his brother, Evans improvised on the
framework of How About You, a tune that he had recorded three years earlier for the
album Conversations with Myself. Like many of the tracks on this album, he had
overdubbed two piano tracks onto his initial piano track, creating a three-piano
10 McPartland 1978: Track 8 (2:52-3:13). Quoted by Larson 1998: 219, 230 onto 236.
20
performance. As his friend, Gene Lees, explained, Evanss working procedure indicated
that he was playing the tune based on an idea of its structure that he had crafted in his
own mind, in essence pre-planning a three-performer arrangement of the piece as he
intended to perform it.
! Lees, who sat in the control booth at the studio while Evans recorded the multi-
track performances for Conversations with Myself, noted that during the recordings it
became clear that Evans knew what the whole was going to sound like from the
beginning. As Lees poetically put it, there seemed to be three Bills, which Lees named
based on the location of the track in the stereo mix: Bill Left Channel, Bill Right, and
Bill Center. His mind obviously was working in three dimensions of time
simultaneously, because each Bill was anticipating and responding to what the other two
were doing. 11 Evanss ability to record the initial tracks with future tracks in mind
indicates that he knew the structure of the tune quite well, and that he had in mind a
particular arrangement of the tune as he planned to perform it.
! How About You? was one of many tunes that Evans played from the Great
American Songbook, which consists of tunes that were written as features for Broadway
plays or for movies. Judy Garland introduced the song in the 1941 movie, Babes on
Broadway, in which she co-starred with Mickey Rooney. However, as commonly occurs
with the adoption of these tunes as vehicles for jazz solos, Evans altered the harmonic
framework of the standard version to create a more regular and active harmonic rhythm
over which to solo. It would be difficult in many cases to know where Evans learned a
particular tune, whether from the movie in which it was featured or from other jazz
11 See Lees 1988: 158-159. The quote is from 159.

21
performances. In many cases, though, Evanss performance differed even from standard
jazz renditions of the tune. The version of How About You? shown in Example 1.1, an
adaptation of a fake book version, presents one possible representation of the mental
model that jazz performers would have when playing this work. 12
EXAMPLE 1.1: Basic Melodic and Harmonic Framework of How About You
! The 32-measure form of How About You? divides into two halves, creating an
AA structure (16 measures + 16 measures). Each of these two A sections could then be
further broken down into four-measure units. Yet as is common in many AA tunes from
the Great American Songbook, each A section also exhibits aspects of a sentence, with
two four-measure units of a basic idea followed by an eight-measure continuation (4
measures + 4 measures + 8 measures = 16 measures).13
12 This version of How About You? is an adaptation of that presented in The Worlds Greatest Fakebook.
Warner Bros. Publications, 1994, 1996, 2001. 278.
13 For example, other AA standards with sentential structures include My Romance, Alice in
Wonderland, Beautiful Love, and Our Love is Here to Stay.

22
! In the 1966 interview with his brother, Evans played only on the first half of the
tune, playing either the first 16-measure A section or only the first eight measures. The
frameworks for his phrases in these performances depart from the basic structural models
of the phrases outlined above. In the basic model presented above, the overall motion
from F major to A major over the span of the first 16 measures can be parsed into local
units of tonal motion, where the end of each four-measure unit points toward the
beginning of the next four-measure unit. As shown in Example 1.2, the opening four-
measure unit begins on tonic and ends on ii-V, which points to the tonic chord that begins
the second four-measure unit in m. 5. The second four-measure phrase ends with a
gesture that initiates a harmonic departure to ii, which itself functions as the beginning of
a motion back to tonic, where a linear 6-b6-5 (D-Db-C) occurs in an upper voice over
Gm7-Bbm7-F in the third four-measure phrase. This motion passes through the tonic and
continues through a chromatically inflected circle-of-fifths motion to A major: F-
Bm7(b5)-E7-AM7.
EXAMPLE 1.2: Formal Plan of First A Section of How About You
Subphrase 1! ! Subphrase 2! Subphrase 3! ! ! Subphrase 4
mm. 1-4! ! mm. 5-8! mm. 9-12! ! ! mm. 13-16
I! ii - V! ! I ( ii - V )! ii - ivb - I - ( ii - V )! III#! ii - V
F! Gm7-C7! F Am7(b5) - D7!Gm7 - Bbm - F - Bm7(b5) - E7! A! Gm7-C7
! Utilizing the beginning and end points of these subphrases as points of tonal
articulation, the model solos Evans played in his demonstration exhibit linear features
23
that provide coherence for the entire solo. His improvised lines also connect many of the
registral transfers inherent in the tune, as shown in Example 1.3.
EXAMPLE 1.3: Tonal Plan of How About You
! As will be shown, Evanss performances also include reharmonizations of the
basic harmonic framework outlined above. While these reharmonizations must work
locally, where notes of a given voice-leading structure are resituated in a new harmonic
24
context, his choices also take into account the surrounding voice-leading. In this way, his
reharmonizations actually exist as a linear process, since his harmonic changes arise out
of linear motions. Thus, both Evanss reharmonizations as well as his solo lines operate
from a single structural principle in that they both connect or extend local linear segments
within the contrapuntal-harmonic syntax of the tune. This process of restringing lines is
rooted in the deeper harmonic goals and arrivals noted in Examples 1.2 and 1.3 above.
Evanss Performances of How About You?
! Evans introduced the tune by noting that listeners would already be familiar with
the piece.14 He then played the opening measures to call the piece to mind for those
watching the program. Yet even in this reminder performance, he employed one of his
standard opening harmonic gambits, an alteration which fundamentally changes the
traditional opening of the piece as shown above in Example 1.1.
EXAMPLE 1.4: Evanss First Eight Measures of How About You
14Evans began by saying: We all know this song, I like New York in June. How about you? Evans
1966: 13:01-13:06.
25
! Here, Evans utilized his reharmonization of the basic structure of the tune, thus
creating a harmonic plan different from that shown above in Example 1.1. His
performance begins not with a tonic chord (F major), but with a series of approach chords
beginning with Bm7(b5) that lead into the ii chord in m. 3. This off-tonic opening on
#iv7(b5), which here leads to the opening ii of a ii-V motion, is a standard Evans
reharmonization technique.15 This opening chord functions not simply as a
reharmonization of the opening F chord, but as a pulling back from the ii-V goal of this
first four-measure unit.
! Although How About You is a 32-measure AA form, in these performances
Evans played only over the first A section (16 measures), which ends with a move from I
to III# (from F major to A major). He would have been familiar with this key movement
from other tunes that he played, such as Cole Porters I Love You and his own Waltz
for Debby, both of which he also played in F major and thus move to A major before the
bridge (each of these two tunes has an AABA form). In his 1978 interview with Marian
McPartland, Evans chose to use the tune The Touch of Your Lips to demonstrate how
he navigated certain aspects of pitch structure. The Touch of Your Lips also utilizes a
motion from I to III# across the first A section of an AA form, but Evans performed it in
C major.16 These tunes, each with a motion to III#, may have constituted a tune family
15 The #IV7 chord may be either a half-diminished seventh chord, as in this excerpt, or a dominant seventh
chord. Relative to the scope of this study, Evans also used this reharmonization technique in his
performances of I Should Care. See Chapter 7. As another example, jazz players today typically begin
Stella by Starlight with a #iv7(b5) chord.
16 For a Schenkerian reading of Evanss performance on The Touch of Your Lips, see Larson 1998.
26
for him, one that he had worked hard on and thus one on which he felt comfortable
demonstrating his solutions.17
! After playing a few measures of the melody of How About You with his chord
changes, Evans played three solos on the opening A section. In the first case, he played a
solo that he suggested a beginner might hear a professional play, thereby offering this as
an exemplar of a top-flight performance. In the second case, he demonstrated a solo
that a beginner might take, working simply and honestly with the framework. 18 In
the third case, he showed what not to do, but what he thought many young performers try
to do, as this solo approximates the exemplary performance from the very beginning
without building up to it from a simple model like the second solo.
17 Along with the overall motion to III# over the course of the first A section, some aspects of the internal
tonal structure of this 16-measure unit also parallel those of The Touch of Your Lips. Both melodies
utilize a motion from scale degree 1 down through scale degree 7 to scale degree b7 in m. 7 in outlining the
beginning of a tonicization of ii, which occurs in m. 9 (the Am7(b5)-D7 progression at the end of Example
1.1 serves as ii-V of Gm7).
18 Evans describes his performance this way at 13:46-13:57.
27
EXAMPLE 1.5: Example of a Top-Flight Solo on How About You

28
EXAMPLE 1.6: Demonstration of working simply on How About You
EXAMPLE 1.7: Demonstration of a vague solo on How About You
! Evanss says after his final performance on the tune, where he demonstrates an
approximation of the top-flight pianists accomplished in a vague way, that one
cant possibly build on this because it would be building on top of confusion. Thus, one
29
assumes that he would advise building on top of the simple solo, and from comparing
his previous two performances of a beginner working simply and of the top-flight pianists
it becomes clear that this would consist of adding ever more elaboration to a simple
framework.
! Comparing the simple solo with the top-flight solo gives us a sense of what
kinds of things Evans may have thought about from the very beginning when learning to
play jazz, as well as from the very beginning of working on a new tune. Indeed, he told
Marian McPartland that, while his trio had had only a few rehearsals throughout its many
years together, he personally liked to work things out first before performing them live
with his trio.19 Thus, one might imagine that Evanss private work on a tune may have
first amounted to something like the simple solo he presented here.
! Evans suggests that a beginner could then build on the simple solo. But what
knowledge is encoded in the simple solo, and how might one build on it to reach the top-
flight solo? The idea of building on a simple framework to create a more elaborate
surface may have come to Evans in part through contact with Schenkerian thinking
during his classes in the mid-1950s at the Mannes College of Music, whose theory
curriculum was designed in large part by Schenker student Felix Salzer.20 Following this
lead, Evans may have modeled some of his own ideas of structure on Schenkers notion
of levels. Along these lines, in this interview Evans shows how to lay out a simple
structure that can then be elaborated into a more ornamented solo, possibly using
Schenkers descriptive analytical procedure as a prescriptive compositional tool.
19McPartland 1978: Track 10 (1:05-2:10).

20See Pettinger 1998: 24. Steve Larson makes a similar point when he suggests that some of the ways that
Bill Evans comments about his own music may be a result of his training at Mannes. See Larson 1998:
239n. For an overview of Salzers life and work, see Koslovsky 2009.
30
EXAMPLE 1.8: Top-Flight and Simple Solos with Analysis

31
EXAMPLE 1.8 (cont.): Top-Flight and Simple Solos with Analysis
! The top-flight solo opens with buried references to the tune. After the initial A-
D-F arpeggio, the culminating F initiates a blues-inflected upper neighbor figure (F-G-
Ab-G-Gb-F) into m. 2 reminiscent of the double neighbor figure at the opening of the
original melody (F-G-E-F). As shown in the top staff of Example 1.8, the opening F
moves through a descending registral transfer through Eb to D, a chromaticization of the
F-E-D movement in the tune. Here, Evans connects the D-to-A ascending leap in m. 3 of
the melody by using a D-C-Bb-A line ornamented with a registral transfer from the D up
to the C, which continues down through the A to E, moving through the different inner
voices shown in Example 1.3. Thus, the opening F-(G-E)-F-E-D third with leap to A-G 21
21The G (scale degree 2) is only in Evanss rendition of the tune, but does not appear in fake book versions
of the tune.
32
becomes a ninth in Evanss top-flight solo: F-(G-Ab-G)-Eb-D-C-Bb-A-G-F-E as he
moves down linearly through the registral transfers shown in Example 1.3.
! Significantly, Evans uses this same descending ninth line from F to E over mm.
5-13, with the final E in m. 13 reharmonized in the motion to A major. Evanss chromatic
inflection of E into Eb in m. 2 of the top-flight solo, then, prefaces the Eb in m. 7, both in
the original melody and in Evanss solo at this point.
! Since Evans offered this performance as an exemplar that a beginning improviser
would work towards, of what does the simple solo consist, and how could one build
upon it or upon its principles to construct the advanced solo? In the simple solo, a pedal
F replaces the long descents of the exemplary solo. Also absent is the registral transfer in
m. 7. However, the A-Ab-G-F-E line from mm. 9-13 remains as the linear path into the
A major area.22 Thus, aspects of the simple solo constitute part of the framework for
the top-flight solo.
! In addition, Evanss simple solo exhibits a structural balance. It begins with a
pedal tone over the opening descending bass line. Rather than operating only on a chord-
by-chord level, Evanss solo sets a pedal against the contrapuntal process underlying the
tonal motion: the parallel tenths in his left hand. Then, his solo line mimics the earlier
chromatic descent in the bass, as he embeds a descending chromatic tetrachord, from F
down to C, landing on C in measure 11 before the modulation from F major to A major.
! What aspects of Evanss approximation performance, then, make it ill-suited as
a starting point on which to build?
22The use of motivic repetitions (see mm. 9-11) gives a sense of melodic coherence to navigating the line
from the melody of the tune.
33
EXAMPLE 1.9: Evanss Vague and Approximate Solo with Analysis
This vague solo approximates the advanced solo in its use of figures but without the
firm structural underpinnings of the advanced solo and the simple solo. Evans plays only
a few measures, and thus doesnt even make it to the modulation to A major, as though he
doesnt want to dwell too long on an example of what not to do. But even in this short
excerpt, short linear motions disappear quickly into lower registers without continuation.
For example, the A-Ab in the upper register in mm. 1-2 quickly descends, not to be
regained. In addition, certain goal tones arrive at odds with the underlying harmony. For
example, the Ab that culminates the upper-register D-C-Bb-A-Ab line in mm. 3-5 lands
squarely on an F major chord. Thus, while this solo contains figural approximations of
the top-flight solo, it lacks the structural pillars on which to build.

34
! As can be seen from comparing the simple solo with the top-flight solo, in
contradistinction to the approximation solo, the early stages of Evanss work on a tune
and the procedure he advocated for a beginner consisted of establishing a melodic
framework from which to build a solo. As noted earlier, his way of thinking in levels of
structure may have been conceived in part from his Salzerian-influenced Schenkerian
training at Mannes. Because Evans suggested that he liked to prepare a tune before doing
it in public, these kinds of structures would presumably be shared between different
performances of the same tune. Additionally, because many chord progressions occur in
multiple tunes, some of these structures may also be shared between different tunes.
Acquiring and Cultivating the Knowledge to Create a Solo
! From these comments, it is clear that in Evanss view a player creates a solo on a
particular harmonic plan not merely in the moment of performance, but through years of
study and practice.23 As with any craft, jazz improvisation takes years of practice for a
player to reach a level of competence, and years more to reach a level of mastery.
Describing his own development, Evans said:
I started playing professionally when I was thirteen, and played at home and
maybe four or five nights a week and as much as possible for all these years, all
these years, and it wasnt until, Id say, maybe I was 28 or something like that that
I began to feel a degree of expressive ability--the ability to now let out my
feelings freely through some sort of a craft--and this was in the simple area of the
popular idiom.24
! This statement by Evans, along with others from this 1966 interview, help give us
a sense of the task of learning improvisation as Evans set it before himself. Evans
23 This view aligns with that of Steve Larson in his discussion of improvisation and composition. See
Larson 2005.
24 Evans 1966: 30:35-31:04.
35
recounted earlier in the interview that he had begun playing the piano at the age of 6, and
by the age of 13 had acquired the ability to play notated masterworks by Mozart,
Beethoven, and Schubert intelligently and musically. 25 Thus, the fifteen-year
development from age 13 to 28 is not of learning to play the piano, but of acquiring the
ability to create music at the piano, to improvise.
! Evans spoke often of the study during this formative period as a kind of musical
problem-solving.26 And, although it may be difficult for some performers to define the
beginning and ending points for any such period, Evans could recall quite clearly the very
moment that he began his study of improvisation.
! Evans recounted that the drive to improvise had struck him one night when he
was playing Tuxedo Junction in a band. Since he was familiar with the practice of
playing bell tones from other arrangements, he decided to put in a little extra bell tone
which had not been indicated in Tuxedo Junction. Having described this initial point
of departure, Evans continued by describing some of the steps he took to enact the
transition from improvising a bell tone to being able to improvise melodic material
through multiple choruses of a popular tune:
...and then I started to learn about changes and harmonics and how a tune was
built harmonically, so that I could remember the harmony and be able to play
without music, and be able to substitute one harmony for another, or to change the
harmonies, and so on.
! Now the whole process of learning the facility of being able to play jazz is
to take these problems from the outer level in, one by one, and to stay with it at a
very intense conscious concentration level until that process becomes secondary
and subconscious. Now, when that becomes subconscious, then you can begin
concentrating on that next problem which will allow you to do a little bit more,
you know, and so on and so on, and this is what happened of course.27
25 Evans 1966: 28:24-28:53.

26 See McPartland 1987: 108-109; McPartland 1978: Track 10 (0:00-0:49); Evans 1966: 11:40-12:53,
29:46-30:34.
27 Evans 1966: 29:46-30:34.
36
! These statements reveal two very important facets about his improvisatory
process. First, they help us to clarify what at times seems a discrepancy between
comments he made in other interviews. At times, he advocated approaching musical
problems in a focused, intellectual way, relating to the structure of the music,28 but at
other times stressed that one should think of jazz as a kind of feeling rather than
analyzing it as an intellectual theorem. 29 From his comments here, it becomes clear
that this focus on structure is a means to an end, and that that end is the expressive ability
that he talks about.
! Furthermore, Evanss description of learning to improvise in a step-by-step way,
relegating the solutions to each successive problem to the subconscious, aligns with
findings in cognitive science and expert behavior. While the idea of subconscious
improvising may sound strange, musicians will be familiar with the idea of subconscious
music-making from the notion of practicing scales. One of the goals for performers in
practicing scales for hours every week is to attain the necessary mind-hand coordination
that will allow for the specific fingerings or positions of the scale to be achieved in
performance without conscious effort. This process of internalization allows the
performer to focus instead on the expressive aspects of the music.
! Evanss comments also align with the goals of learning language. The
grammatical rules that children learn, either explicitly in a classroom setting or implicitly
from imitating their elders when they are young, help them to construct well-formed
28See Evans 1966: 11:40-12:53, 29:46-30:34; and McPartland 1978: Track 10 (0:00-2:28).
29Evans discusses structure in his interview with Marian McPartland, some of which is cited by Larson
1998. More on this discussion appears below. This passage is used by Peter Pettinger at the opening of a
chapter in his biography of Evans (1998: 107), as well as by Benjamin Givan in describing the debate
between formalist jazz criticism and humanistic alternatives by new musicologists and
ethnomusicologists (2003: 73-77; the quote appears on 77).
37
sentences. Still, when speaking a language in which one is fluent, the focus during the
sentence is usually not so much on where to place a gerund or how to conjugate a verb,
but rather on the expressive content one wishes to convey. The grammatical rules do not
occupy conscious attention, but rather act as a kind of filter of which one is barely ever
aware.
! Similarly, in an article on some of the cognitive aspects of improvisation,
psychologist Jeff Pressing cites studies that show that in musical improvisation a feeling
of letting go accompanies increased fluency, where motor functions can be handled
automatically. Basically, controlled processing changes to automatic motor processing.30
This of course parallels the way that Evans described his own development in relegating
certain solutions to these problems to the subconscious, and focusing on the next level of
problems. As Pressing puts it, In a sense, the performer is played by the music. 31 And,
as Evans would have it, the performer can now focus on the expressive content of the
performance.
! Evanss awareness of his own development in learning to improvise and his
descriptions of this development also align with the information processing model used in
cognitive science to explain expert behavior. Matthew Brown, in his study of Debussys
working processes when writing Iberia, invokes this model to show how a composer
moves from a starting state to a goal state through the constraints of the musical system,
known as a problem space. 32
30 Pressing 1988: 139.

31 Pressing 1988: 139.
32 For an overview of this work as it relates to musical creation, see Brown 2003: 1-10.
38
! In navigating this problem space, the composer uses search strategies. Search
strategies consist of learned pathways through the problem space. The composer creates
these search strategies by using discovery procedures, trying different avenues to find
successful solutions. The successful solutions then exist as search strategies, which can
then be reused in a similar context toward moving from the starting state to the goal state.
! As it relates to jazz improvisation, the idea of a problem space exists on at least
two levels. The first of these might be in the formative period of learning to play jazz and
to improvise in a jazz style.33 Discovering what works and what does not work helps the
player to establish search strategies: when a familiar chord sequence arises in a newly
presented tune, the performer can invoke a learned search strategy for navigating the
progression, thinking of this short chord progression as a problem space. Thus, the
performer moves from a restricted set of avenues for achieving a jazz performance to a
greater set of avenues, invoking and modifying structures that were realized prior to the
performance.
! While these local progressions can be construed as problem spaces, one can also
invoke the notion of a problem space at the level of a given tune. The improviser is
expected to create new melodic material in the solo sections of the form during each
performance. This could mean utilizing search strategies for these points across the
entire tune. Notably, Evans himself suggested that, while he strove to play new melodic
material in each performance, he would keep the structure the same. In an interview with
Jim Aikin, Evans stated that:
Evans: Our solos are different every time...
33As noted above, Evans cites learning to substitute one harmony for another or to change a longer string
of harmonies as one of the initial steps in his learning to play jazz.
39
Aikin: Chick Corea once said that when he plays a solo over a period of time it
tends to settle itself, so that gradually it becomes less improvised.
Evans: Yeah, that can happen. The period I went through after Scott was killed
was more like that. When I was with Miles, he would do songs that way, where
he would develop a way of approaching a solo, maybe certain key structural notes
or motifs or whatever, he would keep in. Thats a way to approach a solo. I try to
accept the challenge and use the discipline in my playing to be fresh. You cant
always be fresh, of course, and you rely on professionalism and craft to carry you
through, but ideally it would be entirely fresh, and when things are right, that
happens. Now, I dont know what someone else would think is entirely new,
because the structure I would keep pretty much the same, the form would be the
same, but the melodic and rhythmic content, if it were a really high-level
performance, would be entirely new.34
! It is difficult to state precisely what Evans meant by structure. Steve Larson has
suggested that Evanss notion of the basic structure of a tune can correspond with
strong structural points in the tune, where Evans reroutes his goals but maintains the
structural points. And, Evans himself put it in just this way:
I always have in any thing that I play an absolutely basic structure in mind. Now
I can work around that differently, or between the strong structural points
differently, or whatever, but that must be: I find the most fundamental structure,
and then I work from there.35
Immediately after this, Evans reiterated that he meant the abstract, architectural thing;
like, the theoretical thing. 36
! Larson goes on to show how Evanss comments about and demonstration of
structure on The Touch of Your Lips can be read as articulating a Schenkerian
understanding of the tune.37 What might help to further elucidate Evanss particular
treatment of tunes, though, is the statement Evans makes right before the above quote,
regarding different types of structures:
34 Aikin 1980: 54.

35 McPartland 1978: Track 8 (2:52-3:13). Quoted by Larson 1998: 219, 230 onto 236.
36 McPartland 1978: Track 8 (3:12-3:26). Quoted by Larson 1998: 219.
37 Larson 1998.
40
Evans: ...what I think the student should keep in mind is having a complete
picture of the structure as hes playing; then, indicating it...
McPartland: You mean of the tune.
Evans: Well, of the tune and also as [sic] the structure as he wants to indicate it.
Now, say on this tune...
McPartland: You mean youre talking about, like, pre-planning in a sense?
Evans: Well, yes, pre-planning a basic structure.38
! Evans stressed a distinction here between the structure of the tune and particular
ways of navigating the structure of the tune. He also demonstrated ways of pre-planning
a basic structure that help to articulate the superordinate plan of concatenated choruses
that comprise a complete performance.39 Unfortunately, in the absence of comments
from Evans about other tunes that he played, it becomes difficult to differentiate between
pre-planned and improvised aspects in performances on other tunes.
! Luckily, Evans performed certain tunes multiple times over the course of his
career, and many of these performances have been captured on recordings. These
alternate takes of a tune, to borrow from CD reissue terminology, can provide a
window of insight into the aspects of Evanss tunes that stayed the same from one
performance to another. In this way, rather than analyzing a tune and then analyzing an
Evans improvisation on that tune, Evanss ideas of structure may be more clearly
assessed from analyzing multiple performances of a specific tune, seeing what his pre-
planned structures were by comparing one improvisation in a performance on a certain
38McPartland 1978: Track 8 (2:32-2:53).

39Evans demonstrates setting up a dominant pedal point at the opening of The Touch of Your Lips as a
plane or a bottom out of which the rest of the tune will spring. See McPartland 1978: Track 8 (from
3:24) through Track 9.
41
tune to another improvisation in a different performance of that same tune. These
performances can then be grouped into a unit and compared, both with respect to one
another as well as with aspects of the tune itself.
! In this way, Evanss multiple performances on a tune which share certain
characteristics exist as one performance family. Thus, Evans may have adopted certain
search strategies for the Autumn Leaves family of performances, and different search
strategies for the Beautiful Love family of performances. In some cases, he may have
used certain search strategies in both performance families where a certain structure
occurs in both tunes. These search strategies emerge through comparison of different
performances of the same tune, or of multiple performances over a chord progression that
is common to different tunes.
! A performance family, then, is any set of performances on a given tune that
contain certain similarities. These similarities would exist because certain aspects of the
performance would have been created from a common mental scheme from which Evans
drew during the performance. Evans would have created the aspects of this mental
scheme, which could have consisted of both an overarching plan for the performance
(e.g., head, bass solo, piano solo, trading, head out) as well as more local events like the
melodic frameworks to be outlined here, over years of practice on the tune as well as
other tunes with similar musical structures, such as standard chord progressions.
Mapping the Knowledge Required to Create a Jazz Solo
! While it is certainly not possible to outline all of Evanss techniques as he
understood them, one can get a glimpse of some of the features of this process from a
42
model proposed by psychologist John Sloboda for studying the compositional process.
Slobodas chart, which was subsequently adapted by Matthew Brown in his study of
Debussys Iberia, provides a way to conceptualize how the composers knowledge and
working processes influence the different stages of the piece as it is developed.40
! Sloboda states that a composer very often begins with a musical theme as his or
her starting state. This musical theme is molded into intermediate forms and finally to a
final form by using superordinate formal models as well as a repertoire of compositional
devices. 41 Of course, the starting point for a jazz performance is very often a jazz
standard. Thus, to reconstruct Slobodas chart of composition for the jazz process, one
would consider the starting state for a performance to be a jazz standard rather than a
theme.
! Evans knew these standards intimately. He told Marian McPartland in a 1968
interview that he found it much better to spend thirty hours on one tune than to play
thirty tunes in one hour. 42 And, although he told Marian McPartland ten years later, near
the end of his career, that while his trio may have had four rehearsals over their almost
20-year existence, he himself didnt perform tunes with the trio that he wasnt familiar
with, saying that he liked to be familiar with a tune before performing it in public. 43
These comments, along with the fact that Evans performed many of the same tunes
40 I am indebted to Matthew Brown for suggesting that his adaptation of Slobodas chart of the
compositional process could be modified in this way. My further adaptation of Browns chart serves to
frame the discussion of Evanss improvisational method as outlined here.
41 Sloboda 1985/1999: 118-119.
42 McPartland 1987: 109. McPartland may have been referring to this statement, from a 1968 interview she
did with Evans, when she mentioned to him in their 1978 Piano Jazz session that she thought she
remembered him saying that practicing one tune for twenty-four hours is better than practicing twenty-
four tunes in an hour, at which Evans laughed and said: Thats right. Yeah, I think so. McPartland
1978: Track 10 (0:47-0:59).
43 McPartland 1978: Track 10 (1:05-2:11). From this we can understand that Evans called tunes that he
himself had spent a lot of time practicing, but that the interaction between trio members was more
spontaneous.
43
throughout his career, suggest that he knew the tunes he played quite well, and would
have practiced them in great detail before performing them in public.
! Evanss understanding of the superordinate constraints within each performance
family also seem to have been rather fixed, at least within each trio. For example, over a
twenty-year period, the form of the trios recorded performances of Autumn Leaves
remained remarkably consistent, with the head moving directly into the bass solo before
Evans would solo.44 This is all the more remarkable considering that placing a bass solo
up front was a rather unconventional arrangement for jazz combo groups at the time.
Additionally, certain aspects of the Autumn Leaves head arrangement remained quite
consistent across the years, as did Evanss eight-measure introduction.
! Having seen that the overarching formal plan of the performance and the bookend
sections of that form (i.e., the head) were quite consistent across Evanss career, it
remains to be seen what aspects of Evanss solo sections were pre-planned. Evans
certainly used familiar jazz licks throughout his solos, but I will also suggest that Evans
navigated specific types of phrases in remarkably consistent ways, and that these melodic
frameworks can be understood as search strategies influencing his conception of a tune.
! Ultimately, then, one might reconceive of Slobodas chart for Evanss process of
jazz performance as follows:
44Eddie Gomezs frequent features during his time with the trio meant that Evans didnt always solo on a
tune. For example, Evans does not solo during the Autumn Leaves performance on Jazzhouse (1969),
yielding a format of intro-head-bass solo-head.
44
EXAMPLE 1.10: Diagram of typical jazz resources and processes45
A1 A2
Tune Tune
- harmony - melody
- counterpoint
E
Superordinate constraints
D1 on form
General stylistic (global level)
knowledge
B
Pre-planned
F outline
Repertoire of
compositional devices
(phrase level)
D2
General tonal
knowledge
C
Performances
G - Gig
Jazz licks/formulas - Gig recorded for album
(local) - Studio
! Like Slobodas chart and Browns adaptation of it, the rounded boxes, presented
here on the right, show stages of the work. The A boxes comprise information from the
tune. The A boxes lead to box B, Evanss pre-planned structure, which includes both
aspects of the superordinate form of concatenated choruses, as well as some of the phrase
models that will be presented in this study. Box C includes the final performances,
whether for a regular gig, a gig which Evans knew would be recorded,46 or a studio
recording.
45 As noted above, this chart is an adaptation for jazz practice of the model offered by John Sloboda
(1985/1999: 118) and subsequently adapted by Matthew Brown (2003: 9) for the realm of classical
composition.
46 Evans fan Mike Harris recorded Evans many times at the Village Vanguard, apparently without Evanss
knowledge. These recordings have been released on the 8-CD set Secret Sessions, as well as on Getting
Sentimental. Not knowing that he was being recorded, Evans would not have altered his play in any way, if
indeed his studio play was different from his unrecorded gig play.
45
! Whereas boxes A, B, and C comprise stages of the piece, boxes E, F, and G
consist of knowledge of musical structures that exist across a broader repertoire. This
knowledge, in turn, rests upon the more general knowledge in the leftmost column, boxes
D1 and D2. Sloboda included tonal and stylistic knowledge in one box, but dividing that
box into two boxes, as shown here, shows that tonal characteristics affect certain aspects
while stylistic characteristics affect others. Generally, it is the stylistic characteristics of
jazz within a tonal context that affect knowledge of licks and formulas, many of which
would have been common to other players as well, whereas the phrase models suggested
here are more generally formed by general tonal knowledge, even though jazz style
influences certain aspects of these models.
! While Evans suggested that he learned mostly on the job, 47 he also
recommended heavy doses of practice.48 Thus, while box F influences the material
generated in box C, the fact that box C is both a musical entity (the work resulting from
the performance) as well as a musical process (performing that entity) suggests that this
musical process of working on the piece through performance could also influence box F.
! One of the more interesting connections in the diagram above is that of box A2 to
box F. Whereas many jazz players quote the melody of a tune directly, Evans claimed
that he did not do this frequently. Taking an exact view of melodic quoting, this study,
which focuses mainly on Evanss early recordings, generally supports this claim.
However, during this early period, he often used the structural outline of a melody as a
frame for an improvised line, an idea I call structural paraphrase. Near the end of his
career, Evans commented on the idea of referring to the melody of a tune:
47 Evans 1966: 29:43-29:48.

48 See above discussion, as well as notes 42 and 43.
46
Aikin: Do you refer back motivically to the tune in your solos?
Evans: Not very often. When I first started to play jazz, for quite a few years I
would move out of the melodic implications of the tune when I improvised. I
would only accept the harmonic structure, and I would vary that as I pleased. I
dont do that so much any more. I sort of feel that the essential melody is always
there, exerting an influence. Its there in spirit.49
This statement corroborates the musical evidence, leading to a line from box A2 to box F
rather than to box G, as would have been the case if Evans simply quoted the melody of
the tune verbatim.
! Suggesting that jazz performers operate in this way provides an overview of jazz
improvisation, but simultaneously problematizes the distinction between composition and
improvisation. With these fixed search strategies (boxes E, F, and G) in place prior to the
performance, it becomes more difficult to delineate between the two realms. Jeff
Pressing, in fact, has noted a kind of continuum on which all performance takes place.
Naturally, there is some degree of improvisation in all performance because certain
performance components can only be specified to some degree. Conversely, it would be
difficult to imagine a performance where the performer did not draw upon elements from
previous practice or on knowledge about other musical pieces or structures.50 Thus, it
would seem that any performance contains both composed and improvised aspects.
! Evans tells us as much when he notes how he learned to change the harmonies of
a tune, based on knowledge of how tunes were built harmonically. He also suggests this
when he notes that a player should have a complete picture of the structure, not only of
49Aikin 1980: 54.

50Pressing notes that: There is a continuum of possibilities between the extreme hypothetical limits of
pure improvisation and pure composition. These limits are never obtained in live performance because
no improviser (even in free improvisation) can avoid the use of previously learned material, and no re-
creative performer can avoid small variations specific to each occasion. (1984: 346) Pressing includes a
continuum listing different artistic traditions and the % improvisation of each. (1984: 347)
47
the tune but also of the tune as the player wants to indicate it. If Evans is pre-planning a
basic structure in other tunes, as he recommends for others and demonstrates in part on
The Touch of Your Lips, of what does this basic structure consist and how is it to be
distinguished from the structure of the tune itself?
! Of course, any attempt to completely reconstruct the discovery procedures Evans
engaged to enact these search strategies, or to define all of the search strategies with exact
precision, would be impossible. Yet some of these search strategies can be determined by
locating their residue in recordings. Where similar structural features operate in
comparable musical situations, we may be peering into the improvisational workshop of
Bill Evans.
! The remainder of this study investigates the melodic frameworks Evans used in
different performances. In covering this ground, we will investigate how the melodic
frameworks can be understood with respect to the given harmonic plan of the standard, as
well as some of the techniques that Evans used to embellish these structures in
performance.
48
Chapter 2: Determining the Syntax and Deriving the Models
! Bill Evans crafted his improvised melodic lines on specific frameworks derived
from the contrapuntal and harmonic syntax of tonal jazz. In considering the nature of
these frameworks and their use, the present chapter begins with an examination of this
underlying syntax. In doing so, it covers a lot of ground, often suggesting that a nuanced
approach can provide a more accurate picture of some concepts than an approach that
advocates defining concepts in just one way. For instance, Evans may treat a chord
within a certain kind of chord progression differently in different solos, or may determine
the length of a phrase differently in different solos. The examination of these issues in
the first part of the chapter provides the groundwork for a problem space, setting up the
discussion of some of Evanss solutions in the second part of the chapter.
! Perhaps the most difficult aspect of understanding jazz syntax from a traditional
theoretical perspective lies in determining the extent to which jazz models should be
conceived as variants of traditional tonal models. Although tonal jazz obviously grows
out of traditional tonality historically, certain aspects of jazz practice, such as the rarity of
bare triads and the frequency of off-tonic openings, seem at first to be fundamentally at
odds with the models of tonal music of the common practice period. Here I will argue
that certain jazz phrase models, while historically traceable from traditional models, may
in certain cases be considered as distinct from those traditional models. In addition, I will
posit that Evans used both traditional models as well as adapted, jazz models in his
playing, and that the type of model he used, whether of a traditional or a more jazz-
oriented nature, often depended upon the type of phrase model underlying the given
phrase.
49
! Thus, in examining the syntax as practiced by Evans, we must define some of the
similarities and differences between jazz syntax and traditional tonal syntax, and how the
theoretical systems developed for each overlap and differ. With this distinction outlined,
we can then clarify how Evans used each of these two types of syntax, often stratifying
them between hands, using more traditional tonal models (though with adaptations) in his
right hand while using more distinctly jazz-oriented models to create his left-hand
voicings. As we will see, because the rule systems for harmonic coloring differ from
those of melodic closure, the rules that govern Evanss right-hand melodic lines differ in
specific situations from those that govern his left-hand accompanying lines.
Tonality: Historical Product or Unchanging Principle?
! Much has been written about the relationship between tonal theory as applied to
the common practice period and tonal theory as applied to jazz.1 By a broad definition of
tonality, there is certainly a tonal kind of jazz, but differences arise when trying to
articulate whether what seems a new feature can be reconciled to the traditional system
or whether it cannot, thus requiring a change to the system. While the pitch material of
jazz is certainly rooted in traditional tonality, certain adaptations may be difficult to
reconcile with basic premises of the older system. For example, one commonly accepted
alteration in jazz from the common practice period is the use of the tonic added sixth
chord (e.g., C-E-G-A as I in C major).2 While theorists may admit some of these new
1 See Larson 1997-1998, Larson 1998, Larson 2005, Larson 2006, and Martin 1996. For analysis of the
standards that jazz players use as vehicles for improvisation, see Forte 1995, Gilbert 1997, and Terefenko
2004.
2 See Strunk 1985: 99-100, Larson 1998: 216. While Rameau admitted the added sixth chord on the
predominant under double emploi, he did not consider it acceptable for tonic chords. For a concise
explanation of the use of the added sixth chord in Rameaus theory, see Harrison 1994: 93-94.
50
features, the implications of these new concessions on other aspects of the system are
not always made apparent. Some of these concessions will be addressed specifically
here. A brief note about the nature of tonality, whether a historically evolving system or a
fixed, universal system, will provide a platform for the larger theoretical discourse.
! Trying to understand a class of objects such as jazz pieces, which exist at a further
historical distance from the class of objects originally studied under the body of
knowledge of traditional tonal theory, can be problematic because the body of knowledge
is about norms of behavior.3 While our knowledge about objects in nature, like trees, or
about physical properties, like gravity, does not influence these objects or properties, our
knowledge about tonality is used both to understand tonal pieces as well as to create tonal
pieces. Thus, if composers gradually change their conception of what is possible in a
tonal work, this also changes the new works they create. Thus, for models of tonality, a
kind of loop exists between what one knows and what one produces. Such a loop is not
present in the same way between our knowledge of the natural world and that world
itself, since the natural world is at its most elemental level not of our own production, and
the way we think of it is independent of its own existence and course of development.
! In trying to define norms of behavior in music, we look for models. While
Western music theory has offered many ideas about the nature of tonality, Schenkerian
theory offers a convenient point of comparison because of the way it conceives of a tonal
syntax as models and transformations, similar to the way a jazz player might think of
improvisation over a standard tune. And while some features of jazz practice may be
3Even Schenker, who feels that tonality is a natural system because of the hint given to humans from the
overtone series, must admit that humans make alterations to natures material, such as minor tonic
chords. See Schenkers Harmony. In addition, nature does not make neighbor tones or chromaticize
pitches; humans do. On the role of nature in tonality, see Brown 2005.
51
explained through models from Schenkerian theory, jazz theory may offer a different
set of models for specific types of passages, some of which may be held in common with
Schenkerian theory, and some of which may be different. While jazz developed from
principles of tonality, some models may have changed significantly, and other new
models may have been adopted.
! Schenkerian theorists of jazz admit as much when they allow for new features,
like the tonic added sixth chord, as noted above. But while it is clear that jazz has some
distinct features, it is important to proceed from the idea that some features of jazz can be
analyzed with regard to both traditional Schenkerian theory, since Schenkerian theory
analyzes the type of tonality from which jazz evolved, as well as with regard to other
types of models. Put concisely, it need not always be an either/or debate. Rather, certain
jazz features may be derived in different ways, depending upon the chosen model.
Making such choices can at times be rather difficult. Instead of picking one or the other,
making a finite, closed system, a multivalent viewpoint offers explanations that fit within
both the Schenkerian system as well as a modified tonal-jazz system.
! The above discussion, while philosophical in nature, is included here to justify the
multivalent approach adopted in describing some of the principles outlined below.
Considering that different types of music use tonal characteristics differently, or leave
some out, deriving any given model may take a number of paths, depending upon which
model one chooses as a basis. Here triadic Schenkerian models with tonic chords before
and after will be considered against modifications of these models, which may utilize
seventh chords and off-tonic openings in non-traditional ways. While acknowledging
that the music developed historically, such that its models certainly originated as
52
adaptations of older models, we may still consider that new models may explain certain
passages more efficiently because they operate at a closer conceptual distance to the
music, and thus require fewer caveats and changes than older models would.
Chapter Overview
! While some other authors have situated jazz harmony within its own sphere,4 a
historical approach to tonality can inform analysis of Evanss playing. These domains are
used in different ways. At times, Evans may use different syntactic principles in his left
hand than in his right hand: his left-hand voicings utilize standard jazz voicings and
counterpoint, while his right-hand lines either use these jazz voicings to advantage, or,
more commonly, utilize a more traditional tonal model in attaining closure on the tonal
goal of the phrase.
! In defining jazz syntax as practiced by Evans and examining some of the ways
that he navigates this syntax, the following discussion proceeds by:5
1) examining some of the issues involved in parsing phrases in jazz music, and
their implications for tonal syntax,
2) identifying some of the different uses of the ii-V-I progression and the different
types of phrase models that may include it,
3) discussing the implications of certain alternate chordal types and jazz
reharmonization techniques on traditional voice-leading models,
4See Strunk 1979 and Martin 1988.

5The discussion of phrase models here builds on work by Dariusz Terefenko, who identifies fourteen
phrase models in the body of standards. See Terefenko 2004. The current work is less comprehensive than
Terefenkos, who studies the repertoire of standards as a whole. Rather, the present work focuses on
describing the phrase models of compelling passages in Evanss playing.
53
4) defining different jazz phrase models using a polyphonic setting, engaging the
difficult issue of determining the number of essential voices,
5) articulating some of Evans's solutions for navigating these basic phrase models.
When is an off-tonic opening really an off-tonic opening?
! Traditional theory holds that closed tonal phrases begin on tonic and end with a
dominant to tonic motion. However, in some cases the initial tonic may seem to be
omitted. In such cases, one may posit that the initial tonic chord has been suppressed,
such that the tonic chord doesnt appear or doesnt appear in full, but still defines the
counterpoint and the harmonic sense of the phrase.6 In cases where the tonic chord does
not appear in full, one may invoke the notion of a tonic signifier. Such is the case in the
three examples presented below, in which we can understand a lone pickup note as
encapsulating an upbeat, on-tonic beginning.
EXAMPLE 2.1: Chopin, Mazurka, Op. 6, No. 1, mm. 1-4
! In this Chopin mazurka, one can infer an opening tonic chord in positing the
preparation of the 4-3 suspension over the dominant. Since the same melodic figure and
harmonic progression occur again on the mediant (A major) moving into measures 3-4,
6 An encapsulation of Schenkers views on off-tonic openings can be found in Sections 244-246 of Der
freie Satz. For others interpretations of Schenkers work, and further application, see Burstein 1988,
Burstein 2005, Marvin 2001, and Burkhart 1990.
54
and this suspension is prepared, one may posit by parallelism that the opening suspension
has been prepared in a similar manner, but that the other chord tones have been omitted.
! While the Chopin mazurkas first down-beat sounded a dominant chord,
seemingly off-tonic openings also occur on predominant chords. Two famous examples
come from Schumanns Dichterliebe cycle. In Ich will meine Seele tauchen, the
pickup-note B in the voice presumably represents an opening B minor tonic sonority,
before the introduction of the ii6/5 chord that initiates the ii-V-i motion. As was also the
case in Example 2.1, the next vocal phrase parallels the first in the key of the relative
major, with the B minor goal of the first phrase now serving as the consonant support for
the seventh (i.e., D over the ii6/5 chord in D major) that was only inferred at the opening
of the song. Additionally, in the second half of the first phrase (mm. 3-4), the B does
receive consonant preparation at the end of measure 2, leading to its dissonant placement
as a 7th in measure 3, and by parallelism one could posit a similar setting for the opening,
ostensibly unsupported, B.
55
EXAMPLE 2.2: Schumann, Ich will meine Seele tauchen, mm. 1-9
! Schumanns Im wunderschnen Monat Mai, the song that opens Dichterliebe,
moves between the two relative keys of F# minor and A major. Here, an opening C#-B
suspension occurs over D (scale degree b6) in F# minor.

56
EXAMPLE 2.3: Schumann, Im wunderschnen Monat Mai, mm. 1-8
! Presumably, tonal theorists would assume that the C# is set consonantly while on
the upbeat, either with an F# minor chord if viewing the first phrase locally, or possibly
with an A major chord if viewing the progression globally.7 Alternatively, considering
the way the pickup note is prepared into the second two-measure unit (measures 3-4),
over a dominant chord in F# minor, one might assert that the opening pickup note is set
similarly, and that the first four measures exist as a C#7 prolongation.
! Thus, if one conceives of this piece in A major, the song has an off-tonic opening
at two different levels, both locally, starting on the Bm6/5 chord, and globally, starting in
7 The opening Bm chord is reinterpreted when the voice comes in as a predominant in A major, rather than
as a predominant in F# minor (see measure 5). Schenkers interpretation of these opening eight measures is
of a C#-B-A motion as a 3-2-1 soprano in the context of A major, where the C# dominant of the first four
measures is interpreted as a global III# that moves to V of A through the B minor predominant. See Der
freie Satz, Fig. 110, c2. Since the song ends on a C# dominant seventh chord, though, Schenker would
presumably view this as a bridge into the next song, whose opening starts with an A-C# dyad, which again
suggests in the immediate term an F# minor reading because of the preceding C# dominant seventh, but
whose first phrase ends with a motion in A major (what seems a half cadence for the voice is answered
quickly by a confirming V-I in the accompaniment).
57
F# minor; or on the III# Stufe, C#, of A major. Since this piece begins the Dichterliebe
cycle, its unclear tonal nature, both on a local level (lack of a clear initial tonic chord) as
well as a global level (what is the presumed opening tonic chord that would support the
vocal pickup, C#?), create a fantastic sense of ambiguity to mirror the fact that the poet
withholds what the girl says in reply to the boys admission of love for her.
! These excerpts all utilize a non-tonic chord on the first downbeat, with an
ostensibly unsupported tone suspended into the opening measure. This suspended tone
sets up a 4-3 suspension in the Chopin mazurka, prepares the 7th of the chord in Ich will
meine Seele tauchen, and sets up a 7-6 suspension in Im wunderschnen Monat Mai.
Although in each case the pickup note sounds alone and thus receives no consonant
support, conceiving of the pickup note as an encapsulation of the tonic chord allows the
position that each of these pickup notes does in fact receive consonant support, and thus
each suspended tone is prepared by an inferred opening tonic. 8 Furthermore, considering
that in each of the above examples the pickup note does receive consonant support in the
following phrase, whether in the same key or another, inferring consonant support for the
opening tone becomes even more tenable.9
! In the Chopin mazurka and Schumanns Ich will meine Seele tauchen, a pickup
note was assumed to exist as an encapsulation of a tonic chord. In Im wunderschnen
Monat Mai, the opening pickup could have a plenitude of interpretations, either from a
global view (the piece in A major), a local view (the opening measures in F# minor), or a
parallelism with the second two-measure unit (preparing the C# suspension with C#
8 In Im wunderschnen Monat Mai, C# fits either F# minor, the local tonic, or A major, the global tonic
according to Schenkers reading. See Schenkers Der freie Satz, Fig. 110, c2.
9 As noted above in the discussion of Im wunderschnen Monat Mai, this consonant support in the
second iteration of the phrase (into measures 3-4) is over a dominant in F# minor, not a tonic.
58
dominant support). The song, Im wunderschnen Monat Mai, then, may offer a true
off-tonic opening, whereas the other two cases merely offered examples where the
opening tonic chord was encapsulated in a single note and set in a weak metric position.
! In Schenkerian theory, many openings that ostensibly begin off-tonic can be
subsumed under Schenkers notion of an auxiliary cadence. However, determining a
model for understanding auxiliary cadences in Schenkerian theory is problematic because
of differing opinions about fundamental aspects of off-tonic openings. For instance,
William Rothstein claims that an opening tonic in an auxiliary cadence is not to be
interpreted as having been delayed. On the other hand, L. Poundie Burstein and William
Marvin suggest that in such cases the initial non-tonic chord would displace the tonic
chord, thereby delaying its arrival in the piece. 10
! While differences in scale separate the global prototype of the Ursatz from the
local prototype of the phrase model, William Marvins twofold distinction of deceptive
openings for entire pieces,11 conceived at a more local level, can help to clarify two
distinct types of phrase models that each seem to begin off-tonic.
10See Rothstein 1981: 122-128, Burstein 1988 and 2005, and Marvin 2005. See also note 18.
11See Marvin 2005. In pieces that omit the opening tonic (auxiliary cadence pieces) as well as in pieces
that delay the initial tonic, Marvin refers to deceptive openings. See especially page 10.
59
EXAMPLE 2.4: Deep Middlegrounds in Two Types of Deceptive Openings
! Example 2.4 illustrates two prototypes for pieces with off-tonic openings. The
first set of cases are subsumed under Schenkers notion of auxiliary cadences, where a
piece that begins with a non-tonic chord is assumed to begin with an implied tonic that
has been suppressed.12 The second set of cases delay an initial tonic, and thus are not,
properly speaking, auxiliary cadence pieces.
! Since the prototype for auxiliary cadence pieces operates for the entire piece,
suggesting an exact analog to local phrases can seem tenuous, or even spurious. Thus,
while the metaphor is certainly not exact, I find the differentiation presented in Example
2.4 to be helpful in clarifying the different settings of ii-V-I progressions in some jazz
phrases. By analogy, taking this distinction to a local level, I will argue that certain jazz
phrases may be like auxiliary cadences in that they omit or suppress an opening tonic,
while others may simply displace (and hence delay) an opening tonic.
! Considering the nature of off-tonic openings in jazz is essential because of the
frequent use of ii-V-I progressions. Where the ii-V-I progression begins a phrase, does
the ii-V motion expand a tonic, where an initial tonic sonority functions as an upbeat or
12 See Schenker, Der freie Satz, S. 244; Burstein 1988 and 2005; and Marvin 2001 and 2005.
60
as an implied point of initiation? Or, does the ii-V motion delay a tonic, pushing back the
opening tonic to the third measure of a four-measure phrase?13 Complicating the issue,
certain ii-V-I progressions within a tune may be understood differently depending upon
the setting provided by the player,14 or may vary from one instance to another, whether
during the performance of the original melody or during a solo. While some authors
suggest that ii-V-I is in fact a phrase model in jazz and can occur without the opening
tonic at the beginning of a tune,15 examining the varied uses of the ii-V-I progression,
whether as a complete phrase model or as part of a larger unit, can help to provide
insights into Evanss own varied treatment of this standard progression.
Some Different Settings of the ii-V-I Progression in Jazz Phrases
! In trying to articulate the different ways that ii-V-I progressions may be used in
phrases in tonal jazz, and whether these phrases can begin off-tonic, we should first
consider two types of situations that can occur with regard to the ii-V-I progressions
placement within a phrase. In the tune, I Love You, for example, the opening ii-V-I is
preceded by a tonic sonority at the end of the verse, on the pickup note. Thus, if
performing the tune with the verse, the opening phrase model is I-ii-V-I, with the initial
13 The ii-V-I progressions uses in jazz are many, where it may occur both within phrases as well as
between phrases. Terefenko suggests that the ii-V-I progressions uses in jazz include:
1) tonal closure at the end of a tune
2) modulatory links to secondary key areas
3) local tonicizations
4) harmonic alterations
Then, while citing Martin (1988), he states that: Arguably, the origins of this progression are contrapuntal
and result from forward and/or backward projections of the triad. (Terefenko I: 18)
14 Evans noted in an interview with Marian McPartland that he would consider starting a tune over a
dominant pedal. He demonstrates this on The Touch of Your Lips, and also uses the technique to open
the final performance of the interview, I Love You, a tune which will be discussed at greater length
below. McPartland 1978.
15 Terefenko includes ii-V-I as a phrase model, as well as phrase models with other types of non-tonic
openings. See Terefenko 2004, Vol. II: 63, 64, 66, 75.
61
tonic being condensed into a pickup note. Thus, we have two tonic chords, one at the
beginning of the phrase on the pickup and one at the end of the phrase, with contrapuntal
motion between them.
EXAMPLE 2.5: Basic Melodic and Harmonic Framework of I Love You, by Cole
Porter 16
16This rendition of I Love You has been adapted from the version presented in The Standards Real Book.
Petaluma, CA: Sher Music Co., 2000.
62
! However, the third A section of I Love You presents a different scenario. This
A section occurs immediately after the bridge in the AABA form. The end of the bridge
contains a ii-V progression, reestablishing the global key for the return of the final A
section. On a deep level, this motion at the end of the bridge exists as a Schenkerian
interruption. Thus, the first part of the form (the AAB of the overall AABA form)
culminates in a dominant, and the tonic returns at the beginning of the final A section to
initiate the final descent to scale degree 1.
! Here, then, because of the dominant that occurs at the end of the B section, and
the subsequent ii-V-I that begins the A section, this final A section of the form is not
immediately preceded by an implied tonic. Rather, coming from the dominant at the end
of the bridge, the initial tonic has been delayed, occurring first in measure 3 of the final A
section.17 Thus, here the ii-V-I motion operates as a contrapuntal displacement, resulting
in a delay of the initial tonic of the phrase, not as a contrapuntal expansion between two
tonics, as was the case in the opening four-measure unit of the first A section.18
17 For another example of an interruption with an ensuing tonic-delay via a dominant, see Schenkers Fig.
138 in Der freie Satz. In this analysis of a Bach minuet, Schenker shows the dominant at the interruption
slurred to another dominant, one which delays the initial tonic of the second part of the form. The idea that
the tonic is delayed is clearly shown from one level to the next.
18 In a section of his dissertation entitled Rhythmic Structure of the Auxiliary Cadence, Burstein notes:
While an auxiliary cadence is similar to an anticipation in a tonal sense, it is not

necessarily similar to an anticipation in a metric sense. An anticipation must begin in a
rhythmically weak position, but the opening of an auxiliary cadence may be accented in relation to
its final chord. An auxiliary cadence may function metrically like a suspension or an accented
neighbor tone, so that its final chord is retrospectively realized to be present on a deep rhythmic
level from the outset of the progression. (Burstein 1988: 53)
Marvin (2001: 145) agrees with Burstein on this point, such that both contradict William Rothstein, who
interprets Schenker as saying that the tonic is not, in fact, delayed in an auxiliary cadence. See Rothstein
1981: 123, and Burstein 1988: 51n-52n. Here it seems that Burstein may actually be discussing not
auxiliary cadences proper, but what Marvin refers to as deceptive openings that are not actually auxiliary
cadences. See note 11. For additional analytical discussions on pieces that utilize auxiliary cadences, see
Charles Burkharts analyses of two songs from Schumanns Liederkreis, Op. 39. Burkhart 1990.
63
! Thus, depending upon its location within the larger form, a ii-V-I progression
within a phrase can be set in at least two different ways. One may infer that any pickup
in the tune or that a soloist may play introduces a tonic sonority, such that the progression
is a closed motion in the tonic, moving from an initial tonic state to a final tonic state.
Alternatively, we may consider that the ii-V motion delays the opening tonic, such that
the phrase contains only one tonic chord, which has been pushed to measure 3 of the
phrase (in a four-measure phrase). One case where such an interpretation may be
necessary is after a Schenkerian interruption, as noted above in I Love You.
! Nevertheless, there are cases in which the piece does not start with a pickup note.
Such situations may occur when the opening verse is omitted, when jazz players
improvise over the chord changes without including an opening tonic gesture, or when
jazz players write their own tune without a verse.19 In these cases, one may consider that
an initial tonic has been suppressed and the opening progression is really (I)-ii-V-I, or that
the initial tonic has been delayed, where I becomes prefixed with ii-V, resulting in ii-V-
I. The first scenario assumes two tonic chords contrapuntally connected, while the
second scenario assumes one tonic chord with dominant preparation, or a dominant
approach.20 Determining which of these two scenarios is occurring at different junctures
in a piece helps shape our idea of the phrase boundaries, and thus helps to determine the
phrase model.
19 Evanss own composition, Peris Scope, begins on a ii chord without a pickup.

20 Brown (1989: 108-110) explains that one may repeat a note and then create a new Stufe (i.e., harmonize
the repeated note) either prior to or following the original Stufe. It follows that if such a non-tonic Stufe
starts a phrase, the phrase would begin off-tonic. The creation of a dominant preparation for a local tonic
chord could presumably be created in such a way, with a prolongation of local scale degree 5 backwards.
This parallels the model for dominant prefixes in jazz harmony as articulated by Strunk, although Strunks
forward-pointing arrows, from the dominant to its respective tonic chord, could be reversed to backward-
pointing arrows to more clearly show the way he generates them, in accordance with his description in the
prose (his arrows point to the chord to which the dominant is applied). See Strunk 1979: 7-8.
64
! Determining the phrase model used becomes increasingly difficult when
considering that the jazz soloist changes the melody when soloing. Without an opening
pickup note, as at the opening of the melody of I Love You, does a tonic state initiate
the phrase, or has the initial tonic been delayed? Such a decision influences how one
conceives of the phrase model that organizes the phrase. While one may assume that jazz
players might tend to think in the four-measure blocks of changes into which many fake
book versions are laid out, they dont always play this way.21 A player may utilize the
tonic chord that ended the previous phrase as an initiation point for the next phrase, or
may begin directly in the new tonal area.
! Alternatively, a performer may even shift the phrase boundaries by reinterpreting
a ii-V-I progression. For example, in the tune Who Can I Turn To?, an AA form, each
eight-measure unit consists of a sentential structure: 2 + 2 + 4, as shown in the top staff
of Example 2.6. However, Evans may treat the ii-V motions that occur at the end of
some of the four-measure units not as termination points of local units, as back-related
dominants, but rather as interior parts of a phrase that includes the beginning of the next
four-measure unit. Thus, the opening 2+2+4 grouping (or 4+4 if considering the opening
two units as one) may become in Evanss hands a shifted unit, creating a phrase
displacement with respect to the original melody. Such a phrase shift can alter the
metric setting of the phrase, such that instead of beginning on a strong hypermetric beat
and ending on a weak hypermetric beat, the phrase begins on a weak hypermetric beat,
like a suspirans figure, and ends on a strong hypermetric beat into measure 5 and in
measure 9 of the form.
21 This should become evident from the ensuing discussion.

65
EXAMPLE 2.6: Evanss phrase shifts in Who Can I Turn To Solo
! Therefore, while it may seem expedient to consider the phrase structure of each
chorus as common to all performances, and there are certainly aspects that would be
universal, different performances and different choruses may contain phrases in slightly
different positions, as shown in Example 2.6 above. The phrase spans may differ from
one improvised chorus to another, or between an improvised chorus and the head, which
contains the original melody. Such alterations can change our perception of the phrase
model being used.
! In his solo in two different performances of Autumn Leaves, both recorded on
the same day during the Portrait in Jazz sessions, Evans presented two very different
treatments of the opening phrase. Autumn Leaves begins with an eight-measure A

66
section, consisting of a diatonic circle-of-fifths progression culminating in the global
tonic, G minor. Thus, with one chord per measure, the opening chord progression is
Cm7-F7-BbM7-EbM7-Am7(b5)-D7-Gm. Because the tune ends in G minor, the motion
from the end of the form to the beginning is also a circle-of-fifths motion, with the
closing G minor chord leading to the opening Cm7 chord. Evans often utilized a G7(#5)
chord as a chromatic propellant to bridge this formal juncture, thereby preparing the
opening Cm7 with its own dominant.22 However, because of the chord qualities and
metric placement of the opening chords of the form (Cm7-F7-BbM7), we can also
interpret the opening four-measure unit as a ii-V-I motion in the key of the relative major,
Bb, moving through Eb as a pivot (IV in Bb, VI in G minor) to a ii-V-i in the home key:
Am7(b5)-D7-Gm.
! These two interpretations suggest that this opening unit through measure 4 of the
form can be conceived in at least two ways: 1) as a motion from the G minor area that
ends the previous formal unit into the local area of Bb, or 2) as a ii-V-I motion in Bb
without any Gm prefix. Of the two recordings of Autumn Leaves released on the CD
reissue of Portrait in Jazz, Evans utilizes the first of these strategies at the opening of his
Take 1 solo and the second of these strategies at the opening of his Take 2 solo.
22This would be one instance, albeit brief, of what jazz players call a turnaround: a series of harmonies
that lead back to the chord that opens the form.
67
EXAMPLE 2.7: Alternate approaches to beginning a solo on Autumn Leaves
! In the Take 1 excerpt, a line descends a sixth from G over Gm to Bb over EbM7
(the local IV chord in Bb), with suspensions occurring as well (note the Bb over the F7).
In the Take 2 excerpt, F sits squarely over ii7 (Cm7), with a beginning clearly in Bb
major, and falls through a passing seventh, Eb, to D, a motion into the local tonic area of
Bb.23
! Here, the phrase model one chooses determines which notes are chord tones and
which notes are not. In Take 1, within the Cm7 area, the F on the upbeat occurs as a
passing seventh in the G7(#5) chord in moving from G to Eb, thus functioning with D as
an encircling of the chordal goal tone, Eb. In Take 2, however, the F seems to function as
a chord tone, with the ii7 chord functioning as a reharmonization of non-chord tones of
the dominant.24 Thus, here F appears as a chord tone while Eb and G are double neighbor
tones. The note, F, then, as local scale degree 5, can be set both as a stable, chord tone or
as an unstable, passing tone.
23 Alternatively, one could say that the F is prolonged into the Bb area, then moves down stepwise through
chord tones D and Bb. While this is literally what is happening, because of the idea of contrapuntal, linear
motion into a point of closure, where 5-4-3 occurs as a line of closure, whenever scale degree 5 is
prolonged into the tonic area and then descends, this is considered a variant of a 5-4-3 motion into the tonic
area from the dominant area. See Example 2.16 and the surrounding discussion below.
24 This contrapuntal interpretation of the jazz practice of expanding a V chord into a ii-V unit is outlined in
the discussion below.

68
! Ultimately, then, an analysis of the phrase structure of a standard must take into
account different possibilities, and an analysis of a solo must take into consideration
which of these possibilities are being utilized by the player. A ii-V-I progression that
begins an A section can have a different interpretation based on where it occurs in the
form, as we saw in I Love You. Additionally, while the phrase boundaries may match
those of the original melody of the tune, they may in some cases differ, as we saw in
Example 2.6 above, where downbeat initiations of phrases in the tune were shifted into
suspirans-like figures in the solo, landing on strong hypermetric beats rather than weak
hypermetric beats. Additionally, a players interpretation of phrase boundaries may affect
how we understand a chord progression, for instance whether a ii-V is an expansion of a
V, or whether a larger chordal sequence is at work. This can affect the decision of what
the chord tones are, as we saw regarding the F in the Cm7 area in Example 2.7.
! Jazz phrases that begin off-tonic certainly developed in part from the concepts
Classical-music origins.25 However, there are multiple issues that arise. First, the jazz
tradition frequently omits the opening verse that would have offered tonic preparation for
the off-tonic opening. Second, some jazz tunes, such as Alice in Wonderland and
Evanss own Peris Scope, dont begin with an opening melodic pickup note. Third,
the insertion of some ii-V-I progressions in the middle of a tune do not allow for the
preparation of the seventh from a consonance. 26 Finally, some jazz reharmonization
25 See also Terefenkos explanation of the derivation of the ii-V-I progression as an alternate stride bass
within the dominant harmony. Jazz Transformations of the ii7-V7-I Progression. Current Research in
Jazz, Vol. 1 (2009). Available Online: http://www.crj-online.org/v1/CRJ-JazzTransformations.php.
26 For example, in the second A section of Ive Got You Under My Skin, a ii-V-I progression in Eb moves
to a ii-V-I progression in C major. While the culminating C major functions as a local V of Fm for the final
ii-V-I before the bridge, the EbM7 to Dm7 motion disallows consonant preparation of the seventh of the
Dm7 chord.
69
procedures work backward from the tonic at the end of a phrase, delaying its arrival,
rather than from an initial tonic.27
! Because of these issues, I will suggest that a progression that begins without a
tonic, such as a ii-V-I progression, may not always imply a previous tonic. Rather, the ii
chord indicates a conceptual tonic without necessarily coming from a temporally prior,
implied tonic. In other words, jazz ii-V-I progressions may exist not as a suppression of
I-ii-V-I into (I)-ii-V-I, with a motion from tonic back to tonic, but more as a goal-oriented
motion into the tonic chord. The tonic, while not always assumed as a previous temporal
element, is still always a prior element in the generation of a tune in the Schenkerian
sense.28 In both cases, then, I is an underlying tonal element. Thus, when we hear an
opening minor seventh chord, it implicates itself as ii, thereby implying the key of its
respective tonic, and we understand the ii-V motion as having delayed the arrival of that
tonic.
! In summary, at times the ii chord may arise from a prior, implied tonic, while
other times an opening ii-V may delay the initial tonic. Because of its frequency as a
model for jazz openings, an initial ii can be understood as pointing toward something, not
as always having come from something that is missing.
The Nature of Some ii-V Motions
! Standard jazz practice allows for the expansion of a V chord into a ii-V motion.
This can occur in different contexts, but one spot where jazz players frequently utilize
27See Martin 1988. One such case of pulling back chords will be discussed below.
28William Marvin makes this same case in a paper on different kinds of off-tonic openings: some off-
tonic pieces may start with an implied tonic (Schenkers auxiliary cadence pieces), while others may delay
the initial tonic. See Marvin 2005.
70
this reharmonization technique is in tunes built on Rhythm Changes, the chord changes
of the Gershwin brothers song, I Got Rhythm, an AABA form. The B section of
Rhythm Changes consists of a chain of four dominant chords that lead back to the tonic at
the beginning of the final A section of the form. Jazz players commonly expand this
circle-of-fifths progression of dominants into a series of ii-V motions.29 Considering that
the B section in I Got Rhythm functions as a goal-directed circle-of-fifths sequence to
return to the Bb tonic, the D7-G7-C7-F7 chord progression may be elaborated as follows,
with each dominant becoming a ii-V:
EXAMPLE 2.8: Expanding V chords into ii-V motions in the B section of Rhythm
Changes in Bb major
Function V/V/V/V V/V/V V/V V
Chord (in Bb) D7 G7 C7 F7
V Chord Am7-D7 Dm7-G7 Gm7-C7 Cm7-F7

Expanded as
ii-V
While we can explain this chordal alteration in different ways, one approach would be to
understand the alteration as contrapuntal in origin, with suspended tones over a dominant
being reharmonized,30 as follows:
29 See Strunk 1979: 13-14. Burkhart utilizes a similar approach in his analysis of Schumanns
Mondnacht, from Liederkreis, Op. 39, showing a II chord in the prolongation of a V chord. See Burkhart
1990, especially Examples 1 and 2 on pages 148 and 150, respectively.
30 Dariusz Terefenko, taking a historical approach, suggests that the ii-V progression in jazz may have
originated in part from stride pianists alternating the normal root-5th motion in the bass, playing the 5th of
the dominant chord (scale degree 2) on strong beats rather than the conventional weak-beat placement. See
Dariusz Terefenko, Jazz Transformations of the ii7-V7-I Progression. Current Research in Jazz, Vol. 1
(2009). Available Online: http://www.crj-online.org/v1/CRJ-JazzTransformations.php.
71
EXAMPLE 2.9: Contrapuntal Reinterpretation of V as ii-V Progression
! Example 2.9a begins with a dominant seventh chord. Example 2.9b includes
suspended tones, creating a 4-3 suspension and a 9-8 suspension. Example 2.9c then
shows these same upper voice strands, but with the suspensions placed over an alternate
bass note, thereby creating a Cm7 chord, resulting in a ii7-V7 progression in Bb major.
! Example 2.8 can be reconfigured along these same lines, as a reharmonization of
4-3 suspensions. These suspensions displace the lines of alternating sevenths and thirds
that occur in the voice-leading in a chain of dominants.

72
EXAMPLE 2.10: Reharmonizing a Chain of Dominants by Reharmonizing
Suspensions
! This reharmonization technique includes one extremely significant caveat: notes
can be harmonized as the seventh of a chord. While Schenker posits that the seventh
chord arises as a passing phenomenon,31 he also sometimes harmonizes an upper
neighbor as the seventh of a chord, as in a scale degree 3-4-3 motion over I-V-I.32
Because of such exceptions, as well as Schenkers own writings on the subject, the issue
of seventh chords is problematic in Schenkerian theory. The issue is not simply that of
determining the nature of any such seventh chord, but of determining how any such
31 Schenker does include exceptions to this when he says that a passing seventh may be transformed into a
consonance. See the discussion in Der freie Satz, Sections 170, 176, and 177; specifically see p. 61. For
example, in Fig. 62.4, Schenker shows a prolonged Bb7 sonority across the development section of
Beethovens Opus 81a. In Figure 42.2, an upper neighbor, scale degree 4, is harmonized as a seventh at the
middleground, then made consonant at the local level, harmonized locally as part of a IV chord
(Schenker explains the passage this way in Section 170 (p. 62)).
32 For example, see Schenker, Der freie Satz, Fig. 42.2, and the corresponding note on p. 62. See also note
30 in the present work.

73
seventh chord can be treated. For instance, a large body of literature exists on whether
traditionally dissonant structures can be prolonged.33
! In his own review of this debate, Matthew Brown concludes that: Once we have
discovered appropriate laws of voice leading and harmony for each repertory, we can try
to represent them as a system of prototypes, transformations, and levels. In some cases,
the prototypes and transformations will look a lot like tonal transformations, but there is
no reason to suppose that they will always be analogous. 34 In light of this viewpoint,
any discussion of jazz syntax should take into account the empirical evidence from the
jazz repertory.
! The reharmonization technique discussed above is standard jazz parlance. Since
the goal of any theory of music is to efficiently model the rules of practice for a repertoire
of pieces, and because the notion of tritone substitutions in jazz assumes a
reinterpretation of the 3rd and 7th of the chord (thus, chordal seventh), seventh chords
will be permitted as sonorities here.35 The complete implications of this, while broader
than can be taken up here, include the fact that a note in a voice-leading strand can be
harmonized as the seventh of a chord. Also, similar to Schenkers own views on the
33 See Morgan 1976, Straus 1987, Larson 1997, and Straus 1997.
34 Brown 2005: 202-208. This quote appears on page 207.
35 Terefenko states:
The function and treatment of the 7th is more relaxed in jazz than in Common-Practice music,
since it combines harmonic and melodic dimensions of the progression controlled by the rules of
voice leading. In jazz, the 7th constitutes the primary extension; that is, a fundamental chord
member whose mandatory presence conveys the quality of chords. The behavior of the 7th in the
context of a typical jazz progression is controlled and prepared by the preceding consonant
interval. These two a priori propositions, the independent role of the ii7 and the required presence
of primary extensions within chordal formations, are fundamental in the jazz syntax. (Terefenko
2004, Vol. I: 13-14)
The idea that the ii7 is independent and that it requires preceding consonant preparation may at times
conflict. The notion that the ii7 is a reharmonization of tones of a dominant may help to alleviate this
discrepancy in the cases where it exists.
74
subject, as noted above, the seventh chord may arise in other ways as well, depending
upon the context, such as a passing tone or an upper neighbor.
Jazz Voicings: Undermining Traditional Tonal Closure
! Having examined the practice of expanding a V chord into a ii-V motion, it
remains to be seen whether the lines of counterpoint in the traditional tonal cadence
behave similarly in jazz practice. While jazz analysts typically admit chordal sevenths as
primary chordal tones,36 as well as tonic added-sixth chords,37 the effect of these and
other chordal accretions on traditional voice-leading models of tonal closure is not always
immediately evident.
! A perfect authentic cadence in the common practice period, with a 5-1 motion in
the bass, is partially defined by two upper voices, from scale degree 7 and scale degree 2,
converging on the tonic scale degree. One of these, scale degree 7, ascends to scale
degree 1.38
36 See Martin 1988. See also note 32.

37 See Strunk 1985: 99, and Larson 1998: 216. See also Forte 1995.
38 In the examples to follow, I use the symbol V as functional category for dominants, not as a label for
three pitch classes (scale degrees 5, 7, and 2). Thus, in the jazz examples, a chord labeled as V may be V,
bII (a tritone substitution), or either of these chords with added notes.
75
EXAMPLE 2.11: Common Practice Period Behavior of Scale Degree 7 in
Dominant-Tonic Cadences
In jazz practice, however, the V-I motion is frequently adorned with additional tones,
such that the leading tone over the dominant does not always resolve up to 1. Rather, it
often remains on scale degree 7 or moves down to scale degree 6.
EXAMPLE 2.12: Jazz Behavior of Scale Degree 7 in Dominant-Tonic Cadences
Thus, the resolution of the leading tone to the tonic does not often occur in jazz voice-
leading, unless the 7-1 motion occurs in the melody of the tune.
! Of course, scale degree 2 also partakes in the closure to the tonic scale degree.
However, this 2-to-1 strand of traditional tonal cadences is altered in jazz, such that it
may either be 2 to 2, where scale degree 2 holds to become a ninth over the tonic, or 3 (or
b3) to 2, as in a 13th-9th voice-leading chain.

76
EXAMPLE 2.13: Jazz Behavior of Scale Degree 2 in Dominant-Tonic Cadences
Without these essential voice-leading motions of traditional cadential closure, one is left
to find another essential voice to define cadential closure.
! Evanss playing also problematizes traditional notions of tonal closure. Evans is
renowned for implementing what have been called rootless left-hand voicings. While
the concept arguably acquires historical significance less because the root is often absent
and more because the root is not the lowest-sounding note, Evanss voicings are in fact
often truly rootless. Ultimately, then, the absence of scale degree 1 as an upper-voice
tone in the final tonic chord of a cadence further precludes the possibility of defining
tonal closure by way of an upper-voice convergence on scale degree 1.39
! Since scale degree 7 may move to scale degree 1, 7, or 6 on the tonic chord, and
scale degree 2 may displace what would be scale degree 1 in the tonic chord, the only
upper voice that always must resolve in a specific way in a dominant to tonic cadential
motion in jazz is scale degree 4 moving to scale degree 3. Since the bass may either
move from 5 to 1 or from b2 to 1 (as in a tritone substitution, bII7 to I), this motion from
39 Additionally, while some may claim that the 3-2 and 2-2 strands are variants of the 2-1 line by the
process of suspensions, the fact that scale degree 2 doesnt resolve to 1 either at cadences or at the end of a
piece seems to assume a normative model that rarely occurs in the repertoire under study. Such a claim
flies in the face of the scientific method espoused by those who claim its validity, since the model should
empirically be rules gleaned from the body of work under study. If one views these additional tones, such
as 2 over the tonic chord, as non-chord tones, I would suggest that they should be considered additions
displacing traditional triadic voices rather than suspensions, since the preparations and resolutions required
in the suspension model do not commonly occur in the practice of the body under study.
77
scale degree 4 to scale degree 3 emerges as the essential voice-leading motion of jazz
cadences.
! However, while this is the case with jazz harmony in general, including Evanss
left-hand chord-voicing lines, his right-hand improvised lines often behave quite
differently. Frequently, Evans culminates the end of a four-measure improvised phrase
with a descent to scale degree 1. Thus, while Evanss left hand provides tonal color via
the addition of what are traditionally labeled as non-chord tones, and his left hands
essential line of closure is a scale degree 4-3 motion, his right hand solo lines often
provide traditional functional closure in the upper voice on scale degree 1. This can
occur either at the moment the dominant chord moves to the tonic, or once the tonic area
has arrived, with a motion from 3 down to 1. This 3-2-1 motion over the tonic area can
be conceived as either a kind of motion to an inner voice from scale degree 3 down to
scale degree 1, or as a rhythmic displacement of the scale degree 3-2-1 line.
! The essential upper voices for melodic closure in Evanss improvised lines over a
dominant are motions into scale degree 3 and into scale degree 1, specifically: 5-4-3, 2-1,
and 7-1. Thus, Evanss right-hand improvised lines often utilize these traditional lines of
closure, shown below in Example 2.14. These voices may double another line occurring
in Evanss left-hand voicings.

78
EXAMPLE 2.14: Essential Voices of Melodic Closure in Evanss Right-Hand
Improvised Lines
! Therefore, although the chords that Evans plays in his left hand make use of tones
not commonly considered as part of chordal entities in traditional tonal theory, his right-
hand melodic lines often close by landing on scale degree 3 or scale degree 1 in stepwise
fashion, in accordance with the typical voice-leading motions of traditional tonal practice.
Thus, Example 2.14 offers a model for tonal closure for diatonic ii-V-I progressions, and
Evanss solutions for navigating ii-V-I phrase models grow out of this basic voice-leading
model.
Expanding the Diatonic Model of Cadential Closure into a Four-Measure Phrase
Model
! In achieving a sense of tonal closure at the end of a four-measure phrase, Evans
frequently utilizes a descending 5-1 motion within the local key area. Of the three voice-
leading strands outlined above in the top staff of Example 2.14, two descend: 2-1 and
5-4-3. Thus, the crossover into the tonic area occurs through a combination of these two
lines (i.e., 5-4-3 and 2-1), landing on scale degree 3 or scale degree 1.
! Inverting the bottom line from Example 2.14 places scale degree 5 in the soprano,
as shown in Example 2.15.

79
EXAMPLE 2.15: Polyphonic Origins of Example 2.16
EXAMPLE 2.16: Setting of 5-1 line within the context of the 2-1 and 5-4-3 lines
! When the line lands on scale degree 3, a motion to the inner voice scale degree 1
may still occur within the tonic area, as shown in Example 2.16-a. Where the descent
occurs into scale degree 1 at the beginning of the tonic area, a motion from 5 down to 2
occurs in the dominant area, as in Example 2.16-b.
! In this way, the 5-1 descent line can be parsed in different ways based on the
single underlying model. However, because these motions may be delayed, it may be
difficult at times to determine whether Example 2.16-a is occurring, or whether Example
2.16-b is occurring with a delay. Thus, the present work will point out 5-1-line descents
without spending much time detailing which one of the above two prototypes is actually
governing a specific section. In either case, the 5-1 line has been pulled apart, from two
voice-leading lines into one improvisational guiding line.
! These models differ from the traditional notion of guide tones, since guide tones
consist of strands of voice-leading. The models noted above, on the other hand, move
80
between these voice-leading strands, moving from one voice of a chord to another. In
this way, the motion between inner voices provides a more specific framework for Evans
than the more sparse guide tone lines.
! In addition to these two models, scale degree 5 may be held as a pedal through the
dominant area and into the tonic area. In this case, the descent from scale degree 5 to
scale degree 1 begins in the tonic area, thereby delaying the initiation of the 5-1 descent.
! Since a V chord can be expanded into a ii-V motion, these three models for 5-1
descents can occur within ii-V-I progressions. Example 2.17 shows these models set
within a dominant-to-tonic motion, but with the V chord expanded into a ii-V motion, as
derived above in Example 2.9.40
EXAMPLE 2.17: 5-1 descending line over dominant-to-tonic motions
40Reconceiving a ii-V progression as an expansion of the V chord, with non-chord tones moving into chord
tones over the dominant, allows a different interpretation of the so-called ii11 chord (with scale degree 5
above a ii7 chord) than offered by Allen Forte. Forte suggests that scale degree 5 occurs too soon,
anticipating the upcoming dominant. See Forte 1995: 11. Rather, the interpretation offered here posits that
some of the chordal tones of the dominant enter late, such that scale degree 5 is in place but that other notes
of the dominant are delayed, appearing late. Thus, the idea presented here can be understood as a reversal
of Fortes. Fortes idea of compression, though, may be applicable in cases where the phrase model is
not ii-V-I, but (I)-ii-V-I, where the opening 5 may possibly be understood as being compressed into the
opening ii chord, with the rest of the I chord omitted. Such cases may be difficult to distinguish, but one
could interpret tunes that open with scale degree 5 over ii7, such as Alice in Wonderland or Evanss own
Peris Scope, as beginning in the way outlined here, with scale degree 5 occurring over a dominant, some
of whose other chord tones have been displaced.
81
While Example 2.17-c, with scale degree 5 held, can be considered as a delay of Example
2.17-a, which lands on 3, we will assume each of these as a basic model:
! a) 5-line which lands on 3 over tonic,
! b) 5-line which lands on 1 over tonic, and
! c) 5-line where 5 holds over tonic, then moves through 3 to 1.
! Example 2.18 presents polyphonic settings of the models shown in Example 2.17,
noting the voice-leading of these models with respect to the ii chord. Although the ii-V
area has been derived from the dominant, Evans frequently does move through the local
chord tones of the ii chord, even though his lines often begin with scale degree 5 set up as
a relatively stable tone. Thus, from his openings on scale degree 5, he may use upper and
lower neighbors to scale degree 5, as shown in Example 2.18-a and Example 2.18-c, or
may surround scale degree 4, a possibility in Example 2.18-b.
EXAMPLE 2.18: Polyphonic Setting of Models
! As noted above in Example 2.7 and the surrounding discussion, the ii-V-I
progression may be embedded in a larger phrase model. In such cases, scale degree 5
may not be a chord tone. However, since Evanss lines often do utilize the ii-V-I as a
82
phrase model, determining whether the excerpt begins with an implied tonic chord can
change the interpretation of whether the opening scale degree 5 is a holdover from the
initial tonic, and thus not a chord tone in the ii-V dominant area, or whether it comes
from the ii-V motion that delays the tonic in a dominant approach scenario.
! Evans also sometimes effects tonal closure with an ascending line from scale
degree 5 up to scale degree 1. This line moves from scale degree 5 through scale degree
7 over the dominant area, then closes on scale degree 1 over the tonic.
EXAMPLE 2.19: 5-1 Ascent in Major
As a single line, the model appears as follows:
EXAMPLE 2.20: 5-1 Ascent as Single Line
The model is frequently adorned with an upper pedal on scale degree 5 as well as
chromatic passing tones.

83
EXAMPLE 2.21: 5-1 Ascent Model with upper pedal on scale degree 5 and
chromatic passing tones
! Evans occasionally uses a 5-1 descending line across longer spans, notably in
tunes that have deeper 5-1 lines themselves, such as Alice in Wonderland (see Chapter
5). In such cases, the opening phrase prolongs scale degree 5. This may be ornamented
through octave transfers as well as arpeggios to other chord tones. Evans frequently
utilizes these devices to create an arch contour at the opening phrase of a solo.
EXAMPLE 2.22: Pedal 5 elaborated with Arch Contour
Evans often alters this framework through delays. This will be examined in greater detail
below.
84
Chromatic Progressions: Tonal Closure
! The above discussion noted how Evans made use of traditional forms of tonal
closure in his right-hand melodic lines even while sometimes abandoning these
traditional lines in his left-hand voicings in favor of other color tones. In this way, the
discussion centered on a diatonic transformation of the dominant-tonic motion, where the
dominant is expanded into a ii-V motion. Another possible mode of expansion would be
to expand the dominant chord chromatically, by extending the lines of voice-leading back
from the dominant.
EXAMPLE 2.23: Derivation of V/V of V
! In Example 2.23-b, the tritone of the dominant seventh chord has been displaced
by another tritone a half step above. On the other hand, assuming a suppressed opening
tonic, the above progression would occur as an abbreviation of the following:41
41For another discussion of the #4-4 voice-leading strand, see Schenkers interpretation of V/V motions as
presented in his Harmony, especially pages 60-66 and Example 49 (56) on p. 64.
85
EXAMPLE 2.24: Possible Model behind Example 2.23
! Example 2.24 begins with a closed harmonic progression (I-V-I), then shows a
suspension of scale degree 1 in Example 2.24-b, then a chromaticization of the top line in
Example 2.24-c, and finally a reharmonization of the resultant tones in Example 2.24-d.
! Example 2.23 and Example 2.24 work from two different models. Example 2.23
assumes a V-I motion as a model, where the tonic is delayed, and also assumes that
tritones are intervals that can be harmonized, thus allowing seventh chords as diatonic
sonorities. Example 2.24 assumes a I-V-I model, and takes a more Schenkerian-oriented
approach. Although still maintaining that notes can be harmonized by seventh chords, it
presents no dissonant intervals strung back from a chord, as in Example 2.23.
! The first system of Example 2.23 could potentially be seen as an abbreviation of
the first system of Example 2.24, as follows:

86
EXAMPLE 2.25: Considering off-tonic openings as abbreviations of tonic openings
However, in jazz practice the method for creating chains of dominants aligns more
closely with the procedure shown in Example 2.23. Here, dominants can be extended
back from a tonic, without inferring a preceding tonic state. Thus, I adopt the dominant
extension principle used in Example 2.23 as a normative procedure, such that a preceding
tonic state is not always assumed. Thus, one can derive back from a tonic, not just
between tonics.42
! The above discussion noted how Evans frequently utilized 5-1 descending and
ascending lines as models for his improvised solos. In a V/V - V - I progression, though,
setting scale degree 5 over the opening V/V would result in a harsh dissonance. In such
cases, Evans often modified the 5-1 descent into a b5-1 descent. In this way, a scale
degree b5-4-3 motion leads into the tonic, followed by a motion into the inner voice scale
degree 1, as shown in Example 2.26. Since Evans frequently used the V/V - V - I
progression in minor, Examples 2.26 and 2.27 show the setting in minor.
EXAMPLE 2.26: b5-1 line over V/V - V - i Progression
42 This is in keeping with other writings on jazz harmony. See specifically Martin 1988.
87
Thus, the opening scale degree 5 is flatted to fit the voice-leading model. This chromatic
inflection fits the underlying tonal model while at the same time evoking the blues 5th of
the key so commonly used in jazz. In this way Evanss use of blue notes arises from
deeper structural principles.
! Additionally, Evans often employed a polyphonic setting in his right hand,
bringing the jazz voicing principles he uses to color his left-hand chord voicings into his
right-hand improvised lines. Thus, an additional line of counterpoint may also appear
above the two chains of 3rds and 7ths, making a 13th-#9th chain.43
EXAMPLE 2.27: b5-1 line over V/V - V - i Progression with Added Voices
With these voice-leading strands as a model, Evans often utilized an ascending arpeggio
over the opening V/V, balanced by a descending arpeggio over V, thus creating another
arch contour as described above. This arch contour then frequently leads into a 5-1
descent within the tonic area. In such cases, the voicing arpeggios serve as a kind of
prefix to the tonal closure brought about by the 5-1 descending line that occurs within the
tonic area.
43Some jazz authors refer to a #9th as a b10th, recognizing its status as a blues third occurring
simultaneously with the major third.
88
Chromatic Progressions: Sequences
! Extending the chain of dominants over a larger span can result in a circle-of-fifths
sequence that culminates in a tonic chord at the end of a four-measure phrase.
EXAMPLE 2.28: Creating a circle-of-fifths sequence by dominant extension
! In his explication of tonality, Matthew Brown derives sequences from lines of
counterpoint rather than from bass or root motion. 44 Browns procedure aligns quite well
with traditional jazz practice. As with Browns protocol, defining a circle-of-fifths
sequence in jazz by its 3rd and 7th tritones rather than its root motion models the idea of
tritone substitution as jazz players explain it: each tritone interval in the upper voices has
two possible bass-note harmonizations. Thus, the opening tritone G#/D tritone in
Example 2.28 may have E as its bass, making G# the third and D the seventh, or may
have Bb as its bass note, making G#s enharmonic equivalent Ab the seventh, and making
44 See Brown 2005.

89
D the third. Thus, while tritones are not typically considered plausible chordal intervals,
allowing sevenths as chordal tones in dominants allows us to construe the idea of tritone
substitution in the way conceived and practiced by jazz musicians.
! Thus, while Example 2.28 creates a bass line that makes a circle-of-fifths
sequence, this is not the only possible setting for the contrapuntal lines presented in the
soprano. As noted above, each tritone has two possible bass notes, and thus a multitude
of bass lines is possible by choosing between combinations.45
EXAMPLE 2.29: Creating a circle-of-fifths sequence in a jazz setting
! Adding voice-leading strands to the fundamental 3rd-7th and 7th-3rd lines shown
in the top staff of Example 2.29-c, Evans creates a densely polyphonic texture with
diminished seventh chords in the right hand, while utilizing his classic 3rd-7th, 7th-3rd,
and #9th-13th voicings in the left hand, as shown in Example 2.30.
45 For another overview of the idea of tritone substitutions, see Martin 1988: 10-11.
90
EXAMPLE 2.30: Adding Voice-leading Strands to a circle-of-fifths sequence
! The diminished seventh chords in the right hand constitute a filling-out of the
chord by saturating the upper voices with notes from the octatonic collection that jazz
players would typically utilize in soloing over a dominant seventh chord. Parsed in this
way, the diminished seventh chords in the right hand can be conceived as upper
structures, chords which occur over another chord, but which in effect merely present a
way to play certain chordal extensions of the base chord. 46 Evans uses this approach in
other cases as well, one of which is presented below in Example 2.33, where he utilizes
this idea over a longer dominant area.
Chordal Expansions
! While the models presented above showed some of Evanss solutions for playing
over tonal phrase models within the confines of 32-bar song form, he would also need to
be able to play material to bridge the gap between the end of one chorus and the
beginning of the next. Especially important as a formal unit is the break leading into
the opening chorus of ones solo, where the last two measures of the 32-bar form of the
head or the previous soloists final chorus become the introduction to the next players
solo. In such cases, the challenge is often to create a dynamic motion into the beginning
of the solo. While the end of the form usually lands on tonic, this incoming break can
46
For an overview of upper structures, see Mark Levine. The Jazz Piano Book. Petaluma, CA: Sher
Music Co., 1989. Chapter 14: 109-124.
91
either maintain that tonic or imply a dominant. Evans made use of both of these
possibilities.
Type 1: Tonic
! Evanss breaks typically make use of an ascending gesture, as though setting up a
potential energy for his lines to eventually fall.47 Over some breaks, he may imply a
tonic arpeggio to decorate scale degree 1, which may then initiate a line or fall to scale
degree 5.
EXAMPLE 2.31: Tonic Break in C major
Type 2a: Dominant Lead-in
! Alternatively, Evans may utilize a dominant break. In so doing, he may imply
pedal 6/4 chords, alternating V5/3-V6/4-V5/3, or A - Dm/A - A. Many of his lines here
make use of a consistent hand position pattern. This consistency helps to prevent
hesitation during a break, which is a very exposed moment for a player and a very
important formal moment in the rhetoric of ones solo.48
47This is conceptually similar to Schenkers idea of an initial ascent (Anstieg).

48In a break, the time often stops. Time in this context refers to the walking bass line and the
consistent drum groove. The bass player and drummer may stop playing, creating a break (hence the
name), thereby giving the new soloist space for the solo to begin.
92
EXAMPLE 2.32: Dominant Break in D minor
! Example 2.32 shows plausible fingerings for one of Evanss models for the break
in Beautiful Love, a plan he uses consistently across multiple performances. Because
of this consistency of hand position, the break exists not only as a series of 5/3-6/4-5/3
motions over an inferred dominant pedal, but also as a pattern of ascending hand
positions complete with pivots. Thus, the model for this break is both conceptual as well
as physical, offering a hand-position plan that allows for fluency in this exposed moment
of performance, leading into ones solo without the support of the rhythm section.49
Type 2b: Embellished Dominant Arpeggio
! Above we noted Evanss use of a tonic arpeggio to expand a tonic chord. He also
utilizes dominant arpeggios to expand dominant chords. These may occur in tunes that
utilize blues-influenced progressions, like Sweet and Lovely, 50 with an opening I7
chord that we hear functioning as V7/IV as it moves to IV in bar 5. Here, Evans also
created a shadow line a major seventh above the chord tones, and uses b9 as upper
neighbor to the root of the chord. This creates a parallelism, with the viio7 chord that
jazz players associate with a dominant seventh chord sounding underneath the displaced
49 For a personal account of the development of the hand in jazz piano playing, see Sudnow
1978/1993/2001. For an overview of the hand as it relates to craft, both musical and otherwise, see Sennett
2008: 149-178.
50 I am grateful to Robert Wason for suggesting that the chord changes at the opening of Sweet and
Lovely exist as an abbreviated 12-bar blues progression. Personal Communication, September 10, 2009.
See also note 2 in Chapter 8.
93
lower chromatic neighbors to this chord (which now appear a major 7th above). Thus, on
a C7, a C#o7 chord in the lower register will be shadowed in an upper register by a Co7
chord, the tones of which are chromatic lower neighbors to the C#o7, but displaced by an
octave. This entire collection comprises the octatonic scale, also known as the
diminished scale, that players often use when soloing over this dominant seventh chord.
However, Evanss layout of this collection is less scalar in nature and more harmonic,
parsed as it is into two superimposed diminished seventh chords.
EXAMPLE 2.33: Dominant Seventh Chord Expansion (C7)
With the right hand consisting of a diminished seventh chord over an underlying
dominant base, as shown above in Example 2.33, this model exists as an expansion of
any one of the dominant chords presented in Example 2.30.
Conclusion
! Above, we have examined three phrase models,
a) ii-V-I
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b) V/V-V-I
c) Chain of dominants into a tonic.
In addition, we have outlined methods of chordal expansion, either on the tonic or on the
dominant, which may occur as the opening measures of a phrase or as a connective
between choruses. We have then seen how Evanss solutions for navigating these chordal
patterns derive from the polyphonic lines of the chordal patterns themselves, or how he
adds or modifies these lines. The following chapters offer case studies, with each chapter
examining a tune that Evans played, noting how these basic solutions are utilized in the
same contexts again and again, but with different local-level elaborations.
! Thus, what Evans brings to an improvisation is not merely the chordal framework
with its constituent guide tone lines, nor is it simply a fixed set of licks. Rather, he
brings a set of models for how to navigate the syntax, models that are fixed enough to
allow the performer a degree of consistency between performances, but flexible enough
to allow for the development of new melodic material through elaboration.

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Part II: Tunes

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Chapter 3: Autumn Leaves
Tune Structure and Typical Improvisational Approaches
! The last chapter outlined a set of models that Evans used to navigate the tonal
syntax of the tunes that he played. These models now serve as focal points for the next
few chapters, offering a way to frame Evanss improvised lines. Since these models
navigate the tonal syntax of the tune, each analysis begins with an analysis of the tune
used as a vehicle for the improvisation. These tunes constitute part of the body of tunes
commonly referred to as the Great American Songbook, or as standards, which
consists of popular songs from the early- and mid-20th century that have been adopted as
vehicles for jazz performance.
! These tunes can often be parsed into local units of tonal motion, one of the most
common of which are ii-V-I progressions. Even where ii-V-I motions do not exist in the
original tune, jazz players frequently interpolate them in reharmonizing the tune to help
delineate local tonal areas.1 Because of this, ii-V-I motions pervade the standards
repertoire.2 At times, these ii-V-I progressions exist as byproducts of a larger tonal
motion. However, since jazz players learn to play over ii-V-I progressions, and thus to
parse phrases in this way, both methods can be considered as procedural goals for an
improviser. Thus, on the one hand, a player may isolate ii-V-I progressions and treat
1 Dariusz Terefenko has defined the different phrase types that occur in standard tunes, codifying them into
14 distinct phrase types. See Dariusz Terefenko. Keith Jarretts Transformation of Standard Tunes. 2
Volumes. Ph.D. Dissertation. Eastman School of Music, 2004.
2 Although the version of Autumn Leaves presented here, from The New Real Book, consists of many ii-
V-I progressions, the original lead sheet of a tune would often not have had such a predominance of ii-V-I
progressions. Thus, the fake book rendition of Autumn Leaves presented here differs from the original
version, but represents a kind of general tune framework for Autumn Leaves that captures many facets
that would be common to the jazz communitys conception of the tune. The ii-V-I progressions are one
way that a jazz player can parse the piece, and, as will be argued here, therefore exist as distinct zones in
which the player can utilize player-specific techniques, as will be discussed here, or more general
techniques used by a community of players.
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them as local key areas, melodically articulating the motion into each local tonic. Or, on
the other hand, a player may play a longer phrase spanning a larger, more global tonal
motion.
! Autumn Leaves, a tune that Bill Evans played frequently throughout his career,
provides a good case in point. While each of the opening two eight-measure phrases is a
circle-of-fifths sequence3 that culminates in the global tonic, G minor, each of these
first two eight-measure phrases can also be parsed into two four-measure phrases, each
with its own distinctive ii-V-I progression: a ii-V-I progression in Bb major precedes a ii-
V-i progression in G minor.
3 Circle-of-fifths is the common name for this sequence, but here I will make use of Matthew Browns
method for deriving sequences, as outlined in his Explaining Tonality: Schenkerian Theory and Beyond. In
this view, the circle-of-fifths motion in the bass is considered as the byproduct of the motion in the upper
voices, set in this way to avoid parallel fifths or octaves with the upper voices, rather than the generator of
the harmonic progression. However, the name circle-of-fifths remains a succinct way to express the
sequences identity.
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EXAMPLE 3.1: Basic Melodic and Harmonic Framework of Autumn Leaves 4
! When improvising over the first eight measures of Autumn Leaves, one could
conceive of these as two concatenated ii-V-I progressions, the first in Bb major and the
second in the relative key of G minor, or one could consider the entire eight-measure
span as one directed movement toward G minor. As noted above, jazz players often learn
specific patterns to play over ii-V-I progressions, and thus would probably consider each
four-measure unit as a distinct tonal area, while a Schenkerian analyst would more likely
claim that the Bb chord progression is a byproduct of voice-leading within the global key
of G minor. Even if the Bb major area is considered as merely a passing key en route
to G minor, in keeping more closely with Schenkerian theory, one could still improvise a
melody over this area as though Bb were the tonic temporarily, thereby articulating the
Bb chord as the point of tonal arrival of the first four measures.
4This rendition of Autumn Leaves has been adapted from the version presented in The New Real Book.
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! To articulate a method for playing over the tune not by local ii-V-I progressions,
but rather by making use of aspects of the goal-directed motion toward G minor, one
would need another kind of scaffold. Here, the contrapuntal framework delineated by the
harmonic progression could serve as this goal. In his own study of Evanss work,
Gregory Smith dismissed the melodic aspect of what he called the melodic-harmonic
framework, saying that Evans only played the melody on the opening and closing chorus
of the performance, what many call the head. 5 However, rather than saying that this
leaves only with the harmonic aspect, and describing this harmonic aspect merely as a
recurrent cycle of...pitch collections, as Smith did, thereby abandoning any sense of
logical progression through these tones, the underlying framework of the counterpoint
inherent in the harmonies could be utilized as a scaffold for improvisation.
! Such a viewpoint is not a novel one in jazz, but commonly appears by another
name, guide tones, where a players line is guided by an underlying line of voice-
leading in the harmonic progression.6 In the opening A sections of Autumn Leaves, a
player could choose to begin a line on Eb, Bb, or G of the opening Cm7 chord, and use
the continuing strand of voice-leading through the chord changes as a scaffold for an
improvised line.
5Smith 1983: 155-157.

6See Wolf Burbat. Des Harmonik des Jazz. Translated by Robert W. Wason as Jazz Harmony.
Unpublished. Volume I: 17. Burbat himself actually uses the English term, guide-lines.
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EXAMPLE 3.2: Voice-leading strands of A Sections of Autumn Leaves
! In fact, the melody of Autumn Leaves demonstrates just such an elaboration of
the guide-tone lines of the chord progression. The Eb-D-C-Bb line of the opening two
eight-measure phrases exists as a 3rd-7th chain running through the circle-of-fifths
progression.
EXAMPLE 3.3: Melodic Underpinning of Melody of A Sections of Autumn
Leaves
! Conceiving of the identity of the tune Autumn Leaves in this way, as one way
of harmonizing this Eb-D-C-Bb line in G minor, rather than simply thinking of it as a
concatenation of ii-V-I progressions with a melody overtop, one can also account for
some of the formal oddities of the tune. Autumn Leaves, rather than being built from a
straightforward AABA or AA (abac) form, as are most standards, is seemingly an AABC
structure, or AAB bar-form if the final sixteen measures are regarded as one musical unit.
However, while the melody of the tune indicates such an AABC structure, as does the
harmonic/contrapuntal progression, the underlying linear motion of the melody of the
final C section is identical to that of the opening A sections: Eb-D-C-Bb. The only
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difference here is that this passage has been reharmonized to begin in the key that ends
the piece, G minor, rather than moving from Bb major to G minor as in the earlier A
sections.
EXAMPLE 3.4: Derivation of C Section of Autumn Leaves from A Section
Counterpoint
Thus, in the final eight measures of the form, the Eb-D-C-Bb line that defines the melodic
motion of the first two A sections has been reharmonized such that the opening Eb-D is
set not as 4-3 in Bb major, as it was in the A sections, but as 6-5 in G minor.7
! The linear motion in the melody of the B section, then, serves to regain the
opening Eb, thus preparing for this final descent. In setting this ascending melodic line,
the ii-V-I progressions of the B section are the reverse of those of the A section: first a ii-
V-i progression in G minor, then a ii-V-I progression in Bb major.
7 Here, then, the Eb functions over the D as a flat ninth of a D7(b9) chord.
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EXAMPLE 3.5: Linear Underpinning of Melody of Autumn Leaves 8
! In this way, the tonal plan of Autumn Leaves can be considered from two
perspectives. On the one hand, one could conceive of the piece as a collection of local ii-
V-I progressions. The improviser would then think of these ii-V-I progressions as
delineating local phrase units. On the other hand, taking a more holistic perspective, one
could conceive of Autumn Leaves with regard to the underlying counterpoint, both of
the harmonic progression and of the melody, which in this case makes use of one of the
contrapuntal guide-tone lines. In this regard, we have even examined how the identity of
the melody of the tune might allow for alternate harmonizations based on its underlying
linear structure.
! In addition, we have seen how these two methods for conceiving the tune (i.e., as
a concatenation of ii-V-I progressions, and as a broader tonal motion) align with different
approaches for improvising offered by jazz pedagogy. While the above discussion
examined each of the resulting two perspectives in a general sense, further consideration
will illuminate the relationship between these two approaches.
8 The eight-measure slurs in the example are meant to show formal units.
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! As noted above, players often have specific ways of navigating ii-V-I
progressions. These procedures can consist of particular musical figures, usually
arpeggios, and they may utilize the underlying voice-leading as a framework for these
arpeggiated figures. In such cases, we might say that a player uses the guide-tone line of
a ii-V-I progression as a scaffold for the arpeggiated figures created over a given chord
progression. However, jazz pedagogy traditionally offers specific ways of ornamenting
these guide-tone lines in ii-V-I progressions, such that we can understand the ii-V-I
melodic patterns as specific instantiations of guide-tone ornamentation. In other words,
ii-V-I patterns exist as a specific subset of guide-tone lines, since the ii-V-I patterns move
through the voice-leading of a harmonic progression, as shown in Example 3.6.
EXAMPLE 3.6: ii-V-I arpeggiated patterns as a method for navigating guide-tone
lines
! As we have seen, though, the notion of guide-tone lines can extend to more than
just ii-V-I progressions. As shown in Example 3.7, in Autumn Leaves a player can use
guide-tone lines over the entire A sections, moving from Eb to D to C to Bb, the line that
constitutes the framework of the melody, or from Bb to A to G to F# to G (or E over a
Gm6 chord), or from G to F to Eb to D.

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EXAMPLE 3.7: Reproduction of Example 3.2
! This example shows the guide-tone lines that function over the entire span.
However, as noted above, these lines can also be parsed into smaller ii-V-I entities: first
in Bb major and then in G minor. Thus, a player could outline the voice-leading over
each ii-V-I progression, first in Bb major, then in G minor, articulating the distinction by
switching from a different contrapuntal guide-tone line when moving from the first ii-V-I
progression to the second. For instance, instead of continuing the Eb-D of the first four-
measure span through C to Bb in the second four-measure span, a player might choose to
ornament the Eb-D framework over the first four measures, then abandon the
continuation of that line (C-Bb) and switch to the Eb-D line over the next four measures,
but with a different surrounding context than the Eb-D of the first four measures.
Evanss Autumn Leaves: Other Solutions
! Above we have outlined two methods typically offered as models for young
improvisers. While Bill Evans used some of these techniques, he used additional
techniques as well. In fact, Evanss melodic articulations of the tonal motion implied by
ii-V-I progressions often do not directly relate to typical arpeggiated ii-V-I patterns, nor
do they utilize a strict guide-tone-line approach.
! To understand Evanss models, then, we should examine different Evans
performances of Autumn Leaves to ascertain how what he played relates to the general
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tune framework of Autumn Leaves. In this way, we can begin to reconstruct Evanss
improvisational technique. While it would be difficult if not impossible to recreate
Evanss method in the way that he himself conceived of it, we can justify how certain
elements of Evanss improvisation exist by noting their relationship to jazz syntax, and
then gauge this knowledge against claims from cognitive science to explain why thinking
along such lines (whether consciously or not) may have guided Evans, or may guide
some other player, to improvise in such a way.
! Having examined the general tune, Autumn Leaves, as well as traditional
approaches to improvising on that tune, namely guide-tone lines and ii-V-I progressions,
we will consider the tune from the perspective of Bill Evanss performances of it.
Ultimately, this will provide a more specific model for improvisation than the general
framework of Autumn Leaves. With this new framework, which of course is based on
the more general tonal plan of the tune, we will have a construct for improvisations on
Autumn Leaves in the manner of Bill Evans.
! As noted above, guide-tone lines provide one way of navigating the eight-measure
A sections. One could utilize guide-tone lines over the eight-measure A sections 1) in
two large units, that is, one for each A section, or 2) within each A section, dividing each
eight-measure segment into its two constituent four-measure ii-V-I progressions. As we
will see, Evans used other techniques for articulating the local ii-V-I progressions than
guide-tone lines, but these alternative methods make use of the syntax at a slightly more
global structural level than chord-by-chord voice-leading.
! Since ii-V-I progressions imply a local tonic, an improviser could think of each
harmonic area as a tonal platform, and articulate the motion into that local tonic by a
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melodic motion through the ii-V area into the tonic area. Thinking along these lines in
Autumn Leaves would yield two phrases over the opening eight-measure span, the first
pointing toward Bb major and the second pointing toward G minor.9 As we will see,
Evans often articulated the A sections in precisely this way when improvising a melodic
line in Autumn Leaves.
EXAMPLE 3.8: Parsing of A Sections of Autumn Leaves
! Melodically, although multiple options exist, a player could articulate the motion
into each local tonic by traversing a line from the dominant scale degree into the tonic
scale degree. In doing so, the falling linear motion into the local scale degree 1 would
give a sense of finality to the phrase.
! Given that the resulting line must fit within the chordal framework of the ii-V-I
progression, the counterpoint could be set in two ways:
EXAMPLE 3.9: Triadic Settings of 5-1 Descent
9By pointing is meant that the motion leads into the tonic sonority through its local dominant area, here
expanded into a ii-V in accord with common jazz practice.
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The first option presented here presumes the Eb-D motion as the primary contrapuntal
line, or guide-tone line, with the opening F as an upper neighbor to the Eb and the motion
from D to Bb at the end as a motion to an inner voice. The second option presumes C-Bb
as the primary contrapuntal line, or guide-tone line, with the stemmed Eb as an upper
chord tone moving into the lower contrapuntal line on C, which then initiates the guide-
tone motion from C to Bb as the dominant chord moves to the tonic.
! However, as noted in Chapter 2, in jazz practice any lone dominant (that is,
without a predominant) can be expanded into a ii-V progression. Considering a reversal
of this procedure, any ii-V progression could be interpreted as an expansion of a single V
chord by creating suspensions on the dominant and reharmonizing the resulting sonority
as a chord; in essence, giving it its own bass note.10
10This approach owes a debt to Matthew Browns method of deriving sequences. See his Explaining
Tonality: Schenkerian Theory and Beyond.
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EXAMPLE 3.10: Contrapuntal Derivation of ii-V Progression (Reproduction of
Example 2.9)
! Conceiving of ii-V-I progressions in this way, where the ii-V motion exists as a
contrapuntal elaboration of one chord, the 5-1 descent could be set differently than above,
such that the initial F in the melody functions not as an upper neighbor to Eb, but as a
chord tone over the entire dominant area (F7), which has been elaborated into a ii-V
progression (Cm7-F7).
EXAMPLE 3.11: Jazz Settings of 5-1 Descent
! In this interpretation, as noted above, rather than assuming that the opening F is a
non-chord tone over the Cm7, the Cm7 is derived from the F7 chord via a 4-3 suspension,
a 9-8 suspension (if playing the fifth of the Cm7), and a change of bass. While we can
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still consider the Cm7 as a chordal entity, as any jazz player would, this approach
suggests conceiving of the Cm7-F7 as one dominant entity, meaning that in this case it
functions as one unit leading into the tonic. From this perspective, the opening F
functions as a proper area-tone (in the area of the dominant) rather than as a non-
chord tone over the Cm7.
! On a more local, chord-by-chord level, the F would sound as an 11th of the Cm7
chord. In his study of standard tunes, Allen Forte advocates that such a ii11 sonority
should be considered normative, suggesting that the 11th typically appears over the ii7
chord in anticipation of this tone (scale degree 5) in the following dominant.11 The
approach outlined above in this study, on the other hand, assumes that scale degree 5 is in
the right place where it is, but that certain notes of the dominant are delayed via
displacements of dominant chord tones. These displacements are then reharmonized.
Regardless of their differences, both approaches claim that scale degree 5 can be
considered normative over a ii7 chord.
! Considering also that the bass player can navigate these chords differently in the
jazz tradition, the notion that this is a Cm7 or an F7 may often reside more in the mind of
each player than in the actual notes played. For example, if a bass player sustained a
pedal F in the bass over the course of the first two measures, the resulting Cm7/F to F7
progression might also be called, from a voice-leading perspective, an F7 with a 4-3
suspension and a 9-8 suspension, to account for the Bb and G of the Cm7 chord,
respectively. Thus, at some level, especially in Evanss performances with Scott LaFaro,
11 Forte 1995: 11, as well as note 37 in Chapter 2.

110
the root of each chord may be more a conceptual, abstract idea than a directly
experienced aural sensation.
! In this way, the ii-V motion exists as an expansion of one dominant unit by way of
a set of voice-leading procedures. Specifically, a 4-3 suspension and a 9-8 suspension are
reharmonized, leading to the establishment of a new sonority. While one might conceive
of the tune differently from a contrapuntal perspective, certain passages suggest that, at
some level, Bill Evans conceptualized some ii-V-I progressions in this way, thinking
largely of a motion from a dominant area into a tonic.12 In such cases, Evanss right-hand
line makes use of a linear motion that brings the melody onto a chordal member of a local
tonic by navigating the tonal syntax in specific ways.
Paradigm: 5-1 Descent in Bb
! As noted above, Evans often used an F-Eb-D-C-Bb line over the opening ii-V-I
progression in Autumn Leaves. I will generally refer to models such as these as
paradigms, each of which consists of a specific melodic pathway, or a set of melodic
pathways, through the voice-leading of a phrase. Having established such a construct as
12 In fact, Evans discussed the parsing of a tune along these lines, regarding the delineation of local key
areas, when he was a guest on Marian McPartlands Piano Jazz on November 6, 1978. Here, Evans speaks
of a player having a complete picture of the structure as hes playing, both of the tune and also of the
structure as he wants to indicate it, pre-planning a basic structure. He says that, I always have, in any
thing that I play, an absolutely basic structure in mind. Now I can work around that differently, or between
the strong structural points differently, or whatever, but that must be. I find the most fundamental structure,
and then I work from there. He then goes on to demonstrate this in The Touch of Your Lips, saying that
he moves from the area of C major away through a cycle to the area of E major by moving through its
own dominant, and then moves back to C through its dominant. Steve Larson has used this portion of
Evanss interview with McPartland to illustrate what he feels are coded Schenkerian comments in Evanss
discourse. While this may be, Evanss comments also show a kind of modularity of key in his thinking.
Whether these keys are passing, as we might say in accord with Schenkerian theory, or are real is perhaps
beside the point; for awhile Evans is in the key of E major, yet of course all-the-while knowing that he will
eventually move back to the home key. For the discussion with McPartland, consult McPartland 1978:
Track 8: 2:19 to the end of the track. For Steve Larsons interpretation of this discussion, see his article,
Schenkerian Analysis of Modern Jazz: Questions About Method. Music Theory Spectrum, Vol. 20, No.
2 (Autumn 1998). 209-241.
111
a model, we can begin to define operations that act on that model to create a musical
passage.
! For instance, instead of beginning the descent in the dominant area, the opening F
can be prolonged into the tonic area, and then the linear descent may begin in the tonic
area.
EXAMPLE 3.12: Delay of 5-1 Descent
! In fact, Bill Evans takes just such an approach at the beginning of his solo on one
of the two recordings of Autumn Leaves recorded for the 1959 album, Portrait in
Jazz.13 Here, the delay of the linear motion into Bb through the prolongation of F creates
a greater sense of potential energy for the tone, F, to descend. The prolonged F in this
example is embellished with an upper and lower neighbor at the opening, as well as a
chromatic upper neighbor, Gb, in the following measure.
EXAMPLE 3.13: Portrait in Jazz (Take 2): IA: 1-4 (1-4)
! Also in this example, the culminating tone of the linear motion, Bb, is approached
through an encircling. A common jazz figure, an encircling consists of an upper and
13Only one of these takes appeared on the original album. The other performance, cited here, was included
on the CD reissue of Portrait in Jazz.
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lower neighbor to a goal note, which then proceed to that goal note. For the purposes of
this study, an encircling may be unaccented, where the goal note falls on a strong beat in
the measure with the encircling occurring before this strong beat, or the encircling may
be accented, where part of the encircling falls on a strong beat in the measure, thus
delaying the goal note. Since here the A of the encircling sounds on the downbeat of
measure 4, thus displacing the goal tone, Bb, this encircling is accented, even though the
encircling starts before the strong beat (that is, before beat 1 of measure 4, with the
previous C as the upper note of the encircling).
! While a pitch may be prolonged, as noted above, a pitch may also be delayed. In
the example below, the final Bb is delayed by one full measure. In realizing this delay, an
arpeggiation traverses the space from C in measure 3 of the example down to F in
measure 4, which then also begins a descent. Ultimately, having moved through F-Eb-D
in the lower register in measure 4, the line is arpeggiated up again, regaining C in the
upper register en route to closure on Bb.
EXAMPLE 3.14: Birdland 4/30/60: IA: pickups to 1-4 (pickups to 1-4)
! Thus, while the F-Eb-D-C-Bb descent occurs here over the entire span of the
phrase, it also occurs in microcosm near the conclusion of the phrase. Steve Larson
describes a similar idea when he notes that a Schenkerian hidden repetition sometimes
occurs such that the final note of the lower-level iteration is the same note as the higher-
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level iteration; in other words, when the goal of a linear motion is reached simultaneously
on two distinct structural levels. Larson calls this phenomenon confirmation, and also
calls the lower-level iteration of this pair the confirmation. 14 Whereas Larson defines a
confirmation as two motives occurring in two distinct Schenkerian structural levels, such
that the two iterations end on the same note, here the two iterations exist on different
temporal levels, and the two do not always end on the same note. Thus, to distinguish
this approach from Larsons, the term summary will be used here to denote a gesture
that encapsulates, near the end of a phrase, a scaffold used in the phrase, whether the
closure occurs simultaneously on two structural levels, as Larsons confirmation, or
whether one occurs after another.15
! Since the local Bb major area that begins each A section follows a G minor area,
both when coming from the end of the tune or a previous A section, the G goal tone of the
G minor area sometimes functions as a prefix to the F-Eb-D-C-Bb line, serving in the
new Bb major context as scale degree 6, as an upper neighbor to the opening scale degree
5 of the 5-1 descent. Such a prefix may occur also in a different octave, as in the example
below.
14 Larson 1998: 237.

15 Larson uses the term summary as well at times. See Larson 2006: 112.
114
! Here, we also see a similar framework to that of Example 3.14, where a motion
from F to D occurs in the lower register in measure 3 of the example (discounting the
pickup measure), initiating a summary descent that then traverses the C to Bb in the
upper register into the downbeat of measure 4. This can be easily observed by comparing
the final four measures of the top staves of Example 3.14 with those of Example 3.15.
Here, then, the 5-1 descent, while having many possible musical instantiations, also has
specific sub-types. These would arise, presumably, from Evans retracing his steps; once
he had found a specific way to navigate a formal area of a tune, he might use this method
again in a similar manner. In their study of Yugoslavian epic bards, Harvard scholars
Milman Parry and Albert Lord called this the principle of thrift, and we can hear this
principle as well in Evanss playing.16
! While the prefix would by definition appear only in a prior temporal position to
some other event, it may also be prolonged throughout that event. For example, in
Example 3.16, the G prefix is prolonged throughout the F-Eb-D-C-Bb line.
EXAMPLE 3.16: Portrait in Jazz (Take 2): IA: pickup measure through 1-4
(pickup to 8-13)
Here, while the G literally passes down through Gb to F in measure 9 (the second full
measure of the example), it is also held as a pedal tone throughout much of the excerpt.
16 See Lord 1960/2000: 50, 37.

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This pedal tone G then moves down to F in measure 11 (the fourth measure of the
example), which begins a summary of the descent, albeit without Eb. Thus, this
summary consists not only of the 5-1 descent, but also includes the G prefix that initiated
the line.
! The upper neighbor Gb, noted in Example 3.13 above, may be elaborated through
arpeggiation. This results in what jazz players call an upper structure. An upper structure
is a chord superimposed over a dominant seventh chord, thus creating specific chordal
extensions, or tensions. An upper structure would be played as a chordal voicing in the
right-hand while playing two-hand voicings, and is beneficial in that it allows the player a
way to conceptualize these chordal extensions. 17
! For example, an upper structure over F7 of bii (Gb minor) would yield tones of
Gb (b9 over the F7), Bbb (enharmonically an A, the third of the F7 chord), and Db (b13
or #5 of the F7 chord).18 In arpeggiating a Gb minor chord over the opening of the F-Eb-
D-C-Bb line, Evans utilizes just such an upper structure chord, arpeggiating out the b6
upper neighbor noted above in Example 3.13, but uses it not as a chordal voicing but as
the frame for a melodic gesture. Upper structures are normally labeled with Roman
numerals relative to the dominant chord, as just noted. However, due to its occurrence at
a background level of the arpeggiation of scale degree b6, this device of arpeggiating
17 For information on different upper structures, see Mark Levine. The Jazz Piano Book. Petaluma, CA:
Sher Music Co., 1989. Chapter 14: 109-124.
18 Spelling the chord with an A would more clearly articulate the notes function with respect to the chord,
but spelling the note as Bbb indicates its membership in the third of the upper structure Gb minor. While
this is of course more cumbersome at some level, spelling the note as Bbb denotes its function within the
upper structure conceptually, and also clarifies its role as a mental and physical construct during
performance, as Evans arpeggiates down this chord before returning to the note F, as shown in Examples
3.17-3.21.
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scale degree b6 through the bvi chord may be more accurately referred to as the bvi
complex.
! Examples 3.17-3.20 shows how Evans utilizes the bvi complex as a way to
embellish the opening F of the 5-1 descent. He arpeggiates the bvi chord downward, thus
embellishing the b6 neighbor noted above in Example 3.13. Because he arpeggiates the
chord downward, he first arpeggiates to an upper register, approaching the initial b6 (Gb)
with its own upper neighbor, b7 (Ab), a common bebop device. This provides a registral
space in which to descend to the original register held by the opening F.19
EXAMPLE 3.17: Portrait in Jazz (Take 2): IIA: 1-4 (41-44)
EXAMPLE 3.18: Portrait in Jazz (Take 2): IIIA: 1-4 (65-68)
EXAMPLE 3.19: Birdland 3/19/60: IIIA: 1-4 (65-68)
19Arpeggiating down the bvi chord over a dominant in this way, with upper neighbor b7, is shown as
Dominant Chord Lick #1 in Concepts for Bass Soloing, by Chuck Sher and Marc Johnson, the bass
player for Evanss final trio. Thus, while it is used here as a way to decorate the b6 upper neighbor in the
5-1 descending line, it is also utilized in the larger jazz community as a local lick, potentially serving in
other contexts. See Sher and Johnson 1993: 58.
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EXAMPLE 3.20: Portrait in Jazz (Take 2): IIIB: 5-8 (85-88)
EXAMPLE 3.21: Birdland 3/12/60: IIIB: 5-8 (85-88)
! As shown above, Evanss lines over the first four measures of the A sections of
Autumn Leaves share in common a structural framework. This structural framework,
the descending line, F-Eb-D-C-Bb, becomes a musical surface through the use of
operations such as prolongation, upper neighbor, encircling, summary, delay, arpeggiate,
and prefix, and combinations of these operations, such as the arpeggiation of the
chromatic upper neighbor, b6, which results in an upper structure. While Evans may not
have created his lines consciously in this way, picking the 5-1 descending line and then
doing operations, the explanation presented here justifies the existence of his lines by
showing how they make use of tonal jazz syntax within the tonal framework of Autumn
Leaves. Explaining his lines in this way provides a procedure by which an aspiring
improviser could make novel solo lines in the manner of Bill Evans.
! We have now seen how some of Evanss phrases exist as instantiations of a given
model: the line F-Eb-D-C-Bb. Rather than happening at disparate points in his
repertoire, where Evans plays a certain lick whenever he feels like it, this model occurs
only as a general scaffold, and only at specific points in the tune: the ii-V-I progressions.
Because this melodic model articulates motion into a local tonic through its dominant
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area, similar models could also exist at other points in this tune or others, as Evans could
invoke such a framework to navigate ii-V-I progressions. Of course, whereas a jazz
players typical ii-V-I toolkit includes note-for-note licks to use, Evans seems to have
used instead a basic structural model from which he created many different surfaces,
some of which, as noted above, more closely resemble one another than do others.20
Paradigm: 5-1 Descent in G minor
! Evans also utilized a 5-4-3-2-1 descending line as a scaffold in the local key of the
other ii-V-i progression in Autumn Leaves, G minor. In parallel with the setting of the
opening ii-V-I progressions in Bb, one could set this 5-4-3-2-1 line in G minor as shown
in Example 3.22.
EXAMPLE 3.22: Setting of 5-1 Descent in G minor
! However, as noted above with the 5-4-3-2-1 line in Bb, here the descent often
does not begin until measure 3. This delay of the descent could take the form of a
prolongation of the opening D, where D is prolonged over the opening two measures.
However, D is often suppressed in these measures, and thus does not sound until measure
20 Evans acknowledged that, for a period of time after LaFaros death, his solos became more fixed. He
also noted that Miles Davis used an approach similar to the one outlined here. Evans stated that Davis
would develop a way of approaching a solo, maybe certain key structural notes or motifs or whatever, he
would keep in. Thats a way to approach a solo. However, Evans then went on to claim that, ideally, he
tried to be fresh, keeping a similar structure but altering the melodic and rhythmic content. However,
he noted that, You cant always be fresh, of course, and you rely on professionalism and craft to carry you
through... See Evanss interview with Jim Aikin. Bill Evans. Contemporary Keyboard, Vol. 6, No. 6
(June 1980). 44-45, 50-52, 54-55. The quotes cited here appear on page 54.
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3, where the descent begins. Thus, the opening D seems delayed rather than prolonged
here.
! When the D does enter in measure 3, it is often initiated via an upper neighbor 6,
or through a complete chromatic encircling: Eb-(C)-C#-D. Of course, the upper
neighbor motion of Eb to D features prominently in the melody of Autumn Leaves, as
noted above, but its placement here as 6-5 within the G minor area differs markedly from
its guise as 4-3 in Bb in the opening measures of the A sections. In this way, the motion
from Eb to D can be understood as a local representation of a strong structural feature of
Autumn Leaves.
EXAMPLE 3.23: Alternate Settings of 5-1 Descent in G minor
! As can be seen from the following examples, Evans frequently used the 5-4-3-2-1
line with an encircling onto the opening scale degree 5. However, the approaches into
each of these 5-1 descents are vastly different.

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EXAMPLE 3.24: Examples of D-Delay with Encircling
! The fourth excerpt in Example 3.24 moves into the 5-1 descent in G minor, shown
in the final two measures, with a longer prefix line beginning on Bb, which serves as an
upper neighbor to the A on beat 3. This underlying soprano line provides the logic for the
hand-position plan for the passage, with each descending arpeggio falling under the
remainder of the hand as it moved down the top line toward closure in G minor.
! In addition, the descent from D may occur without the encircling, as shown in
Example 3.25.
EXAMPLE 3.25: Portrait in Jazz (Take 1): IIA: 5-8 (37-40)
! In the first staff of Example 3.24, Evans uses unfolded thirds to traverse the
descent to scale degree 1. This allows for a condensed presentation of the 5-1 descent,
alleviating the lack of space created by the delay of the opening tone, D. Evans also
navigates the 5-1 descent in this manner elsewhere, as shown in Examples 3.26 and 3.27.
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EXAMPLE 3.26: Birdland 3/19/60: IA: 5-8 (5-8)
! In the second staff of Example 3.24, Evans moves to the sixth of the Gm6 chord
after attaining closure on G. At times this motion to E occurs through a scoop via Es
lower neighbor, D#, as shown here in Example 3.28.
! Alternatively, Evans may utilize Eb over the opening Am7(b5) chord, thus
prolonging the Eb upper neighbor to D which begins the descent, as shown in Example
3.29 and 3.30.
EXAMPLE 3.29: Portrait in Jazz (Take 1): IIIA: pickups to 5-8 (pickups to 69-72)

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! To prepare for the next phrase, Evans may ascend after reaching the culminating
G of the 5-1 descent. In Examples 3.31 and 3.32, such a registral ascent concludes with
an encircling of G, as though summarizing the encircling which has just occurred in the
lower register from measure 2 to measure 3 of each example. In Example 3.31, the
motion into G immediately moves toward the next phrase with a tonicization of Cm.
EXAMPLE 3.32: Birdland 4/30/60: IIA: 5-8 (37-40)
! In Example 3.31, there is a summary of sorts, but in ascent rather than descent, to
reclaim the upper registral space to begin a descent in Bb. However, in retraversing this
space, Evans uses Db rather than D. The use of this blues fifth occurs elsewhere in just
such a guise, in a motion back up to scale degree b5, a chromatic inflection of the starting
pitch of the descent. Thus, in Example 3.33 below, the summary makes a motion back
upward, outlining a 1-b5-1 space as a summary rather than the original 5-1 space.

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! In Example 3.34, unfolded thirds in measure 3 of the excerpt are matched with
unfolded thirds in the b5-1 summary in measure 4:
! Similar to some of the Bb major passages, Evans also used octave transfers in
some of the G minor passages, making this less a finger motion or hand motion down the
keyboard and more of an abstract, conceptual motion downward in pitch-class space.
Such is the case in Example 3.33 above, where the motion to A3 terminates the descent in
that register, and it is then recommenced from A in the upper register with an encircling
to G.
! In other instances Evans threw the line up a third, then brought it back down.
This often occurs from scale degree 5 to scale degree b7. Such is the case in Example
3.35 below, where D in measure 69 (the second measure of the example) moves to F
natural and then to F# in measure 70, over the D7 chord. Here again, unfolded thirds
bring the descent to tonal closure, moving through C/A at the end of measure 70 to Bb/G
in measure 71.

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! Having posited a 5-line construct, one can note when portions of the framework
are missing. In Example 3.36, a D emphasized by registral peak and upper neighbor (Eb)
in measure 2 moves down through Bb and A toward closure on the G, thus bypassing C.
At other times, where a direct line may be absent from the surface, one can infer its
presence as a framework by noting the use of thirds which, unfolded, still contain the
descent, even if in a cursory way, as in Example 3.37.
EXAMPLE 3.37: Birdland 3/12/60: IIA: 4 into 8 (36 into 40)
! In Example 3.38, instead of playing the A leading down to G in the summary
descent at the end of the phrase, Evans scoops up to the G with an F#. In some cases, the
descent may occur with an extended line backward from the initial tone, scale degree 5,
which itself may be approached by an initial ascent.21 Such is the case in Example 3.39.
21This is conceptually similar to Schenkers idea of Anstiege, or initial ascents. See Schenker Der freie
Satz, Sections 120-124 on pages 45-45 and Section 209 on page 75.
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EXAMPLE 3.39: Portrait in Jazz (Take 1): IVA: 5-8 (109-112)
Paradigm: Voicing Arpeggio over V/V-V-i
! When beginning the B section to Autumn Leaves, Evans played V/V - V - i
(A7-D7-Gm) rather than ii-V-i (Am7(b5)-D7-Gm), a progression that typically appears in
written-out versions of the tune, as noted above. The two successive dominant seventh
chords allow for two chromatic guide-tone lines, one beginning on the third of the A7
chord, C#, and the other beginning on the seventh, G.
EXAMPLE 3.40: Setting of 3rds and 7ths over V/V - V - i
! If attempting to construct an Evans voicing model for these chords, one would
add another voice to the 3rds-7ths chain (from C#) and the 7ths-3rds chain (from G)
shown in Example 3.40. This additional strand would begin on the 13th of the A7 chord,
F#, and could continue chromatically to F natural, the #9 (or b10) of the D7 chord, as
shown in Example 3.41.
EXAMPLE 3.41: Typical Evans voicings for V/V - V - i

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Here, the final G minor chord has the G in parentheses, since Evans often left out the root
of the chord in favor of another chordal member, such as the sixth, as the E shown in the
G minor chord here.
! Evans often used this voice-leading structure, presumably derived from his left-
hand voicings, as the scaffold for his right-hand lines at the opening of the B section in
Autumn Leaves, as well as in the V/V-V-i progression that begins the final eight
measures of the form. However, since Evanss right-hand lines often do reach tonal
closure on 1, we would reinterpret the closing sonority as potentially including the G,
whereas above it was omitted because of the typical rootless left-hand voicings employed
by Evans.
! As we will see, rather than picking one of the three lines and using it as a guide-
tone line, Evans typically arpeggiates through each of the first two voicings. In this way,
rather than considering Example 3.41 as a model depicting three guide-tone-line
possibilities, we can view each of the first two voicings as a complete construct that
Evans uses to navigate the opening of each V/V-V-i progression.
! Additionally, Evans often substitutes F natural for the low F# in the D7 chord, and
also uses a Bb in this chord as well. Presumably, this would facilitate ease of hand
movement in multiple-octave arpeggios, which Evans utilized frequently.
EXAMPLE 3.42: Evanss Scaffold for V/V - V - i, as at the opening of the B Section
of Autumn Leaves
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EXAMPLE 3.43: Examples of V/V - V - i Chromatic Scaffold 22
! These examples show that Evans typically used this framework not as a set of
guide-tone lines from which to choose one line to embellish, but rather as a three-strand
composite, arpeggiating through each voicing with the specific registral spacing given in
the first staff of Example 3.43, from Example 3.42; that is, with F# as the top voice
moving to F natural on the next chord. Typically, Evans arpeggiated up through the A7
voicing and then down through the D7 voicing. Often, Evans culminated these arpeggios
in the first two measures with a 5-1 descent in G minor in the second two measures, thus
combining the two constructs outlined here: the voicing arpeggio and the 5-1 descent in
G minor. For example, the second excerpt in Example 3.43 (Birdland 3/19/60: 17-20)
22In the first and fourth excerpts here, the G minor chord moves to a seventh chord, with F, in the final
measure, preparing the ii-V-I in Bb area to come. In the fourth excerpt, the F shown is the beginning of a
5-1 descent in Bb.
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ends with a 5-1 descent using unfolded thirds. The fourth excerpt (Birdland 4/30/60:
81-84) moves into the 5-1 descent with an encircling, which, as noted above, is common
in the 5-1 descents in G minor in Autumn Leaves. Additionally, the fourth excerpt also
uses unfolded thirds in the descent.

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Chapter 4: Beautiful Love
! Like Autumn Leaves, Bill Evans played the tune Beautiful Love throughout
his career.1 Therefore, it too offers a window into the fixity of certain elements in his
improvisations. Like Autumn Leaves, Beautiful Love begins with two ii-V-I
progressions in a relative major/minor pairing. Here, though, the first ii-V-I progression
is in the relative minor, D minor, while the second is in the relative major, F major.
However, as in Autumn Leaves, a circle-of-fifths progression still operates through the
entire progression,2 even though the ii-V-I progressions are backwards relative to what
they were in Autumn Leaves, with the minor ii-V-i sounding first here, and the relative
major ii-V-I sounding second. Thus, while the circle-of-fifths progression is still in
operation, it lacks the regularity of harmonic rhythm of Autumn Leaves, since here the
D minor chord lasts for two measures, thus yielding a different foreground arrangement
of ii-V-I progressions than in Autumn Leaves.
1 Evanss recorded performances span a period from an early gig at Birdland with the LaFaro-Motian trio,
through two released recordings on the CD re-issue of Explorations, through a recording from a Town Hall
performance in New York City, through a 1968 session at the Village Vanguard (recorded by Mike Harris,
perhaps unknown to Evans, and released on Secret Sessions), ending with a 1978 recording from November
1979, released on The Paris Concert, Edition 1. Thus, although only one recording considered here is from
the 1970s, the recordings examined do provide some insight into the way Evanss concept changed, or
stayed the same, over the course of his career.
2 Having always thought of this tune as opening with two ii-V-I modules, the second up a third from the
first, in accordance with the sequence in the melody, I am indebted to Robert Wason for pointing out that
the circle-of-fifths pattern still maintains throughout the first eight measures of the A sections. The melodic
ascent of a third, then, from the first four-measure segment to the second (over the D minor to F major
motion), works against the underlying descending counterpoint of the overall circle-of-fifths progression.
We dont hear this as an inherent contradiction so clearly, though, because, in contrast with Autumn
Leaves, the ii chord of the first ii-V-I (Em7(b5)) and the ii chord of the second ii-V-I (Gm7) occupy
different parts of the module of the sequence because of the shift in harmonic rhythm as noted above (D
minor sounds for two measures rather than one). As presented here, the first ii chord is the first of the two-
chord circle-of-fifths pattern, while the second ii chord is on the latter half of the two-chord circle-of-fifths
pattern, but occurs here on a strong hypermetric beat (measure 5).
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EXAMPLE 4.1: Basic Melodic and Harmonic Framework of Beautiful Love 3
! A deeper-level arpeggio provides a melodic logic for the motion from D minor to
F major. As noted in Example 4.2, the opening soprano note F over the opening D minor
area moves through an arpeggio up through A over F major to D over D minor in measure
9. At this point, a descent through the descending tetrachord serves to regain the opening
A, while the opening F conceptually resolves down to E in a Schenkerian interruption
that closes the first A section of the AA form.
3This rendition of Beautiful Love has been adapted from the version presented in The New Real Book.
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EXAMPLE 4.2: Voice-leading of Beautiful Love
! In the A section, the opening three of the four phrases are identical to the
corresponding phrases in the A section, but the 3-2-1 descent in the final four measures of
the A section provides tonal closure, whereas the E at the parallel place in the opening
16-measure A section created a tonal break (i.e., the Schenkerian interruption). The third-
span in the final few measures of the form articulates on a larger level the third-spans
which defined the motion into the tones comprising the deeper-level arpeggio of the first
two phrases of each A section, as diagrammed in the top staff of Example 4.2. Thus, the
third-span is used again, but here to attain full tonal closure, thus operating on a deeper
structural level than the local third-spans with which each A section began.
! As we will see, Evans makes use of these third-spans frequently in his
improvisations on Beautiful Love. Thus, while he does not often quote the tune
directly, he does use structural features of the tune as frameworks in his improvisation, an
idea one might call structural paraphrase, borrowing from the idea of quoting other
tunes in ones solo or paraphrasing local features of the melody of the piece over which
one is soloing.
! Also, Evans uses an arch contour at the opening of many of his solos, with an
ascent over an implied dominant chord that peaks on A before falling again. This arch
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shape is used within the first two four-measure segments of the melody of Beautiful
Love, as well as over the course of the entire A sections, as shown in the top staff of
Example 4.2. Where such parallels exist between Evanss solos and the melody of the
tune on which he is soloing, it is often difficult to ascribe a direct intention on Evanss
part to copy aspects of the tune, since this approach also appears at the opening of
Evanss solos on other tunes, such as Alice in Wonderland and My Romance. 4
Evanss Beautiful Love
! Evans began his solos in different performances of Beautiful Love in a
remarkably consistent way. He utilized the two-measure break at the end of the head to
lead into his solo. This melodic lead-in creates a heightened sense of tension by
prolonging a dominant chord over this two-measure span.
EXAMPLE 4.3: Lead-in
4For analyses of the relevant sections of Evanss solos on these two tunes, Alice in Wonderland and My
Romance, see Chapters 5 and 6.
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Melodically, Evans ascends from A3 over an implied dominant area, where each bar
contains an implied V5/3 to V6/4 neighbor motion. Thus, as shown in the framework in
Example 4.3 (the second staff), an opening A major arpeggio leads into a D-E-F third
span, which then moves to the A4 octave, ultimately culminating an octave above around
A5.
! In this way, the lead-in may be broken down into units according to hand position,
with the opening A arpeggio moving to the D minor span, then repeating this pattern in
the next measure. The first measure consists of a set of two hand positions, which is then
transposed up an octave from the first measure to the next. Evans must have felt
comfortable with this general outline as a kind of gestural/registral procedure, as this
approach clearly influences the first four recordings of Example 4.3, which represent a
six-year span. In addition it also influences the final recording, but in a condensed
temporal space, beginning on the second measure of the break rather than the first.
! In fact, due to similarities in the excerpts in Example 4.3, we could assert that
Evans had a generic hand and fingering plan that he used often in the lead-in to his solos
on this tune. In many of the excerpts in Example 4.3, the thumb would fall on A and then
D, and also on G as a connective to A when the G-G#-A motion occurs. With a
framework such as this in place, note choices would be determined in part by the need to
move from one hand position to another across the general ascent, building tension into
the beginning of the solo. For example, Evans frequently used an encircling to get from
the A-thumb-position to the D-thumb-position, thus the C# and E are often present in the
A-thumb position as a way to move into the D-thumb-position. Thus, his overall plan
might look like this:

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EXAMPLE 4.4: Generic Fingering Plan for Lead-in Paradigm
Thus, we could conceive of Evanss lead-in paradigm not just as an abstract note
structure, but also as a motor movement plan on the keyboard.
! As an example, the first excerpt in Example 4.3 may be fingered as follows:
EXAMPLE 4.5: Fingering Plan for Example 4.3, Excerpt 1
The second excerpt would maintain a similar fingering pattern, even though the triplet-
eighth-note pattern stops earlier, such that the immediate goal tone of G is reached in a
lower octave:
EXAMPLE 4.6: Fingering Plan for Example 4.3, Excerpt 2
! At the opening of the form (i.e., the third measure of Example 4.3), following this
lead-in, Evans uses one of two general approaches. In the first, employed in the first
three performances (all from 1960-1961), Evanss goal note from the lead-in is G,
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although always in a different registers, from which he ascends over the Em7(b5) chord
to Bb with another surface-level third-span. Over the span of the phrase, however, the Bb
functions as an upper neighbor to a prolonged A. The A either remains as the structural
pitch throughout the phrase, as in Take 1 from Explorations, or moves down to D through
an arpeggio or a stepwise line, thereby resulting in a 5-1 descent, as occurred frequently
in Autumn Leaves. In addition, the Bb upper neighbor may have its own upper
neighbor, as in Take 1 of Explorations, where the C natural in measure 2 (measure 4 of
the example) occurs in both the upper and lower registers, functioning locally as a #9 (or
b10) of the A7 chord.
! Alternatively, in the final two performances, instead of beginning with a G-A-Bb
third span, which eventually reveals A as the structural pitch, Evans traces a more directly
perceptible, structural third-span across the first two measures of the form into measure 3.
This descent may be a 3-2-1 line, as in the Bill Evans at Town Hall performance, or a
5-4-3 line, as in the Paris Concert performance. In both cases, the Em7(b5) chord which
ostensibly opens the form has a non-chord tone or an upper extension, with the F as a
b9th or the A as an 11th, which is normative over a ii7. However, in each case, the F or
the A function less within the Em7(b5) context and more within the overall diatonic area
of D minor, where both initiate a third-span descent into a tonic member. Thus, the
melodic motion seems a tonally closed motion in D minor, while the harmonic setting of
this melodic motion, in keeping with jazz practice, seems to begin off-tonic and move in
a goal-directed way toward D minor.
! The piano solo in one of the six performances of Beautiful Love considered
here begins after the bass solo and thus does not make use of a two-measure break, which
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in the other performances occurs immediately after the head. Yet even within this altered
context, this performance still contains the overarching melodic outline of the model for
the break, but adapted to the altered setting. The passage still utilizes a two-octave ascent
to A, but begins on Bb, aligning with the Em7(b5) sonority into which it has been
displaced.
EXAMPLE 4.7: Alternate Approach for Lead-in of Beautiful Love
Additionally, the phrase moves from A down to F over D minor, with a chromatic
summary of this descent in the lower register occurring at the end of measure 3 into
measure 4.
ii-V-i Progressions in D minor
! While common features exist among the opening lead-in and ii-V-i progressions
in different performances of Beautiful Love, as shown above, many more ii-V-i areas in
D minor occur in the tune, and Evans used some of these same features within those other
areas. Thinking of these features with respect to basic structural models allows us to
consider how these phrases derive from the basic syntax, and to examine commonalities
between examples in Evanss playing.

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ii-V-i in D minor: 5-1 descent
! As noted above, Beautiful Love begins with two ii-V-i progressions, the first in
D minor and the second in its relative key, F major. As in Autumn Leaves, a 5-1
descent operates as the defining structural feature of many of these ii-V-i passages in
Evanss solos on Beautiful Love. This descent mimics the 5-1 descent of the tune over
these two ii-V-I progressions, and so may be a structural paraphrase. However, since
Evans used this 5-1 model elsewhere, as in Autumn Leaves, it is difficult to assert that
he utilized the model because it was also inherent at these points in the melody of the
piece.
! Like in Autumn Leaves, the 5-1 descent in Beautiful Love in the D minor
area could be set different ways, with the F falling on the downbeat of the D minor area,
or with A prolonged into the D minor area, such that the 5-1 descent is delayed.
EXAMPLE 4.8: 5-1 Descent Paradigms
! To this end, Example 4.8 shows three variations of a 5-1 descent over a ii-V-i
progression in D minor. Each of the three examples includes an upper neighbor Bb in
parentheses, which occurs frequently. Paradigm 4.8-a contains a descent into D minor
that places F as the goal tone at the beginning of the D minor area, with the following
descent to D as a kind of motion into an inner voice in the Schenkerian sense. In

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Paradigm 4.8-b and Paradigm 4.8-c, A is prolonged into the D minor area, where the
descent begins. Paradigm 4.8-c omits the descending line in favor of a triadic arpeggio,
which occurs frequently when Evans transcends two octaves in quick succession, as will
be shown below.
! The G-A-Bb third-span, shown in the first three excerpts in Example 4.3 above,
functions within this structural framework as a more local gesture articulating a third-
span that outlines direct chord-tones of the Em7(b5) chord that opens the tune, while
these boundary tones (i.e., G and Bb) function at a deeper level as neighbors to A.
! Example 4.9 shows excerpts that are based upon a 5-1 descent according to
Paradigm 4.8-a. The first excerpt here is from the opening of Evanss solo on the
Birdland performance from March 12, 1960, reproduced here from Example 4.3. Of the
three excerpts from Example 4.3 that used the G-A-Bb third-span, only this one utilizes a
full 5-4-3-2-1 descent. Of the other two, one uses a 5-3-1 descending arpeggio and the
other prolongs 5 through an upper neighbor Bb and an upper-neighbor-to-upper neighbor
C. Thus, the G-A-Bb motive functions as a local gesture that can be utilized within
different overarching frameworks within the ii-V-i progression in D minor.

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EXAMPLE 4.9: Excerpts based on Paradigm 4.8-a
! The flexibility of navigating the 5-1 descent is evident in the variety of
realizations. The opening two excerpts both use the G-A-Bb cell at the opening. Of
these, the first then traverses a descent from A6 to A5, which then moves to F5 on the
downbeat of the arrival of the D minor area. Unfolded thirds (F/D, E/C#, D/B) then
move the soprano line toward tonic (F-E-D), while the underthirds continue past E/C# not
into a unison closure, as would be required in a purely triadic environment, with E and
C# both converging on the tonic, D, but to the third D/B, utilizing the 6th of the D minor
tonic sixth chord.5
! The second excerpt arpeggiates into an upper register, such that the descent also
occurs in the A5-D5 register, as in the excerpt above. G has been held from the opening
two-measure dominant area into the D minor area, where it functions as a long-term
accented passing tone into F, the D minor chord-tone, thus delaying Fs arrival.
5 Playing a sixth on a minor tonic chord is, of course, normative in jazz practice.
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! While Example 4.9 shows passages that traverse the A-to-F third-span into the D
minor area, in accord with Paradigm 4.8-a, Example 4.10 shows passages that derive
from Paradigm 4.8-b, prolonging A into the D minor area, where the descent then begins.
EXAMPLE 4.10: Excerpts based on Paradigm 4.8-b
! The first excerpt decorates the A prolongation with an encircling that spans the
opening two measures. Thus, while using the same G-A-Bb cell shown in the excerpts
above in Example 4.9, Evans initiates a long encircling around the pitch that eventually
returns to A through the G# which preceded the A of the opening measure.6
! The second and third excerpts also make use of encirclings around A, relying
solely on a chromatically inflected G# rather than a G natural, and across shorter
temporal spans. Both of these examples omit G in the 5-1 descent. The third excerpt
traverses a 3-2-1 into D minor in the upper register, while the prolonged A5 is regained in
the third measure for another 3-2-1 descent into the fourth measure. Thus, the final 3-2-1
acts like a summary to the initial descent, which would follow Paradigm 4.8-a, while the
second 3-2-1 descent would follow Paradigm 4.8-b, the A having been prolonged into the
D minor area. The passage is listed here under Paradigm 4.8-b due to its lack of a feeling
6 An alternative reading would place the G in the first measure as the passing tone in the A-to-F third-span
from measure 1 to measure 3, with the A remaining as a kind of Schenkerian cover tone.
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of closure on the downbeat of measure 3, since the D falls on the off-beat and initiates a
descending arpeggio through F to E, which then falls to D. The tonal closure of the
phrase, then, does not come until the D in the final measure of the passage. This passage
is similar in outline to the first excerpt of Example 4.10, but without the F of the upper
register 3-2-1.
! Instead of prolonging A with an encircling or an upper neighbor, Evans at times
prolongs A through a registral transfer brought about by an octatonic line. This octatonic
line, containing A-Bb, is the octatonic collection that would typically be used over an A7
chord. Purely from the standpoint of chordal extensions, jazz players use octatonic
collections over dominant seventh chords because the scales notes correspond well to the
dominant seventh chords core chordal members and extensions, as shown in Example
4.11.
EXAMPLE 4.11: Octatonic Notes Relationship to A7 chord
Notes from A Bb C C# D# E F# G
Octatonic
Collection
Relationship Root b9 #9 3 #11 5 13 7

to A7 chord (b10)
! The use of the octatonic scale over the Em7(b5)-A7 chord reinforces this ii-V of
D minor as a larger A7 area. However, rather than simply using this scale over this
harmonic area, as taught in so-called chord-scale theory, Evans does more than this,
using this line as a way to prolong the opening A, traversing the octave from A4 to A5
and, in one passage, the two-octave span up to A6. Thus, this octatonic motion functions
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within a melodic structural framework, prolonging the A which then falls to D. This
provides a larger context for aspiring improvisers than simply a pool of notes from which
to construct a melody. In other words, the octatonic scale functions here as a local
melodic device within a larger melodic framework.
EXAMPLE 4.12: Excerpts based on Paradigm 4.8-b with octatonic line
! In the three excerpts shown in Example 4.12, Evans uses an octatonic line to
prolong A, and in doing so creates a registral transfer from A4 to A5, and in the second
excerpt from A4 to A6. In the first passage, the chord-tone G is approached via an
accented encircling (thus the line opens with the common G-A-Bb cell), which then
moves through A4 to A5 and up to the upper neighbor Bb before moving back down to A
for the 5-1 linear descent, complemented with arpeggios into the lower register. In the
second passage, a triplet-eighth-note rhythm slows to an eighth-note rhythm, while the
third passage maintains a consistent eighth-note rhythm. Since Evans uses faster
rhythmic gestures in the second example than in the third, the faster rhythms in the
second passage allow for more notes within the allotted A7 area, such that from the fixed
starting point of A4, the second example moves up through A6 to C7 before falling back
down to A6 for a 5-1 descent using unfolded thirds, whereas the third example peaks
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earlier, at D#6, falling to A5 squarely on the downbeat of measure 3. Since these
different excerpts utilize a flexible model, with an octatonic prefix that spans different
intervallic spans, but all reach A as the goal tone at the beginning of measure 3, it
suggests that Evans had probably practiced different instantiations of this model,
implicitly or explicitly learning different pathways by which to reverse course to capture
the A goal tone at the beginning of measure 3; it seems highly improbable, especially
knowing Evanss approach to musical study, that this would have been fortuitous.
Arpeggiation
! While Example 4.10 and Example 4.12 showed excerpts that utilized a prolonged
A that culminated in a 5-4-3-2-1 descent, Example 4.13 shows excerpts that use a
prolonged A that moves into a 5-3-1 arpeggiated descent. While some of the excerpts
from Example 4.10 did not have G (scale degree 4), the descending linear motion F-E-D
(scale degrees 3-2-1) led to a sense of the line achieving tonal closure in a linear way, and
so a G was inferred. Here, however, the arpeggio often clearly stands on its own as a
device for achieving registral transfers, at times moving quickly through two octaves,
rather than as a way to bring about tonal closure linearly, in one voice-leading line.
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EXAMPLE 4.13: Arpeggiation
! The first excerpt in the example, also shown above in Example 4.3, opens with the
G-A-Bb third-span, but moves up through an arpeggio to A5, where a held upper
neighbor Bb resolves back down to A5 before an arpeggiated D minor descent, including
the Bb upper neighbor, brings the melodic line to rest on D4.7 Thus, this excerpt utilizes
an overall arched contour that Evans also used in other opening phrases, specifically
those noted later in this study in his solos on both Alice in Wonderland and My
Romance.
7 Evans also uses this descending 5-3-1 over an octave-and-a-sixth span (Bb through A and F to D in one
octave, then again in the next lower octave) at the opening of the head in Take 2 of Beautiful Love on
Explorations. Thus, the 5-4-3-2-1 descent of the melody of Beautiful Love, with the turn of the melody
back up to 3 after this linear descent, does not occur in Evanss rendition here, but is superseded by the
motion from 5 firmly down to 1 through the long arpeggio (Bb-A-F-D), using the same note structure as the
first two excerpts in Example 4.13, but starting with the Bb moving to A on the beat 2 of measure 3, such
that the D falls squarely on beat 4 of the same measure, where the phrase also lands in the second excerpt
of Example 4.13. Below is the melody as Evans plays it at the opening of the head:
Since the descending arpeggio stands in for the 5-4-3-2-1-2-3 motion of the melody of Beautiful Love,
Evans evidently considers this arpeggiated descent to the tonic as a plausible stand-in for a linear descent,
indicating that he did have these different options, as shown in Example 4.8, set down in his mind, or in his
fingers, as the case may be.
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! The second excerpt, after arpeggiating through an AbM7 chord in approaching the
opening G-Bb-G#-A encircling of A, traverses an octave descent, and then moves through
another encircling to land on A4. Thus, the opening encircling occurs twice, first in the
upper register and then again in the lower register, as though the first prefaces the second,
since this A moves to Bb, again via a registral transfer, before a final arpeggiated descent
to D. Thus, as shown in Example 4.14, a larger encircling occurs across the span of the
entire excerpt in the upper register, from the final eighth note A of the pickup measure
through the G that follows it, which is again picked up by the Bb5 into A5, which
initiates the final arpeggiated descent. Taking the lower A into consideration, the overall
motion is a large, inverted turn figure: A-G-A-Bb-A, occurring across two registers.
Thus, we see A prolonged through the use of encirclings, or double neighbors, but at
different time spans and structural levels, and in different registers.
EXAMPLE 4.14: Reproduction of Second Excerpt in Example 4.13, with analysis
! In the final excerpt in Example 4.13, the opening encircling to A is deceiving
structurally, because the A then moves to G, a chord tone of Em7(b5), initiating a
descending arpeggio over the chord, but bounded by the note, A, at the top and bottom.
The Bb-to-A motion then also occurs after this registral transfer to the lower register,
emphasizing A as an initiation point for the melodic scaffold of the phrase. The A then
moves to its upper neighbor, Bb, through the upper-neighbor-of-the-upper-neighbor, C,

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which then falls back down through Bb to A for a 5-3-1 arpeggiation. Here, since scale
degree 3 of the arpeggiation, F, is embellished with its lower neighbor, E, we can see that
this excerpt closely resembles those of Paradigm 4.8-b, where a prolonged A moves
through a 5-1 linear descent. However, since the E functions here as an embellishing
lower neighbor to F, the overall motion remains one of an arpeggiated descent, even
though one may hear the final motion as more linear, as though the second F functions as
a metrically accented reminder of the previous tone of descent.
ii-V-i in D minor: 5-1 ascent
! Thus far we have seen how Evans used a linear scaffold descending from 5 to 1 to
articulate the motion into a local tonic over a ii-V-I progression. We have observed that
Evans used this model in Autumn Leaves and Beautiful Love in both major and
minor keys. In Beautiful Love, however, instead of always using a 5-1 descent, Evans
also used a 5-1 ascent to articulate the motion into the local tonic.
EXAMPLE 4.15: 5-1 Ascent Paradigm
! Because Evans does not usually delay the final D of this paradigm, or, if so, not
for very long, an arpeggiated descent through the D minor triad may be affixed to the end
of this model. This descending triad, shown above in Paradigm 4.8-c of the descending
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5-1 motion, allows the melodic line to achieve tonal closure in two registers, first on the
upper D, then on the lower D.
EXAMPLE 4.16: Mixing Paradigms in D Minor: 5-1 ascent and a 5-1 descent
EXAMPLE 4.17: Excerpts using a 5-1 ascent paradigm
! Of the four excerpts presented in Example 4.17, the first, second, and fourth make
use of a surface G-A(b)-Bb third-span at the opening. While each of these uses
ascending third or fourth spans as a motive within the larger linear motion of an
ascending fourth (from A up to D across the course of the phrase), the third excerpt uses a
completely different surface pattern. Here, a scale-degree-5-pedal in an upper voice
covers an ascending tetrachord from 5-1 in the lower voice. The pedal 5 jumps to 1 at the
end of the excerpt, as though summarizing the tetrachordal space traversed in the lower
linear span. As we will see, Evans also uses this pattern of a slowly moving ascending
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line against a higher scale-degree-5-pedal over two choruses later, but in the relative key
of F major.
ii-V-i in D minor: 5 prolongation
! Evanss lines do not always achieve melodic tonal closure on 1. At times, Evans
prolongs scale degree 5 through a ii-V-I progression, creating less of a sense of finality.
In ornamenting scale degree 5, Evans may utilize an upper neighbor, and occasionally
even an upper neighbor to that upper neighbor, as shown in Example 4.18.
EXAMPLE 4.18: Prolonging 5
! Often, Evanss lines leap from scale degree 5 to scale degree 1 at the conclusion
of a phrase to create a motion into the next phrase, as in the first and third excerpts in
Example 4.19. As we will see below, this D functions as a prefix to a 5-4-3-2-1 descent
in F major.
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EXAMPLE 4.19: Prolongation
! In the first of the three excerpts in Example 4.19, the opening G-A-Bb cell moves
up to C, the upper neighbor of the upper neighbor, Bb. The Bb then falls back down to
Bb through a registral transfer on the upper structure bii (Bb minor over A7). The C-Bb
motion repeats itself in the lower register, eventually falling to A at the arrival of the D
minor area in the third measure.
! In the second excerpt, two ascending arpeggios articulate the opening two chords
of the excerpt, Em7(b5) and A7. Both of these arpeggios are bound in both the lowest
and highest voice by an A, such that the arpeggios sound as though they are moving
through a voice-leading space which has scale-degree 5 as its fixed upper and lower
boundaries. In fact, this is the case, since A functions as a pedal in both the upper and
lower voice in this example, but where the lower A moves chromatically through Bb to B
natural, only to fall back down to A rather than move up further to D, as it did in the 5-1
ascent paradigm.
! This second excerpt retains certain features with the third excerpt from Example
4.17 and the excerpt shown in Example 4.32 below, which immediately follows it in the
solo, such as the pedal 5 in the upper octave and the motion beginning from 5 in the
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lower octave. However, the second excerpt of Example 4.19 differs from the other
excerpts structurally in that this excerpt does not traverse a tonal motion from 5 up to 1,
but contains only an oscillating gesture to 6 and back, ultimately prolonging 5 rather than
reaching tonal closure on 1.
! The third excerpt above opens with the G-A-Bb cell, here ostensibly as an
encircling, or double neighbor, to the opening A. Similar to the excerpt just discussed,
the A functions as a boundary tone to an arpeggio that is bound also in its lower register
by A as well, but here the arpeggio descends rather than ascends. Whereas the above
excerpt then had a triadic arpeggio of the A chord, the present example traverses a C#
diminished chord arpeggio, where accented encirclings push the tones of the C#
diminished chord to the third eighth-note of each eighth-note triplet, yielding C#, E, and
G on the third triplet of beats 1, 2, and 3 respectively. The resultant two superimposed
fully-diminished seventh chords constitute an octatonic collection. Here, the C#
diminished chord functions as chord members 3, 5, and 7 of the A7 chord over which it
falls. The motion continues up to C, which moves down to Bb (the b9th of A7 which
would complete the minor third pattern, making the C# diminished triad a C# fully
diminished seventh chord), but the Bb then falls to A, such that the C-Bb-A motion is
upper-neighbor-of-upper-neighbor through upper neighbor to A. From here, a descending
arpeggio on the D minor chord achieves not a tonal closure on D, but rather a registral
transfer down to A, regaining the nadir pitch of the excerpt.

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Separating Structure and Gesture
! The excerpts in Example 4.12 showed how Evans used an octatonic line over the
dominant area of the ii-V-i progression, but within the overall confines of a 5-4-3-2-1
descent as a way of prolonging 5. Example 4.20 shows two excerpts from the Take 1
performance of Beautiful Love from Explorations. In both of these examples, Evans
uses a similar rhythmic gesture to ascend from either A3 or G3 to C6, which begins a b7-
b6-5 descent into A for a 5-1 descent. In the second excerpt, Evans leaps over the A5 in
the upper register, but presents it in the lower register in the third measure of the
example. In the first excerpt, a 5-4-3-2-1 motion occurs in both the upper and lower
voices, such that the lower voice offers a summary of the descent of the upper register.
EXAMPLE 4.20: Gestural Similarities
! Noticeably, the excerpts begin at different temporal points relative to the
underlying ii-V-i progression. Since the second excerpt comes near the end of Evanss
solo, it can be conceived as a displacement of elements of the first excerpt, which occurs
at the second A section in Evanss first chorus. Realigning the second excerpt by moving
its starting point one measure later, while confusing the harmonic sense of the passage,
shows how the gesture that Evans is using, both in its rhythmic contour and registral
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starting point, has been moved one measure earlier. This realignment is shown in
Example 4.21.
EXAMPLE 4.21: Gestural Similarities Realigned
! As noted above, the structure underlying the arpeggios differs, but the gesture is
quite similar. In fact, the structure of the arpeggio of the second excerpt is more similar
to other examples, from other performances, than to the first excerpt here, from the same
performance.
EXAMPLE 4.22: Structural Similarities

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! Whereas we saw in Examples 4.20 and 4.21 that a similar rhythmic and registral
space was used to outline two different underlying structural features, Example 4.22
shows different gestures that articulate similar structural features. As outlined in the
framework in the second staff of the example, all of these excerpts begin with an AbM9
(or AbM7) arpeggio, but each is set differently with regard to rhythm. The two
uppermost notes of this arpeggio, the G (7th) and Bb (9th), serve as tones that encircle the
A goal tone, which then moves down to G through a G minor descending arpeggio over
the Em7(b5) chord. The low G then moves back up to A, creating a large scale neighbor
motion mimicking the opening double neighbor motion to the upper A. This low A then
either moves down to D via an arpeggio or a linear descent, or moves down to another
chordal member, as in the second excerpt, where the line moves to F.
! Not all of the excerpts make use of all structural features as explicitly as indicated
in the framework in Example 4.22. The first excerpt contains a descending arpeggio over
the A7 chord rather than the Em7(b5) chord, so the accented notes (those occurring on the
beat) articulate a descending A7 chord (G on beat 4 of m. 2, followed by E, C#, and A)
rather than a descending G minor chord (i.e., the 3rd, 5th, and 7th of an Em7(b5) chord).
Thus, although the descending registral transfer still occurs, it takes place over a different
arpeggio, and the upper registral A is absent.
! The final excerpt, rather than using an ascending AbM7 or AbM9 arpeggio, uses a
descending arpeggio, but without the low Ab. Thus, while the Bb and G that begin the
arpeggio still function as double neighbors to the A which falls on the next downbeat, the
opening gesture descends rather than ascends, and the low Ab that served as the structural
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initiation point for the other arpeggios, with or without a lower neighbor G, is absent
here.
! In other passages, typical jazz devices function within these larger paradigms.
One such example, noted above, was the b7-b6-5 motion, C-Bb-A, to lead into scale
degree 5 for the descent to 1 or the prolongation. Here, C functions as the upper neighbor
to the upper neighbor of A, Bb. This b7-b6-5 motion is not exclusive to Evans, though.
Thomas Owens notes that this b7-b6-5 motion is found frequently in Charlie Parkers
playing to initiate a motion into scale degree 5 or the 5th of a chord.8 However, Evans
uses this common bebop device locally within a larger improvisational framework, and
also conceptually extends it at times to create a sense of a b7-b6-5 into what is actually
scale degree b7, which is then reinterpreted as b7 for a true b7-b6-5 motion into scale
degree 5.
EXAMPLE 4.23: Interpretation of Double b7-b6-5 Complex in D minor
Notes Eb Db C Bb A
Interpretation with b7 b6 5
regard to b7 (C)
Interpretation with b7 b6 5
regard to 5 (A)
! While the Eb-Db-C-Bb-A line shown in the example above exists as a subset of
the octatonic scale that one would utilize over an A7 area (thinking of Db as C#), Evanss
phrases utilizing this fragment often emphasize the modularity of the octatonic scale
(with alternating half steps and whole steps). Thus, the lower note of each half step can
8 See Owens 1974: Vol. I: 21.

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be made to sound like scale degree 5 within a b7-b6-5 motion, a common bebop gesture.
In this way, Evans expands the b7-b6-5 concept such that a scale degree b7, such as C in
D minor, can function as 5 of a b7-b6-5 pattern above it. In Example 4.24 below, from
the peak tone of Eb, we see the use of the Eb-Db-C motion as a b7-b6-5 gesture into C,
which then serves as the true b7 for a b7-b6-5 motion into A, which begins a 5-1 descent.
Although the overall line from Eb to A is a subset of the octatonic scale, the inherent
modularity of the octatonic scale allows an interpretation that consists of conceiving of
the octatonic scale as a chain of b7-b6-5 motions, where the first 5 is reinterpreted as
b7 in the next b7-b6-5 cell.
EXAMPLE 4.24: Double b7-b6-5 Complex
! Evans may also utilize repeated rhythmic patterns using the underlying 5-4-3-2-1
model. In the example below, an A is embellished with upper neighbor Bb and double
upper neighbors C-Bb before moving down to D through a 5-1 linear descent.
Additionally, the A is chromaticized to the blues 5th, Ab.

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EXAMPLE 4.25: Rhythmic Tension utilizing the Underlying Pitch Framework
Here, at the opening, a 4 over 3 rhythmic pattern creates a sense of rhythmic tension
against the underlying meter,9 but the pitch material is structurally equivalent to many of
the other examples presented here. However, the chromaticized Ab, as b5, creates a
tension in the pitch realm as well.
ii-V-I Progressions in F Major
! As noted above, the melody of Beautiful Love contains a local third-span
moving into the F major area. While this C-Bb-A third-span functions globally as a
motion to the 5th (A) in the arpeggio in the global key of D minor, as noted in Example
4.2 above, it functions locally as a 5-4-3 motion in F major, paralleling the 5-4-3 motion
in D minor that opens the tune. Evans utilized this 5-4-3 structural framework directly in
his solos, at times appending a motion to the local tonic, F, for a complete 5-1 descent.
This is shown in Example 4.26.
9 On a larger level than the 4:3 eighths, the beginning of each grouping forms a dotted quarter note rhythm.
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EXAMPLE 4.26: 5-1 Descent in F major
! Since the F major areas always fall after the D minor areas in the tune, the use of
a prefix is possible. We saw this earlier in the case of Autumn Leaves, where the Bb
major area that began each A section generally occurred after a G minor section, so the G
served as an upper-neighbor prefix to the initial F of the 5-4-3-2-1 descent in Bb.
! Here, in Beautiful Love, although the F major section falls not at the beginning
of the A sections but rather as the second phrase of the A section, the relative minor
section which precedes it (D minor) allows for a parallel use of the upper neighbor to the
initial local scale degree 5, C. Thus, in Beautiful Love, the D which may complete the
D minor tonal motion that opens the tune becomes scale degree 6 in F major, and
functions as an upper neighbor to the 5-4-3 or 5-4-3-2-1 descent in F major.10
EXAMPLE 4.27: 5-1 Descent in F major with Scale Degree 6 Prefix
! Alternatively, to articulate the tonal motion into F major, Evans also made use of
another paradigm, consisting of a 5-6-7-1 ascent into F from C. Thus, while the motion
10Both the 5-4-3-2-1 line and the 5-4-3 line are inherent in the melody of Beautiful Love, with the
5-4-3-2-1 line occurring first, then turning back up to 3, for an overall descent of 5-4-3.
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is still from scale degree 5 into scale degree 1, the linear motion takes place along an
ascending rather than a descending trajectory. This line, too, may use a prefix.
EXAMPLE 4.28: 5-1 Ascent in F Major
! To consider how the elements of Evanss approach may be combined, we might
consider two examples that each make use of a D to C neighbor motion, but with one
example that uses a 5-1 descent from C to F and the other that uses the 5-1 ascent from C
to F. Additionally, to neutralize the sense of D as a tonic, since coming from a D minor
area, Evans attaches an upper neighbor Eb to the D prefix in each example, helping to
negate any sense of D minor.
EXAMPLE 4.29: Upper Neighbor of Upper Neighbor on 5-1 Descent in F Major
! In Example 4.29, Evanss 5-4-3 line clearly spans the Gm7-C7-FM7 motion, with
a confirmation-type summary that culminates in the A of the structural descent. The line
then completes the descent to F. The summary also includes the Eb-D motion with which
the phrase began. On the whole, the phrase offers a balance due to the two tritone spans,
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the first ascending from F# to C, the second descending from Eb to A.11 This second
tritone span, the descent from Eb to A, completes the resolution implied in the descent
from the Eb-to-Bb descent in the opening lead-in gesture.
EXAMPLE 4.30: Upper Neighbor of Upper Neighbor on 5-1 Ascent in F major
! Example 4.30, by contrast, contains a 5-1 ascent rather than a 5-1 descent. This
ascent occurs underneath a scale-degree-5 pedal in the upper register, and also contains a
chromatic filling of the 5-1 tetrachord. As we will see, the upper-voice pedal and the
ascending chromatic tetrachord also appear in Example 4.32 below. Here, in Example
4.30, a simple surface motive of an off-beat C, a descending arpeggio, and an
appoggiatura, serve to traverse the tonal span from C to F. Thus, while the above can be
considered motivic playing, the surface motives hang on the framework of the
underlying ascending line from 5 to 1, defined by the tonal motion from the dominant C7
area into the tonic area of F.
! To consider how the frameworks of the above two examples recur, we might
consider two further examples where the surface figuration differs markedly from the
examples above, but where the underlying framework in each case remains markedly
11 I use the term span here literally, for the surface lines, not structurally, in a Schenkerian sense.
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consistent. Example 4.31 also uses a D prefix with its own upper chromatic neighbor, Eb.
However, the 5-1 descent in the example from C to F makes use of a string of descending
spans of a diminished or perfect fifth, each of which is followed by a leap of a fourth.
While these faster gestures offer a stark contrast to Example 4.29, certain principles
remain the same. In both examples, the first measure of the ii-V-I motion (the second full
measure of each example) contains a motion from C down to F#, which points toward the
root of the ii7 chord. Additionally, the opening ascending diminished fifth span in
Example 4.31, from A to Eb, is countered by the series of descending diminished fifth
spans that follows. In Example 4.29, this Eb-A span defined the motion of the entire
phrase, and also occurred as a confirmation-type summary. In Example 4.31, however,
the Eb-Ab span occurs in full as a microcosm at the beginning of the phrase, whereas it
only traversed Eb-Bb at the opening of Example 4.29.
EXAMPLE 4.31: Eb-D Prefix to 5-1 Descent in F major
! Example 4.32 contains a strikingly similar framework to that of Example 4.30,
while the surface motives used are completely different. Rather than the pedal C6 with a
descending arpeggio to an appoggiatura by lower chromatic neighbor exhibited in
Example 4.30, Example 4.32 contains an ascending 5-#5-6 motion, which becomes a
kind of ostinato, marked by the pedal C6 in the upper register. Thus, here, rather than the
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D functioning as a prefix from the area of D minor, the D functions as upper neighbor to
5 within the phrase, then continues ascending into E and finally to F via an encircling in
measure 3 of the example. The final C-C#-D, occurring after the linear motion to F has
been completed, continues the motivic fragment used throughout the phrase, but now in a
gesture which sounds more like a suffix because it alludes to the motivic gesture of the
phrase, but after tonal closure on F has been achieved.
EXAMPLE 4.32: 5-1 Chromatic Ascent in F major
! While the above phrase maintains a surface feature that is common to the phrase
that precedes it, shown above in Example 4.19 and reproduced below in Example 4.33,
the underlying melodic structures of the two excerpts differ, since the F major phrase
completes a tonal motion from 5 up to 1, approached via an encircling, and the D minor
phrase, shown below, maintains scale degree 5 in the lower register as a pedal.
EXAMPLE 4.33: Phrase preceding Example 4.32
! Here again we see that structural features and surface gestures operate separately
from one another. There is not simply a transposition of the first phrase or the first
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phrases structure up a third from D minor to F major. Yet, even with a different
underlying framework, the gesture, with a scale degree 5 pedal in the upper voice and a
neighboring motion from scale degree 5 in the lower voice, provides a sense of
similarities in the gestures from one phrase to the next.
! Earlier in the same performance, Evans utilized a chromatic ascending line from
A to C, then continued this chromatic ascent from 5 up to 7 (E), without ever fully
resolving the motion to F. This passage is shown in Example 4.34 below. Here, we can
conceive of the motion as departing from the 5-1 ascent paradigm, with the line extended
at the opening, beginning from A rather than C. However, at a deeper level, we can
conceive of this motion as lower sixths to the ascending triad in the upper register. Thus,
the F-A-C triad outlined in the upper register is paired with A-C-E in the lower register,
and the E functions as the chordal seventh of the FM7 chord that serves as the local tonic.
This upper triadic outlining, with lower sixths in shadow, is shown as Framework Option
1 below, while the 5-1 ascent with the line extended back to A at the opening is shown as
Framework Option 2 below.
EXAMPLE 4.34: Embedded Paradigm

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Here, then, Evans appears to have embedded the 5-1 ascending line within the overall
framework of the parallel sixths, which then accounts for the lack of tonal resolution of
the E, which would resolve to F in the 5-1 ascent paradigm.
! While the C-Bb-A motion derives from the tonal motion into F major, the C-Bb-A
fragment can be used in different ways over the course of a passage via displacement. In
Example 4.35 below, a line in sixths creates a canon of the C-Bb-A-G-F line, each of
which is preceded by a D prefix.
EXAMPLE 4.35: C-Bb-A-G-F canon derived from parallel sixths
! The pairing of two registral lines, as noted in the examples above, may also occur
within one line. In such cases, an ascending seventh may stand in for a descending
second, such that a resulting linear descent is maintained.12 Examples of this were noted
frequently Chapter 3, on Evanss solos on Autumn Leaves, and examples occur in
Beautiful Love as well. Some of these are noted in Example 4.36 below, and others
will be shown later.
12Schenker refers to such progressions as illusory linear progressions. See Der freie Satz, Section 205-206,
on page 74.
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EXAMPLE 4.36: Registral Transfer of 5-1 Descent in F major
! In the excerpts that appear in Example 4.36, as well as the excerpts that appear
later in this chapter, the registral transfer often occurs from A (or Ab) up to G, which then
falls to F. In both cases, the A to F third-span (displaced by the seventh) is from one tonic
member to another. In the present case, in Example 4.36, the A-to-F span is from scale
degree 3 to scale degree 1. In the later cases, the A-to-F span occurs in D minor as a
motion from scale degree 5 to scale degree 3. In Autumn Leaves, this motion was
often from scale degree 3 to scale degree 1 in Bb. Thus, this seems like one way that
Evans emphasized tonal closure for the phrase as a whole. We can conceptually imagine
the lower scale degree still ringing as a lower sixth to the upper tone of resolution, rather
than being displaced by actual descending steps.13
bvi Complex over Dominant Area
! As noted earlier in Chapter 3 with regard to Autumn Leaves, jazz players may
use any of a number of different chordal formations over a dominant seventh chord, thus
activating chordal extensions, or tensions. In Autumn Leaves, Evans used a chord
over the dominant that was bii of the dominant. Thus, in Bb major, over the F7 chord,
13 In his article on musical forces, Steve Larson notes that tones are often retained in the mind of the
listener until displaced by tones a step away. In this way, tones are retained in the mind of the listener when
they are left by leap, but displaced in the mind of the listener when they are left by step. See Larson 2002.
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Evans arpeggiated a Gb minor chord, beginning with Ab, the upper neighbor to Gb, and
arpeggiating down through Gb, which then fell to F, the root of the chord and scale
degree 5 of the local tonal area.
! Evans uses this same melodic configuration in his solos on Beautiful Love in
the areas where there are ii-V-I progressions in a major key. Thus, Evans uses this pattern
in different keys.
EXAMPLE 4.37: bvi Complex in F major
! However, although Evans used this specific note sequence with some regularity,
he varied its rhythmic treatment. In each of the three excerpts presented in Example 4.38
below, the rhythmic setting is different. In the first excerpt, the upper neighbor Eb occurs
over the barline into the dominant chord. In the second excerpt, it occurs squarely on the
downbeat, with chromatic upper and lower neighbors ornamenting the Db after the Eb.
In the third excerpt, the Db and Eb sound simultaneously on beat 4 of the preceding
measure, moving again to the lower chromatic neighbor of Db down through the
arpeggio.
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EXAMPLE 4.38: Rhythmic Alterations to 5-1 Descent
! Also, in the third excerpt, the final measure of the previous four-measure unit (i.e.,
the first measure of the example) contains a Db-Ab-Db span that then moves to a C-G-C
span in the next measure, foreshadowing the overall Db-C motion that occurs across the
next two measures, as indicated in the model shown in Example 4.37.
Composite Paradigms: Making Larger Phrases
! When we conjoin the two 5-1 paradigms, the first in D minor and the second in F
major, with the connective device of the D prefix to the 5-1 descent in F major, a longer
paradigm results.
EXAMPLE 4.39: Composite Paradigm
Here, the A-G-F-E-D descent in D minor falls into the C-Bb-A-G-F descent in F major,
resulting in an overall line of a tenth, from A to F.
! Although Evanss realization of these two individual paradigms may occur such
that the two four-bar units contain discrete musical entities, he often continues a line for
longer than these individual four-measure units. In such cases, the sense of a composite
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paradigm, such as that indicated in Example 4.39 above, may yield a longer improvised
line.
! One excerpt that utilizes this concatenation of paradigms appears in Example 4.40
below.
EXAMPLE 4.40: Concatenation of Paradigms
Structural Extension Paradigm
! The ii-V-I progressions in D minor and F major constitute the first two four-
measure units of the A sections of Beautiful Love. Above, we have investigated some
of the ways that Evans navigated such progressions, where the harmonic motion begins in
the dominant area and moves to the tonic. In the tune Beautiful Love, the four-measure
unit following these opening ii-V-I progressions reverses course, as it were: rather than
beginning on a dominant area and moving into a tonal area of closure, the phrase unit in
measures 9-12 consists of a departure from tonic followed by a motion to the dominant
area. Melodically, Evans treats this dominant area in measures 11-12 not as a goal,
though, but as a way to move into the final four-measure unit of the A sections in measure
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13. Thus, Evanss lines typically move not from measure 9 to measure 12, but from
measure 9 into measure 13.
! When viewed from a linear perspective, this phrase structure parallels the melodic
phrase structure of the tune. In the melody of Beautiful Love, a linear descent from
scale degree 1 down to scale degree 5 occurs from measure 9 to 13, where scale degree 1
is approached initially by its upper neighbor.
EXAMPLE 4.41: Final eight measures of Beautiful Love (with pickup)
! In the melody, the opening D-C-Bb line seems to drop off to E in the third
measure of this four-measure unit, rather than continuing its downward trajectory.
However, the Bb does eventually fall to A on the downbeat of the next four-measure unit.
When improvising over this section, rather than discontinuing the line by moving to E in
the third measure, as in the melody, or by prolonging the Bb into A a few measures later,
Evans often continued the line through A (or sometimes a chromatically inflected Ab) to
G in the dominant ii-V area. This G then falls to F over the tonic area, creating a sense of
tonal closure to this phrase while often, at the same time, creating an elision into the
beginning of the next phrase. This improvisational scaffold is shown as Paradigm 1 in
Example 4.42 below.

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EXAMPLE 4.42: Paradigm 1
In addition, Evans often precedes the opening E of the line, as upper neighbor to D, with
an F, thus creating a full octave line, comprised of a third-span from F to D followed by
the span of a sixth from D down to F, as diagrammed in Example 4.42.
! Evans frequently emphasized this continuation (i.e., of the opening E-D-C-Bb line
of the melody) by placing it in a higher register through a registral transfer. Thus, one
frequently recurring sub-type of this paradigm is that which is depicted in Example 4.43.
EXAMPLE 4.43: Paradigm 1a
! Evans used this paradigm in four of the six opening A sections considered here.
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EXAMPLE 4.44: Chorus IA: 8-13: Sections using Paradigm 1a 14
! All four of the excerpts presented in Example 4.44 contain a registral transfer up
to G as defined in Paradigm 1a. Thus, while the first excerpt cites the tune quite
explicitly in the opening measures, the continuation of this line shows a consistency with
the other excerpts, such that the framework for the improvisation is not simply the linear
descent in the tune to Bb, but rather the linear trajectory through the Bb to A (or Ab) and
G, utilizing a registral transfer, to land on F in the D minor area that opens the next four-
measure unit. Also, the first and third excerpts utilize the opening F as prefix to the E
upper neighbor, thus showing Evanss addition of another ornament to the linear scaffold
of the melody of Beautiful Love.
14 All excerpts shown in this example are from IA: 8-13.

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! Evans also used Paradigm 1 at other comparable places in the form (i.e., the third
of the four four-measure units of the 16-measure A sections), as shown in Example 4.47.
In many of the examples to be considered here, Evans utilized a motion from the G of the
descending line to an inner voice, E, which then falls a 6th to G (thus the G is
conceptually held throughout), which then resolves to F. The inner voice E at times
resolves to D, a sixth above the low F. This is outlined as Paradigm 1b in Example 4.45.
EXAMPLE 4.45: Paradigm 1b
When both the registral transfer up to G (Paradigm 1a) and the descending line from G to
an inner voice E (Paradigm 1b) occur, we will designate this as Paradigm 1a/b, since the
resulting model consists of Paradigm 1 with both a and b variants. This is shown in
Example 4.46 below.
EXAMPLE 4.46: Paradigm 1a/b
! Of course, we could designate any number of distinct sub-types. The sub-types
that have been outlined here have been defined specifically as sub-types because of their
frequency in Evanss playing. Rather than recreating an operation in each performance,
such as a registral transfer or a motion to an inner voice, the repeated use of these specific
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operations in Evanss playing resulted in more specific frameworks that he used as a basis
for his solos.
! The excerpts presented in Example 4.47 showcase Evanss use of these different
Paradigm 1 variants.
EXAMPLE 4.47: Other Examples utilizing Paradigm 1a or Paradigm 1a/b
! In the first excerpt in Example 4.47, a motion from G into E at the beginning of
the penultimate measure ultimately leads down to D, for a complete line of the octave.
Also, the pickup lick into this phrase encapsulates the entire F-E-D-C-Bb-A-G-F line that
defines Paradigm 1, as though foreshadowing the line that will follow in the octave
below.
! The second excerpt begins with the 3-2-1 motion into the tonic scale degree (F-E-
D), which occurs over a 5 pedal with upper neighbor. Eventually, this 5-6-5 line (A-Bb-
A) becomes a part of the descending line when it moves down to G in measure 2 (the
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third measure of the example). Following this motion, the Ab moves to G through the
octave registral transfer, emphasizing on the surface the change of function of the A from
a pedal point to a step within a line. This excerpt then provides an example of Paradigm
1a/b, since it exhibits both the octave transfer up to G as well as the descent from G to an
inner voice E.
! Similar to the first excerpt, the third excerpt opens with a descent in triplets, but
here the line given is not F-E-D-C-Bb-A-G-F but rather Bb-A-G-F-E-D-C#, or
6-5-4-3-2-1-7 in D minor. Ending this line with C#, which then moves to E on the
downbeat of the next measure, allows for an encircling to the opening structural tone, D.
Since this example does not include the descending line from G through inner voice E
down an octave to G, it exhibits Paradigm 1a.
! When compared with the other excerpts in Example 4.47 and Example 4.44, the
fourth excerpt shows the rhythmic variation Evans achieves. Additionally, the excerpt
ends with the double b7-b6-5 complex, with Eb-Db-C moving into C-Bb-A.
! Although Evanss lines frequently make use of the registral transfer to G as
depicted in Paradigm 1a, he also utilizes Paradigm 1 without this registral transfer.
Often, G moves to an inner voice E, which moves further back down to G, as depicted in
Paradigm 1b.
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EXAMPLE 4.48: Excerpts using a linear descent in one register (Paradigm 1 or 1b)
! In the first excerpt presented above, two possible frameworks are given. In the
staff immediately above the excerpt, the passage is shown as a derivation of Paradigm 1b,
with the structural soprano closing on F, while the D resolves the inner voice E, and thus
now appears as the upper voice.
! While this analysis keeps the passage within the confines of Paradigm 1, the staff
above this framework, shown as an ossia staff, presents the framework as a full octave
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descent from D to D. Here, the G over the Em7(b5) chord moves through a passing tone
F to E on the A7 chord, which moves to tonal closure on D. The third and fourth excerpts
in Example 4.48 can also yield such a dual interpretation, though in the third excerpt one
would have to consider the final E as a displacement of D.
! Along with the passages in Example 4.48 that may be interpreted as octave lines,
other passages may also utilize long descending lines. In Example 4.49, unfolded thirds
traverse an octave, with the Ab-G motion reiterated.
EXAMPLE 4.49: Unfolded Thirds Traversing an Octave
! In Example 4.50, a motive outlining the interval of a fifth (or sometimes a sixth or
an octave) is sequenced down by step, then transposed up an octave. However,
throughout this registral shifting, the boundary tones of each span remain linear, but
invert, such that when the bottom voice of one fifth leaps an octave to become the top
note of the next iteration of the motive, the bottom note of that next motive will be the
continuation of what was previously the top line. Thus, the jumping of the hand every
two iterations of the motive actually works on a linear scaffold, but with the two
boundary lines inverting. Thus, while the line of a sixth from D down to F over the
course of the example (shown in the framework above the passage) does not appear as
directly as in some of the examples above, it still provides the structural shape of the
melodic line. In other words, the arpeggios sometimes begin with the tone of linear
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descent (e.g., D and C in the second and third measure of the example) and sometimes
end on the tone of the linear descent (e.g., the B natural and Bb in the third and fourth
measure of the example).
EXAMPLE 4.50: Registrally Transferring a Motive while Maintaining Fixed Lines
! The above examples have shown passages that derive from Paradigm 1. As noted
earlier, Evanss improvised melodies in these excerpts, occurring in the third four-
measure unit of the sixteen-measure A sections, culminate not in the fourth bar of this
unit but move into the first bar of the following unit. Thus, these phrases achieve tonal
closure in the on-tonic opening of the next phrase, rather than being left tonally open in
the dominant area in measures 3 and 4 of this four-measure unit.
! In these sections of the form, Evans also utilized another model to achieve this
tonal closure in measure 13: the 5-4-3-2-1 framework that he utilized in other sections of
Beautiful Love, as well as in Autumn Leaves. While some of these lines, shown in
Example 4.51, utilize a descent from D at the opening, paralleling that of Paradigm 1, the
lines all begin their structural descent from A over the D minor area (measure 2 of the
example), and are thus grouped separately here under a 5-4-3-2-1 paradigm.
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EXAMPLE 4.51: 5-1 Descent over measures 9-12 of the A sections
! This chapter has shown how Evans utilized different melodic frameworks on
specific phrase models within the form of Beautiful Love. The variety of textures
shows how flexible these models can be, in that the melodic content can be new to each
performance while the structural underpinnings remain the same, such as descending or
ascending lines from 5 to 1 to create local tonal closure, or linear extensions of lines
inherent in the tonal plan of the tune. Codifying these simple models offers a fruitful way
to encode aspects of Evanss craft for use by aspiring improvisers.

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Chapter 5: Alice in Wonderland
! Alice in Wonderland provides another opportunity to gain insight into how
Evans soloed over an opening that contains two ii-V-I progressions, each of which is the
relative key of the other, as was the case in both Autumn Leaves and Beautiful Love.
Here, the first ii-V-I progression is in C major, the global key, and the second ii-V-i
progression is in A minor, the relative minor.
! Alice in Wonderland, while maintaining the traditional AABA units of 32-bar
song form, is actually notated in 64 measures. Thus, each section of the AABA form
lasts for 16 measures rather than the more typical 8 measures. In addition, each A section
unfolds as a 4 + 4 + 8 sentence. As we will see, Evans often uses this sentential structure
as a formal unit in his improvised melodies as well. In addition, Alice in Wonderland
also provides an opportunity to study Evanss playing in 3/4.
! The opening melodic gesture of Alice in Wonderland outlines a descending
arpeggio on the C major triad, from G5 to G4, over the first four measures of the tune.
This unfolded triad also occurs at a larger level over the span of the first twelve measures
of the tune. The two staves above the melody in Example 5.1 show these two levels of
structure.
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EXAMPLE 5.1: Structure of the melody of Alice in Wonderland 1
After this deeper-level arpeggio, shown in the upper staff in Example 5.1, the retained G
moves to an upper neighbor A and back before a linear descent to C. While tonal closure
on the C is achieved in the second and third A sections, as shown in Example 5.1, in the
first A section the penultimate D jumps to G over CM7, thus resulting in a tonal motion to
C major that is not completely tonally closed, mimicking an imperfect authentic cadence
rather than articulating a perfect authentic cadence.
! As we will see, Evans used the descending 5-4-3-2-1 motion with upper neighbor
6 frequently in his solos on this tune as well, as we saw also in Autumn Leaves and
Beautiful Love. Thus, it becomes difficult to say at all times whether this
(5)-6-5-4-3-2-1 scaffold exists as a paraphrase of a structure from this specific tune, as
noted in the final measures in the top staff of Example 5.1, or whether Evans used it more
as a cross-repertoire device, such that its use here is merely coincidental. In other words,
we can consider the 5-6-5-4-3-2-1 construct as a structural motive adapted from the tune
(thus tune-specific) or as a formula (occurring across the repertoire).
1 The passage in this example represents the second and third A sections.
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Evanss Alice in Wonderland
! As noted above, Alice in Wonderland begins with a ii-V-I progression in C
major, and continues with a ii-V-I progression in A minor. In both Autumn Leaves and
Beautiful Love, Evans used a local 5-4-3-2-1 line to articulate such tonal areas. In
Alice in Wonderland, he used both this 5-4-3-2-1 line as well as another approach.
Both approaches are guided by the melody of the tune. However, rather than using an
exact paraphrase, Evans took structural tones from the melody and used them as a
starting point for his solo. In this way, one might say that while Evans does not engage in
an actual paraphrase, he does engage in a structural paraphrase.
! As noted above, the tune Alice in Wonderland opens with a G-to-G registral
space, what one might call, relative to C major, a plagal register.2 In both of Evanss
performances of Alice in Wonderland from the famous recording session of June 25,
1961, his last performance with the Scott LaFaro/Paul Motian trio, Evanss improvised
lines at the opening of each of the first two A sections of each chorus bear the same
registral pillars as this space in the melody of the tune.
! For example, Evans initiates the opening of the solo in each performance with a
motion from G4 up to G5, then adds a further motion up to C6, before moving back down
to A4. The motion up to C6 is not in the tune here, although it does foreshadow the
arpeggio in measures 9-12 of each A section, as shown above in Example 5.1.
2 I am indebted to Professor Robert Wason for suggesting the use of this term in this context.
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EXAMPLE 5.2: Opening of Evanss Solos on Alice in Wonderland
The culminating A4 substitutes for the lower G of this G-to-G-space, serving as the third
of the final chord (FM7) rather than the ninth (the would-be G). In addition, the A4
provides an upper neighbor to the would-be G that comes as another structural
paraphrase, where the A functions as the upper neighbor and prefix to the G-F-E-D-C line
that closes each 16-bar A section of the tune as played by Evans, as well as to the G-F-E-
D-C line that Evans uses over the span of the A sections in his solos. Thus, the opening
gesture here initiates a 5-6 motion (G-A) that will serve as the initiation of a longer
5-6-5-4-3-2-1 line in Evanss solos.
! In these two performances, recorded on the same day, Evans used this framework
for the opening of many of the A sections, as can be seen in Example 5.3.
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EXAMPLE 5.3: Opening of A Sections in Evanss Solos on Alice in Wonderland
Here, the ascent from G4 to G5 usually occurs through an arpeggio of the tonic triad (C
major) with added sixth, G-A-C-E-G. In the first excerpt the arpeggio occurs once, while
in the second excerpt it occurs twice, reiterating itself after the first ascent. In the third
excerpt, the arpeggio begins on the structural downbeat of the section, rather than as a
pickup. In the fourth and fifth excerpts, the opening G-to-G arpeggio has been omitted.
In the former example, a lower-third neighbor A approaches the upper C peak tone, while
in the latter, a low A4 displaces the opening G. In the sixth excerpt, the G-to-G ascent is
an octave higher, without the additional ascent to C, while in the seventh excerpt, the
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arpeggio begins on the structural downbeat, as in the third excerpt, but includes a
chromatic passing tone as well as a 3:2 hemiola using quarter-note triplets. The quarter-
note triplets also create a larger-level hemiola, since they divide the 3/4 meter into two-
beat units.
! As can be seen here, Evans often used a G4-to-G5 range over the opening four-
measure segment, with an upper extension to C6, which eventually falls back down to
A4. While the goal of A at the end of the phrase occurs rather consistently in other
phrases as well, as does the opening motion from G to C, the opening gesture from G at
times takes another guise. Instead of a motion through the tonic added-sixth chord,
Evans also used a 5-#4-4-3-2-1 line, a chromaticization of the 5-1 descent that Evans
used in other solos as well as occurs in the melody of Alice in Wonderland at the end of
the A sections.
EXAMPLE 5.4: Alternate Approach for A Sections of Alice in Wonderland
! The first of these two examples, however, omits scale degree 1, arpeggiating
downward from the upper D in the second measure of the example to the lower B over a
CM9 chord, but without sounding the root. Here, one may wish to infer a C on the
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second D (tied over from the second measure into the third measure) by asserting that the
D displaces the goal-tone C as an upper chordal member on the resolving harmony, CM9.
! These two frameworks, shown above in Example 5.3 and Example 5.4, thus
account for all of the A sections in the two performances of Alice in Wonderland except
for two. In the final A section of the first chorus of each solo, after emerging from the B
section, Evans plays octave Gs in the right hand, creating a pedal on scale degree 5.
Scale degree 5 rises through #5 to 6 (A), which then falls back down to G for a final
5-4-3-2-1 descent to the tonic to close the first chorus.
EXAMPLE 5.5: Pedal 5 on opening of A Sections in Alice in Wonderland
Thus, although we can see this as a separate framework from the other two, all three of
these frameworks share G as the structural point of departure. The G can be arpeggiated
through the octave, or the G can begin as an octave doubling, outlining the registral space
used in most of the other A sections. In this way, Evans used a framework that we can
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interpret in retrospect as a structural paraphrase, since this G-to-G space governs the
melody of the opening of the A sections.
! The seven phrases in Example 5.3 above all end on A, the third of the FM7 chord
that occurs at this point in the tune, rather than what would be a ninth (the G). This A
also serves as a connective into the next phrase: the ii-V-i progression in A minor. The
excerpts presented in Example 5.6 show the continuation of the solos of the first chorus,
and thus immediately follow the passages in Example 5.2, which were then reproduced as
the first two excerpts in Example 5.3.
EXAMPLE 5.6: Model for measures 5-8 of A sections of Alice in Wonderland
! This phrase varies throughout the solos, but usually contains a linear motion of a
descending third from G to E, as here, or of an ascending third, from E to G. In addition,
the phrase again begins with an ascending arpeggio, this time of the chord over which it
occurs, Bm7(b5). In this way, Evans used arpeggios as a way to achieve a heightening
affect in each of the first two phrases of his solo, by ascending registrally, setting up a
kind of potential energy, before falling again. While the ability of the E-G third span to
retrograde may seem to contradict the claim that Evanss models derive from the syntax,
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it is not clear that this is the case here. When compared with the uppermost staff of
Example 5.1, Evans is merely articulating both the globally held G (of mm. 1-13) as well
as the E of the overall descending arpeggio that occurs from G5 to G4 over this same
span. Thus, he is articulating notes that occur at different structural levels of the tune at
this point in the form.
! The final 8-measure unit of the A sections, which contains the continuation of the
sentence, is matched by an 8-measure unit in Evanss solos.
EXAMPLE 5.7: Model for measures 9-16 of A sections of Alice in Wonderland
Here, the F to E motion in the lower voice (see the notes that are stemmed downward in
the second staff of Example 5.7) outlines the underlying counterpoint of Dm7-G7-Em7-
A7, while the 5-4-3-2-(#)1 line above occurs as a foreshadowing of the tonal motion in
the melody of the tune that closes each A section, and that indeed Evans outlined in his
solo at this juncture. The C# occurs in the first take as a chromaticization at a lower
structural level to accommodate the A7 chord.
! As we have seen, the opening 16-measure A sections of each of Bill Evanss
performances of Alice in Wonderland on June 25, 1961, his last performance with the
LaFaro/Motian trio, contain a remarkably similar underlying scaffold in the A sections,

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while the surface motives are quite different between the two versions. We have
examined how this underlying structure results from the idea of structural paraphrase of
the tune, with the G-to-G registral space of the first four-measure phrase, the G-to-E
motion that occurs over the first eight-measure span, the G-F-E-D-C lines in the closing
eight measures, and the overall formal structure of the A sections as sentences.
! We have also noted differences between the tune and Evanss improvised lines.
The G-to-G span in the opening four measures was arpeggiated further, up to C6, and
landed on A4 rather than G4. The G-to-E motion of the second four-measure phrase is in
fact a summary of the G-to-E motion across the eight-measure phrase that begins the
melody of the tune; in fact no G appears in the second four-measure phrase at this point
in the tune. Thus, these parallels between the tune are structural rather than note-for-note
exact.
Alice in Wonderland: B Section
! Evans also used the idea of structural paraphrase in the B sections. Here, the
melody can be parsed into two eight-measure phrases. The first contains two ii-V-I
motions in C major, the first of which chromaticizes the opening ii chord. The second
begins by moving through a circle-of-fifths progression, first with a ii-V-i into Em, which
then becomes the ii chord of a ii-V-i motion into Dm. The arrival of D minor, the global
ii chord, commences a ii-V turnaround to prepare for the return of C major at the
beginning of the A section.
! In the framework for his solos, Evans affixes a Bb to the opening A-to-G motion
in the melody of the tune, an upper-neighbor chromatic prefix which substitutes for the
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lower register D of the original melody. In this way, Evans takes a linear motion from the
tune and extends it, creating a guide-tone line of #5-9-5 over the D7-G7-CM7
progression that opens the B section.
EXAMPLE 5.8: B Sections in Alice in Wonderland
! In each performance from the 1961 gig, Evans soloed for two choruses. In the B
section of the second chorus in each performance, he uses the Bb-A-G line, as described
above. In the B section of the first chorus in each performance, he uses a Bb-A(b)-G-F-E
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line, diminuting, chromaticizing (the A-to-Ab change), and extending the Bb-A-G
motion. Of the four total B sections, all of which are shown in Example 5.8, the first and
fourth excerpts make a directed 5-4-3-2-1 motion to close the opening eight-measure
segment of the B section (measures 1-8 in the example).
! The second half of the B section (measures 9-16 in Example 5.8) shows much
more consistency than the first half of the B section, perhaps because of the more directed
harmonic motion: the first half of the B section was entirely in C major, while the second
half constitutes a circle-of-fifths progression with embedded ii-V-I progressions, as
described above. The first ii-V-i motion Evans actually plays as V/V to V of E minor,
which, as noted above, then becomes the ii chord in a ii-V-i motion to Dm, which we then
reinterpret as ii of the global key, moving finally to G7. Thus, the overall motion is a
chromaticized ii-V of iii, becoming ii in ii-V of ii, becoming ii in the global ii-V.
! In the melody, a descending line moves from C down through D. This linear
descent begins with a chromatic fragment, C-B-Bb-A, a b5-8 chain over the roots of the
chords. This A then falls a third to F over the Dm7 area. F, as scale degree 4, moves to
D, scale degree 2, after which a quick arpeggio or scale down to G (as an inner voice)
culminates the phrase and prepares for the G-initiated openings of the A sections, as
noted in the above discussion.
! In the first and third excerpt, a lower third shadows the C-B-Bb-A line, creating a
#9-13 chain underneath the b5-8 chain. This third is shown in parentheses in the
Framework staff of Example 5.8. In the fourth excerpt, an upper third shadows the C-
B-Bb-A line in a gesture which, while utilizing the third-over operation, constitutes a
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13-#9 chain above the b5-8 chain. In this way Evans hints at other lines of voice-leading
while maintaining the C-B-Bb-A line as the primary soprano line.

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Chapter 6: My Romance
! This brief chapter presents a discussion of the beginning of two performances of
My Romance. In doing so, it suggests that the opening gambits of Evanss solos in
both performances share specific structural features with the openings presented in the
previous chapter, in Alice in Wonderland, even though the underlying tonal plans
between these two tunes differ in significant ways. Significantly, Evans played both tunes
in the key of C major. Comparing these opening gambits provides an example of Evanss
use of specific frameworks across different tunes, not just in different performances of the
same tune.
! Evans played My Romance twice at the June 25, 1961, gig at the Village
Vanguard. However, most of the remainder of the recorded performances of the tune
come from his final recorded live performances, at the Keystone Korner in San Francisco
shortly before his death. The two early performances have many similar features, as do
the the later recordings, but the early and late sets have little in common with one another.
While much could be said about the later recordings, this chapter will outline
commonalities in the two early performances in keeping with the focus on Evanss earlier
work maintained in this study.
! My Romance opens with a triadic outlining over 5-3-1, similar to that found in
Alice in Wonderland.
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EXAMPLE 6.1: Basic Melodic and Harmonic Framework of My Romance
Here, though, the form is AA rather than AABA. While scale degree 5 is prolonged
throughout the first A section, in the second A section, rather than scale degree 5 being
retained throughout and serving as the initiation point for a 5-4-3-2-1 descent, 3 is
retained and moves to 1 at the close of the form. However, the motion from scale degree
5 to 3 still occurs over the two harmonic areas of I and vi, and occurs in the same key as
Alice in Wonderland, C major.
! A significant difference exists within these tonic areas, though. In Alice in
Wonderland, the local tonics arrive through directed ii-V-I motions. In My Romance,
on the other hand, the tonic chords occur at the outset. As we will see, though, Evans
treats some of these sections similarly to the way he treats them in Alice in
Wonderland, such that he reacts at times more to the formal placement of a tonal area
rather than a local chord-by-chord motion, whether beginning on I or a ii-V-I motion. In
other words, he treats the opening C major section similarly in both Alice in
Wonderland and My Romance, even though Alice in Wonderland begins with a ii-
V-I motion in C major, while My Romance begins on a C major chord and eventually
cycles back to C major.

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Evanss My Romance
! We noted above that Evans began his solos in Alice in Wonderland by outlining
the G-to-G registral space of the tune, but added an additional fourth at the top, up to C.
Evans also used this outline, from G4 to G5 to C6, then back down through G5 to G4, on
the opening of his solos on My Romance. Even though, as noted above, the character
of the chord progressions differs at this point in both tunes, since in Alice in
Wonderland it is tonic-directed and in My Romance it is bookended by tonics, this
structural model operates at the same place in the form, occurring at the opening of his
solo, and occurs in the same key, since both tunes are in C major. In addition, both tunes
also contain a motion toward A minor in the next phrase.
! This structural model, while mimicking the registral space of the melody in
Alice in Wonderland, transcends use in that tune only and becomes a way to open a
registral space at the beginning of a solo. In the two performances of My Romance
from the Village Vanguard session of June 25, 1961, Evans opens the solo on the first
performance of My Romance with a lead-in that emphasizes this registral space as
well.
EXAMPLE 6.2: Lead-in to solo from My Romance (Take 1) from Waltz for Debby
After leading into the first measure of the form in this way, Evans continues by using this
shape again.
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EXAMPLE 6.3: Evanss Solos at the Opening of My Romance
! As seen in Example 6.3, these two opening phrases make use of the same
structural outline that Evans used at the opening of his solos in Alice in Wonderland,
even though the underlying harmonic plan here differs from that of Alice in
Wonderland. The arch contour of these examples, from scale degree 5 up to scale
degree 5, further up to scale degree 1, and back down to low scale degree 5, serves as a
way to outline a registral space at the opening of ones solo, and is a procedure that Evans
used in different solos and across performances of different tunes.
! Evans also used an arch contour in the continuation to each of these solos, as
shown in Example 6.4.
EXAMPLE 6.4: Structural Similarities at Temporal Distance of One Measure
A realignment of these two excerpts by one measure clarifies that this structural
framework has been delayed in the second excerpt in Example 6.4, such that tonal closure
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on C does not arrive until the beginning of the next four-measure unit. Such a
realignment of Example 6.4 is shown in Example 6.5.
EXAMPLE 6.5: Realignment of Example 6.4

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Chapter 7: I Should Care
! Bill Evans played I Should Care throughout his career. In a standard AA form
(abac), the initial four-measure phrase as played by jazz players would typically move
from a ii-V of C major up a step to a ii-V of D minor, the goal of which initiates the ii-V-I
motion back to C major. Thus, after the tonal planing that occurs from m. 1 to m. 2, with
the ii-V progression sequenced up a whole step, the new ii-V of D minor initiates a circle-
of-fifths progression culminating with a C major chord in m. 4.
EXAMPLE 7.1: Basic Melodic and Harmonic Framework of measures 1-4 of I
Should Care
! Evans reharmonized the opening to extend the goal-oriented circle-of-fifths
motion back from the Em7 chord to the opening measure. Additionally, he utilized
dominant seventh chords, thereby creating a chain of dominants which culminates in the
CM7 chord of m. 4. In this way, we can conceive of Evanss harmonization not of
substituting one chord for another by an internal logic, with the substituted chord sharing
properties of the original chord, but rather by reconceiving the entire harmonic
progression holistically, creating a dominant chain backwards from the final CM7 chord
of the phrase.
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EXAMPLE 7.2: Reharmonization of the opening of I Should Care
! A typical Evans left-hand-voicing structure for these dominant sevenths would be:
EXAMPLE 7.3: Left-hand voicing structures for chain of dominants
Here, a 3rd-7th chain (beginning A#-A natural) and a 7th-3rd chain (beginning E-D#)
combine with a #9(b10)-13th chain (beginning A natural-G#). As we will see, Evans
makes use of this left-hand voicing structure in his right hand improvised line, much as
he did in Autumn Leaves over some of the A7-D7-Gm progressions.
Evanss I Should Care
! Evanss solos often begin with a two-measure break. Three performances
recorded at the Village Vanguard on live gigs from 1966 to 1970 show the consistency of
Evanss lead-in, but also how it changes slowly over time. The 1966 and 1967 takes,
about 11 months apart, are much more similar to one another than to the take from a
performance a few years later, in 1970.
! As shown below in Example 7.4, in the lead-in Evans moves from a low register,
either C4 or E4, up to C6 on m. 1 of the 32-bar form. This occurs through two distinct
arpeggiations, the first moving from C4 to C5, with C5 as the goal tone at the beginning
of the second measure of the lead-in, articulated with an encircling, and with a
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continuation of the arpeggiation from C5 to C6, the goal tone at the beginning (top) of
the 32-bar form.
EXAMPLE 7.4: Lead-in
! In each of the lead-ins from these performances, a lower chromatic neighbor tone
embellishes each tone of the arpeggiation in the first octave. B4, while the lower
chromatic neighbor to C5, is also the seventh of the CM7 chord, and gets its own lower
neighbor in the second and third performances. The B, in conjunction with the D, forms
an accented encircling to C5 in the second bar of the example in the two more temporally
proximate takes, from July of 1966 and May of 1967. The performance from 1970 omits
the opening C4, and instead begins with a chromatic lower neighbor into the E of the
arpeggiation. Since Evans starts later into the arpeggiation, the goal tone of the second
measure, C5, falls squarely on the downbeat, whereas in the earlier two performances the
C5 had been pushed back by an accented encircling. Thus, in the 1970 performance the
encircling is unaccented, since C5 falls squarely on the downbeat of the second measure.
Since this tone arrives earlier, Evans would reach the final C6 goal tone earlier as well,
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but uses an encircling to C6, absent in the first two excerpts, thus creating a structural
parallelism with the previous measure, where there was an encircling of C5.
! Although similarities between the first two performances extend directly to the
surface, such as the identical rhythmic placement of the D#-E-F#-G fragment in the
opening measure and the final four eighth notes of the second measure into the downbeat
of the following, certain differences show that the overall commonality is more structural
than note-for-note exact. For instance, the encircling of C5 in the 1966 take begins on the
upbeat at the end of the first measure and continues through D and B in the next measure.
The 1967 take, on the other hand, begins on B as well, but on the downbeat of the second
measure, approached by its lower chromatic neighbor. Thus, in comparing the 1966 and
the 1967 take, the beginning of the second measure appears to have the encircling
reversed, when really it is just occurring an eighth note later (compare the B-D-B-C
fragments). Additionally, the opening of the gesture is different between the two takes.
In the 1967 performance C4 is approached by its lower chromatic neighbor, while in the
1966 performance it is not. As noted above, in the later performance from 1970 the C is
omitted altogether.
Opening of Form: Paradigm 1
! Another structural similarity shown in Example 7.4 occurs in the first two
measures of the form (i.e., measures 3-4 of the example). Here, in the first two
performances, a descending arpeggio occurs from C6 to C5, moving through A and Eb,
followed by an arpeggiation that leads C5 back up to A5, this time through E natural
rather than Eb. Thus an overall descent of a third occurs from C6 to A5.
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! In the third excerpt, a performance of a few years later, this motion from C to A
occurs not through the pairing of a descending and ascending arpeggio, as noted above in
the first two excerpts, but occurs chromatically, traversing a line of C-B-Bb-A, with an
octave transfer downward on the Bb. Thus, the closing A sounds an octave lower than it
did in the first two excerpts. Considering the opening chain of dominants, F#7-B7-E7-
A7, as noted in Example 7.2, this line traverses a b5-8 chain through the counterpoint, as
shown in Example 7.5 below.
EXAMPLE 7.5: b5-8 chain through circle-of-fifths
CHORD F#7 B7 E7 A7
Note C B Bb A
Chordal Member b5 8 b5 8
Opening of A sections: Paradigm 2
! Alternatively, Evans navigates the off-tonic opening of the A sections with an
octatonic fragment: C-D-Eb-F-F#. Rather than simply using this fragment as a
collection of notes, where one picks what notes to play in any way one chooses, Evans
utilizes this octatonic subset in a remarkably consistent way. In the first four measures of
the first A section (i.e., 1A: 1-4; or mm. 17-20 of each solo) in each of six
performances, the placement of initiation points and peak tones remains consistent across
a 15-year span, from the June 5, 1962, performance released on How My Heart Sings to
the January 15, 1978, performance subsequently released on the Getting Sentimental
collection, an album containing performances from a Village Vanguard gig on this date.
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! The octatonic fragment C-D-Eb-F-F# ascends through an octave-and-a-half span
from C5 to F#6. Evans initiates this motion through what is primarily a stepwise line
from C5 to C6, or in some cases in more abbreviated form through an arpeggio. Then,
Evans uses the C-Eb-F in reaching toward the culminating note, F#. From this peak
point, the line descends, utilizing a 5-4-3-2-1 line back down to C for tonal closure in m.
4. This line occasionally continues a descent into the next four-measure section of the
form, but the continuation functions as a connective, with the C articulating the tonal
closure of this phrase even though the line may continue to descend. In such cases where
the line does continue to descend, a sense of phrase elision occurs on the surface.
! Thus, Evans joins the 1-b5 space (i.e., the C to F# octatonic fragment), which he
utilizes over the circle-of-fifths progression starting on F#7 in C major, and the 5-1
descent, which he uses over the second half of this phrase to articulate the motion into the
C major chord, such that the point of harmonic closure coincides with the point of
melodic closure. In this way, the initial motion from scale degree 1 up to scale degree b5
functions as a prefix to the 5-1 descent that articulates tonal closure, which together
provide the phrase with an arch contour typical of many of Evanss other opening
gambits.1
1 See the chapters on Beautiful Love, Alice in Wonderland, and My Romance.

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EXAMPLE 7.6: I Should Care: 1A: 1-4 (17-20)
! While the six excerpts in Example 7.6 all come from the second A section of
Evanss first chorus, Evans also used this framework at the opening of other A sections.
In such cases, the long ascent beginning on C5 is absent, and the motion to F# may be
thrown higher, either with F# functioning as a lower chromatic neighbor into a G-C
arpeggiated fourth, as in the third excerpt of the four in Example 7.7 below, or with a
third-over, A, as in the fourth excerpt in Example 7.7. Thus, while the framework,
reproduced from Example 7.6 in the second staff of Example 7.7, has been altered by the
omission of the opening registral ascent from C5 to C6, and the possible addition of a set
of tones above the F#, the entity of the octatonic fragment, ascending from C6 to F#6,
still provides a pathway for the opening two measures.
! Additionally, the 5-1 descent from G to C still governs the final two measures,
giving a sense of tonal closure to the opening line. The chromatic passing tone, F#,
connects G to F and heightens the sense of movement into E. Also, a registral ascent in
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the second excerpt, after the G-F#-F natural in the middle of m. 3, provides the initiation
of a summary of the line from G that began at the end of m. 2 (i.e., following the G at the
end of m. 2 through the F and E at the opening of m. 3, and regaining the E in the upper
register on the upbeat of beat 3).
EXAMPLE 7.7: Other examples of 1-b5 openings to A sections
Opening of A Sections: Paradigm 3
! Evans also utilized arpeggios in his right-hand line, thus adapting his left-hand
chordal formations into his improvised lines. While we noted this approach earlier in
Autumn Leaves over some of the A7-D7-Gm progressions, which function as a brief
chain of dominants into G minor, Evans also utilized this approach on the longer chain of
dominants in I Should Care. The voicing Evans would often use in such a chain was
shown in Example 7.3, and is reproduced below as Example 7.8.

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EXAMPLE 7.8: Reproduction of Example 7.3
! However, rather than using these three strands in the right hand as well as the left
hand, as Evans did in Autumn Leaves, here he generally leaves them in the left hand
and adds to them in the right hand, utilizing chordal tones not present in the left hand.
Thus, while the left hand utilizes the typical voicing strands shown in Example 7.8, the
right hand utilizes other chord tones, pairing a b5th-root chain with a root-b5th chain, as
well as a 13th-#9th chain with a #9th-13th chain (the second of which is present in the
left-hand voicing, the first of which is not). These four right-hand lines are shown in
Example 7.9 in the first four rows, while the original three left-hand lines are shown in
the final three rows. One of these rows is counted twice, since the #9th-13th chain shown
in the fourth row occurs in both the right- and left-hand lines.
EXAMPLE 7.9: Chordal members in Evanss left- and right-hand lines
F#7 - B7 First Chord Second Chord
F# - F Root b5th
C-B b5th Root
D# - D 13th #9th (b10th)
A - G# #9th (b10th) 13th
E - D# 7th 3rd
A# - A 3rd 7th
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! In Example 7.9, the notes in the left column are given as an example from the first
two chords of the form, as can be seen in Example 7.8. The second and third columns
show how each of the tones in column 1 functions within its respective chord. The
functions presented in the second and third columns would then be replicated for each
two-chord pairing that follows (i.e., E7-A7, D7-G7).
! Example 7.10 provides the notation for the structure indicated in Example 7.9.
The final measure has been notated as a C7 rather than as a CM7 (as it was in Example
7.8, which reflected the B natural in the melody of the tune) to reflect Evanss harmonic
change here when he solos using this model. In essence, he continues the dominant
seventh sonorities into the goal chord, now the C7 rather than CM7.
EXAMPLE 7.10: Right-hand lines and typical left-hand voicings for mm. 1-4 of I
Should Care
! As shown in Example 7.10, the strands of voice-leading in the right hand coalesce
into a diminished seventh chord, superimposed over the voicing in the left hand. These
upper structure chords allow a way to conceive of additional chordal extensions from the
octatonic collection that jazz players would typically play over a dominant seventh
chord.2 In Example 7.10, the four notes in each right-hand voicing are parsed into two
2Upper structure chords were discussed in Chapter 2, surrounding the discussion of this model in Ex. 2.29.
For an overview of upper structure chords, see Mark Levine. The Jazz Piano Book. Petaluma, CA: Sher
Music Co., 1989. Chapter 14: 109-124.
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tritone pairs. They are shown in this way because Evans typically strikes one of these
tritone pairs first, then arpeggiates down through the diminished seventh chord, as shown
in the excerpts in Example 7.11.
EXAMPLE 7.11: Diminished Seventh Chords over Dominants
! Here, in the first and fourth excerpts, Evans begins on the first tritone pairing
shown in the right hand in Example 7.10, F#/C. In the second excerpt, Evans utilizes the
second tritone of the model, A/Eb, though not initiating this pattern from the beginning.
Rather, the pattern emerges in m. 2, with the G/C# tritone.

207
! This chapter has shown how Evans uses a polychordal arrangement in certain
chromatic circle-of-fifths progressions, where a diminished seventh chord in the right-
hand solo line fills out notes of the octatonic collection that jazz players would typically
utilize to solo on the given dominant seventh chord. In this way, the sonority can be
construed as a polychord, but in reality the upper structure is merely a way to conceive of
chordal extensions, as shown above in Example 7.9.
! Evan utilized diminished seventh chords over an underlying dominant seventh
chord in multiple contexts. While this chapter has shown Evanss use of these
superimposed structures in a circle-of-fifths progression, the following chapter outlines
his use of this device over a dominant pedal.

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Chapter 8: Sweet and Lovely
! While the analytical approach taken in the present work has centered on finding
common patterns between different performances of the same tune, it has also noted
commonalities between comparable sections within the same performance. Thus, while
we can compare the A section of one performance to the A section of another
performance, we can also compare the A section of one performance with another A
section from that same performance. In this way, we can make comparisons not only
among performances of tunes that Evans recorded multiple times, but also in tunes that
he recorded only once. While we would be more limited in such cases, due to having less
musical data (i.e., fewer choruses) from which to draw conclusions, we may still find
sections which share salient structural features.
! Such is the case with Sweet and Lovely. While Evans only recorded one
performance of this tune, connections can be found between like sections, thus showing
that Evans had a planned approach to certain sections of his solo. After first considering
the harmonic structure of the A sections of Sweet and Lovely, we will examine
commonalities between the A sections in Evanss third chorus, where the first four
measures of each A section are treated as a break. For this featured portion of his solo, in
the A sections of the third chorus, Evans seems to have had a more specifically worked-
out plan than in some of the other areas of his solo.
! Adding to the fact that he had these featured moments in the third chorus, Evans
also had to deal with the fact that Sweet and Lovely differs harmonically from most
other standards. Typically, a standard that begins with a chord other than tonic does so in
one of two ways: 1) with a ii-V progression in the home key, or 2) with one key area that
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progresses to its relative key by the end of the tune, as in My Funny Valentine or
Youd Be So Nice to Come Home To. Additionally, as we have seen, Evans
reharmonized some standards to begin with a chain of dominants, as in I Should Care.
! Sweet and Lovely, however, makes no direct use of any of these approaches.1
Sweet and Lovely begins with two ii-V progressions, but the ii-V progressions do not
point toward the ultimate tonic, C, but rather toward the subdominant, F.2 Thus, while
the Gm7-C7 progression with which Sweet and Lovely begins does lead to F in
measure 5, F then functions as a dominant of Bb before finally moving to the tonic, C
major. Thus, the opening Gm7-C7 progressions, while projecting a tonic of F major,
actually lead through F to C, thus establishing the wrong tonality in the opening four
measures (i.e., F major), a tonic that eventually gives way to the true, global tonic, C
major, in measure 7. The basic harmonic progression of the A sections is diagrammed in
Example 8.1.
1 We will see, however, that, on a large scale, the A sections of Sweet and Lovely can be conceived as a
chain of dominants to a point. However, this chain of dominants consists of chords which are not of equal
duration, and thus the typical circle-of-fifths patterns that a jazz player may practice over a standard chain
of dominants would not be easily applied here.
2 Robert Wason has suggested that such tonal plans, with C7 functioning over the first four measures, then
yielding to the subdominant chord with minor seventh in measure 5, allude to the tonal plan of the 12-bar
blues, albeit in condensed form, since the A sections in Sweet and Lovely are only eight measures. Thus,
in Wasons view, the tune does in fact start on tonic, but on a blues tonic: a dominant seventh sonority.
Personal Communication, September 10, 2009. Such an allusion for the general tune framework is strong
here. However, in his solo section, Evans often arpeggiates through F chords, or lands on F or A as a goal
tone or a peak tone, such that the first four measures of the A sections truly seem to be operating in F, with
C7 as dominant rather than tonic. Thus, while a player could treat the opening C7 area of this tune as a
blues tonic or as a dominant of the upcoming subdominant (and, of course, part of the rhetoric of a blues is
that the opening chord is both of these functions simultaneously, or moves more into the V7/IV function in
the latter portion of the opening four measures), Evans seems to treat the chord as a dominant seventh
chord of F, in F.
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EXAMPLE 8.1: Tonal Diagram of the A Sections of Sweet and Lovely!
Meas. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Chord Gm7 C7 Gm7 C7 F7 Bb7 - Eb7 CM7 - G7 CM7
RN ii V ii V (I) - V bVII - bIII I-V I
Implied F F F F (F) - Bb moving to C C C

Key
Evanss Sweet and Lovely
! As noted in earlier analyses, any ii-V progression can be considered as an
expansion of a V chord. Thus, the Gm7-C7 progressions at the opening of Sweet and
Lovely can be considered as a large, four-measure C7 area, which then moves to F7 in
measure 5. Perhaps the most prominent similarity between like sections in Evanss
improvisation on Sweet and Lovely occurs in the third chorus during these A sections.
Here, the first four measures of each A section occur as a break, with the drums and bass
stopping play until the 5th measure of the A sections, at the point when the F chord
occurs. Thus, the resumption of the time by the bass and drums coincides with the
point of local tonal resolution, even though, as noted earlier, the F major chord functions
only temporarily as a tonic.3
! In the beginning of the A sections, during the C7 area, Evans utilized a long-term
ascending diminished seventh chord arpeggio in the upper register, traversing an octave
3 In fact, since the F chord is a dominant seventh chord, the F chord loses its sense of tonicness as soon as
it sounds. The opening four measures, a Gm7-C7-Gm7-C7 progression, point to F as tonic, but the arrival
of the F tonic chord, sounding as a dominant seventh, immediately gives this chord the function of a
dominant, pointing toward the Bb chord which comes next, at which point the pattern continues, as the Bb
chord is a dominant seventh of Eb7. Ultimately, then, the opening of the A sections does consist of a chain
of dominants, but one in which the first dominant, C7, is expanded into ii-V progressions, and lasts for four
measures, rather than the more typical chain of dominants progression in standards, whereby each
dominant area has the same duration as each other dominant area.
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or more over the opening four-measure span. Meanwhile, he played an ascending
chromatic scale in the lower register. These two registrally distinct structures are
represented in Example 8.2.
EXAMPLE 8.2: Structure used in A sections in the third chorus: mm. 1-4
! The placement of the notes of the upper-register arpeggio, with respect to the
lower-register ascending chromatic scale, results mainly in intervals of a major 7th
between registers in the first octave of the scale (E to Eb, G to F#, and Bb to A), and
major 7ths or minor 6ths in the second half, beginning at the leap to C6.4 As shown in
Example 8.2, once the major 7ths begin at the E4-to-Eb5 leap, both the lower and upper
lines proceed in minor third spans. The intervallic contraction from major 7ths to minor
6ths at the leap from E5 to C6 occurs when the motion of minor thirds in the lower line is
extended to a tritone, from Bb4 to E5, rather than Bb4 to C5 or C#5.
! As indicated by slurs in Example 8.2, the chromatic line, broken into segments
according to where the leaps to the upper arpeggio occur, outlines a C7 chord. Thus, the
break in the minor third span necessarily occurs where no minor 3rd interval occurs in the
C7 chord, from Bb to C or from C to E. In fact, both registral units of the structure
presented in Example 8.2 can be construed as an elaboration of a C7 structure: 1) in the
lower register, the chromatic line outlines a C7 chord when divided into units based on
4 Example 8.2 above shows minor 6ths in the second octave, but Evans sometimes uses the structure of the
first octave, with major 7ths, in the second octave as well.
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where leaps occur to the upper register, and 2) in the upper register, the arpeggiated C
diminished seventh chord consists of notes of ornamentation, each of which occurs a
half-step below the chordal 3rd, 5th, and 7th of the C7 chord, but transferred up an
octave, as shown in Example 8.3. Thus, two chords result: a C7 in the lower register,
paired with its common-tone diminished seventh chord in the upper register.
EXAMPLE 8.3: Interpretation 1 of Evanss Structure
! Example 8.4 shows the three A sections of the third chorus. Not all excerpts have
a full chromatic scale, but all leaps in the first octave following the opening C-to-C leap
follow the major 7th intervallic pattern outlined above: E/Eb, G/F#, Bb/A. In the second
octave, this pattern of major 7th leaps may continue, as in the first excerpt, or it may
contract to minor 6ths, as noted above and as shown in the second excerpt, or a single
ascending chromatic line may occur, as in the third excerpt.

213
EXAMPLE 8.4: Excerpts utilizing the Dom7/Dim7 Chordal Pairing Paradigm in
Evanss Third Chorus, mm. 1 into 5
! Not all of the excerpts in Example 8.4 have exactly the same sequence of notes.
The arpeggio of the diminished seventh chord in the upper register may continue to F#, as
in the first excerpt, or to Eb, as in the second excerpt. The third excerpt delays the
culminating C6 of the first octave of the diminished seventh chord arpeggio, such that C6
occurs only in measure 5 after a long ascending chromatic line in measures 3-4.
! In addition, slight differences exist with regard to the leaps from the tones of the
chromatic scale in the lower register, outlining the C7 chord. While all three excerpts
utilize leaps from C to C, E to Eb, G to F#, and Bb to A, some excerpts also have a leap
from D up to C after the initial C-to-C octave leap. In the first excerpt, however, the leap
from C to C is followed by a leap from C# up to C, rather than from D up to C, as occurs
in many of the other passages, and as was indicated in Example 8.2. This C#-to-C leap
then occurs again in the next octave later in this passage. If we consider the C#-to-C leap
as indicating structural tones, thus taking the C# as a structural tone in the lower register,
we could consider that the C diminished seventh chord arpeggio of the upper register
pairs with a C# diminished seventh chord in the lower register. This interpretation alters
214
that presented in Example 8.3 by raising the root of the lower C7 chord to C#, thus
creating a C# diminished seventh chord. This alternate interpretation, shown below in
Example 8.5, pairs two diminished seventh chords that together form the appropriate
octatonic collection to use over a C7 chord.
EXAMPLE 8.5: Interpretation 2 of Evanss Structure
! Here, the tones of the upper seventh chord still derive from the lower seventh
chord, being displaced lower chromatic neighbors. Since this interpretation derives from
the symmetrical, diminished seventh chord, it has the benefit of intervallic consistency
between each chordal member pairing, occurring as leaps in Evanss solo: C#/C, E/Eb,
G/F#, Bb/A. The overall collection formed by the superimposition of the resulting two
diminished seventh chords is the octatonic scale that would typically be utilized by jazz
players on the underlying C7 harmony. As conceived here, this scale results from
affixing lower chromatic neighbors to the b9th, 3rd, 5th, and 7th of a dominant chord, as
shown in Example 8.5-a.
! Combining the above interpretations, we could explain the passages in Example
8.4 by noting that they begin with a leap from C to C to set up scale degree 5 in the local
F area, but then move into the paired diminished seventh chords to yield the symmetrical
215
structure outlined in Example 8.5 and described above. This combination of the two
interpretations outlined here is shown below in Example 8.6.
EXAMPLE 8.6: Interpretation 3: Combination of Interpretation 1 and
Interpretation 2
! This interpretation, combining that of Interpretation 1 (the C7 chord with C dim. 7
chord above) and Interpretation 2 (the C# dim. 7 chord with the C dim. 7 above), allows
both of these other interpretations because Interpretation 2, where the two diminished
seventh chords comprise the octatonic scale, grows out of the construct defining the first,
the arpeggiated C7 chord. Thus, Interpretation 3 begins with scale degree 5 in F major,
then outlines the remaining C7 chord tones. The added C#, from Interpretation 2, fits
within the C7 construct as b9 of the chord, or as a tone filling in the appropriate octatonic
scale on C7. Thus, as indicated in Example 8.6, we can view the pairing of the C# dim. 7
chord and the C dim. 7 chord as a subset with the overall C7 chord arpeggio.
216
Tonal Resolution to C Major
! After the C7 area, where C, as scale degree 5 in F major, is embellished by a C7
arpeggiation, with or without the C# (which defined the difference between Interpretation
1 and Interpretation 2 above), C descends through an F triad over the F area. This may
occur through an arpeggio or through a descending stepwise motion, as indicated in
Example 8.7.
EXAMPLE 8.7: Structure used in A sections in the third chorus, mm. 5-8
! From the goal tone, F, of this area, the final motion into C major occurs through a
5-4-3 line, harmonized with lower thirds, 3-2-1. In the second and third of the three
passages shown below in Example 8.8, a G-F-E descent, shown also in the final measure
in Example 8.7, acts as a summary descent of the 5-4-3 descent in the upper register that
begins in the penultimate measure.
EXAMPLE 8.8: Third chorus, A sections: mm. 5-8

217
Conclusion
! Above we noted how the opening four measures of the A sections of Evanss third
chorus in Sweet and Lovely make use of an embellished C, via a C7 chord and the
embellishment of this C7 chord. The culminating C of this opening four-measure unit
then serves to initiate the melodic motion of the next section, with a 5-1 descent in F.
The ultimate tonal resolution to C major occurs with a 5-4-3 line in the melody,
harmonized with lower thirds, with a 5-4-3 summary in the lower register in the final
measure in the second and third excerpt. This structural plan is summarized in Example
8.9.
EXAMPLE 8.9: Plan for the A sections of the third chorus
! The excerpts, in their entirety, are shown in Example 8.10.

218
EXAMPLE 8.10: Third chorus, A sections

219
Conclusion
! This study has suggested that Bill Evanss performances support the idea of
positing melodic frameworks in his solos. Yet while these analyses complement claims
that Evans himself made about structure, we may never know to what degree Evans had
any of these models in mind, whether consciously or subconsciously, or whether they
merely emerge as the byproduct of some other process or processes. While Evans spoke
often about focusing on abstract musical architecture and musical structure, his
comments do not explain all of the decisions that he made during performance and
practice and why he made them. Thus, this work has focused on finding the residue of
these decisions and processes, whether conscious or subconscious, in Evanss recorded
performances, and encoding them in models that may be fruitful for aspiring improvisers.
! In so doing, the models proposed here encapsulate certain types of knowledge
about how to construct tonal phrases and elaborate them in a jazz style. Rather than
jettisoning the local licks of the jazz tradition, players can use them to elaborate the
frameworks shown here. In this way, one does not have to disregard surface-level
structures when conceiving of a larger framework, but instead can incorporate surface-
level features into a schema that includes other levels of musical organization as well. In
this way, by codifying frameworks that can be elaborated in performance, a platform is
created by which a player can utilize the traditional aspects of jazz pedagogy within a
specific frame, providing both a way to navigate the voice-leading strands of a musical
phrase as well as a way to achieve a jazz-inflected realization.
! In addition, since jazz pedagogy offers ways of thinking about soloing at different
levels of organization, choosing one level of organization does not have to preclude
220
thinking about others. Thinking about constructing a line based on a melodic framework
does not free the player from the requirement of having to play a convincing phrase with
appropriate jazz inflection. Rather, it merely provides an overarching tonal frame for
doing so.
! Thus, when considering the many techniques of creating solos offered by jazz
pedagogy, one should also consider the goals of the theoretical apparatus. Because of the
focus on generating or arranging musical content during performance, the goals of
codification may be different than those of traditional music theory, which does not often
seek to generate musical pieces; or, if it does, allows time for revision of the generation
and arrangement of parts.
! By having output goals of statements about music as well as musical statements
themselves, one can test the accuracy of a theory both in its logical validity as well as in
its musical effectiveness. Ultimately, these two goals can work in tandem. Since the
creation of a work in the moment involves coherent recall of learned structures and their
interconnection, striving for fluency in improvisational performance can help lead toward
comprehensive understanding.
! Improvisers have always been theorists to some degree, internalizing explicit
knowledge for more implicit recall in the moment of performance. Since improvised
performance can help to locate and fill in gaps in constructed knowledge, whether
implicitly or explicitly, a reciprocal arrangement could be just as beneficial.

221
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226
Copyright Permissions
Alice In Wonderland
from Walt Disney's ALICE IN WONDERLAND
Words by Bob Hilliard
Music by Sammy Fain
1951 Walt Disney Music Company
Copyright Renewed
This arrangement 2010 Walt Disney Music Company
All Rights Reserved Used by Permission
Reprinted by permission of Hal Leonard Corporation
Autumn Leaves
English lyric by Johnny Mercer
French lyric by Jacques Prevert
Music by Joseph Kosma
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! ENOCH ET CIE
All Rights Reserved
Beautiful Love
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! and HAVEN GILLESPIE MUSIC (c/o LARRY SPIER MUSIC, LLC)
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How About You?

Music by BURTON LANE Words by RALPH FREED
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! ALFRED MUSIC PUBLISHING CO., INC.
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227
I Love You
from MEXICAN HAYRIDE
Words and Music by Cole Porter
Copyright 1943 by Chappell & Co.
Copyright Renewed, Assigned to Robert H. Montgomery, Trustee of the Cole Porter
! Musical and Literary Property Trusts
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International Copyright Secured All Rights Reserved
I Should Care
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! Stordahl Music Publishing Co.
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My Romance
Words by Lorenz Hart
Music by Richard Rodgers
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228
Sweet And Lovely

Words and Music by Gus Arnheim, Charles N. Daniels and Harry Tobias
Copyright 1931 United Artists Music
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! assigned and effective
July 28, 1987 to Range Road Music Inc. and Quartet Music
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! to Chappell & Co. and Harry Tobias Music
This arrangement Copyright 2010 Range Road Music Inc., Quartet Music, Chappell &
! Co. and Harry Tobias Music
Used by Permission
Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me)

From the Musical Production The Roar of the Greasepaint - The Smell of the Crowd
Words and Music by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley
Copyright 1964 (Renewed) Concord Music, Ltd., London, England
TRO - Musical Comedy Productions, Inc., New York, New York, controls all publication
! rights for the U.S.A. and Canada
Used by Permission
Bill Evans and the Craft of Improvisation
Volume II
by
Austin Andrew Gross
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
of the
Requirements for the Degree
Doctor of Philosophy
Supervised by
Professor Robert Wason

and
Professor Matthew Brown
Department of Music Theory

Eastman School of Music
University of Rochester
Rochester, New York
2011
ii
Copyright 2011 Austin Andrew Gross

iii
Note on the Transcriptions
! The transcriptions that follow include the solos on which the analytical portion of
the work in Volume I, Part II is based. The transcriptions are grouped by tune, and are
arranged in chronological order of performance. As the focus of this work is on Bill
Evanss melodic techniques, the transcribed solos include only the melodic line,
accompanied by chord symbols that are intended to provide a point of reference to the
tonal plan that served as the model for Evanss performance. The chord changes do not
include the nuances of Evanss left-hand harmonic shadings. For instance, where G7 is
indicated, Evans could very well be playing a G13 voicing in his left hand. In this way,
the chord symbols are intended to provide a conceptual reference point rather than detail
every sounding note. Articulations and slurs have generally been left out except in
instances where Evans articulates a pattern that contradicts the underlying meter or the
grouping structure that would otherwise seem normative.

iv
List of Transcribed Performances

List of Performances
Page! Date (yr/mo/day) ! Album!! ! ! ! ! ! CD Track

! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! (Disc)
Alice in Wonderland
1! 61/6/25, Take 1! Sunday at the Village Vanguard! ! ! 6
5! 61/6/25, Take 2! Sunday at the Village Vanguard! ! ! 5
9! 66/11/12! ! Secret Sessions [Live at the Village Vanguard]! 2 (3)
Autumn Leaves
11! 59/12/28, Take 1! Portrait in Jazz!! ! ! ! ! 2
17! 59/12/28, Take 2! Portrait in Jazz!! ! ! ! ! 3
21! 60/3/12! ! The 1960 Birdland Sessions! ! ! ! 1
34! 66/3/unlisted! ! Secret Sessions [Live at the Village Vanguard]! 8 (1)
37! 80/9/8! ! ! The Last Waltz [Live at Keystone Korner]! ! 5 (8)
Beautiful Love
44! 61/2/2, Take 1!! Explorations! ! ! ! ! ! 4
49! 61/2/2, Take 2!! Explorations! ! ! ! ! ! 3
53! 66/2/21! ! Bill Evans at Town Hall! ! ! ! 6
57! 68/2/4! ! ! Secret Sessions [Live at the Village Vanguard]! 1 (6)
62! 79/11/26! ! Paris Concert, Edition 1! ! ! ! 8
I Should Care
67! 62/6/5! ! ! How My Heart Sings! ! ! ! ! 2
70! 66/2/21! ! Bill Evans at Town Hall! ! ! ! 1
74! 66/7/3! ! ! Secret Sessions [Live at the Village Vanguard]! 9 (1)
85! 78/1/15! ! Getting Sentimental! ! ! ! ! 1
My Romance
89! 61/6/25, Take 1! Waltz for Debby [Live at the Village Vanguard]! 6
93! 61/6/25, Take 2! Waltz for Debby [Live at the Village Vanguard]! 7
Sweet and Lovely

98! 61/2/2! ! ! Explorations! ! ! ! ! ! 9
1
Alice in Wonderland
Sunday at the Village Vanguard - Take 1
% % % ! %' CM7
Transcribed by Austin Gross June 25, 1961 Solo by Bill Evans
&!
Dm7 G7 %! % FM7
! $ % % % 3
%%% % % &
#" % % %
3
% %
' % &!
) % % %
5 Bm7(b5) E7 Am7 E7 Dm7
% % % %! % %
# ( % %' ' %*% +% % %
10 G7 Em7 A7
% ,% % %
% % %! % ,% % % *% ,% %,% % % % %
3
13 Dm7
% % %
G7 , % % , % CM7
,% % ,% ,%
A7
# % *% +% % % & -
Dm7
% %
G7
% % % %
CM7
%%%
FM7 Bm7(b5)
17
%*%+% % ' ' ) %*%
# ' ' %% %%& ( % %*% %
22 E7
+% % % % % % % %
Am7 E7
% % % % *%
Dm7
# % % % % % ,% *% % %
3
26 G7 Em7
% % % ,%
A7
, %
# +% *% % +% % % % ( ) % % ,% % % % ,% % ,%
3 3
% 3
3 3
29
% %%%
Dm7 G7 CM7
% % ,% % %
( ) %%% % %
3
# (' % % % % % % ,% % . $ $
% %
V.S.
2
# " #" " #"

D7(#5) G7 CM7 A7
33
" " " " " " "$" " "
! " #" "$" %"$" " " " #" "
37 Dm7 G7 CM7
" "" " " " 3 3
" " " " $" " $" " " "
3
"
3
! " "" # " "
40
" $" " " " F#7
$" " " " "!
B7
$" $" %"
! $" & ' "( "
3 3
" # " " " "$" " " " " " " " $" " " " # "
Em7 A7 Dm7 A7
$"
43
) "
! ' " #" " '(
3 3
47
" " " " "#" G7 )
Dm7 Dm7
"! )
G7
"! )
CM7
"! )
! ' ( " ""
"$" #" " " " " " " "
" " Bm7(b5) " " E7 %" " Am7 " E7 " " "! " "
! "! " "!
"
52 FM7 Dm7
( ( ' ( " * " " " (

$"
58
"
G7
" " " #
Em7
" " "
A7
" " $" %" ""$" " " %" "
Dm7
" " " " " $" ( " (

! "
62 G7 CM7
" #" " " " " " "
! " $" " #" " " " " ' (
65 ""
Dm7 G7
"" " " " "!
CM7
"""
FM7 Bm7(b5)
! * '( ' " ""* ' "($" " " "

3
" " #" " " " " "

70 E7 Am7 E7
"! " " % " #" " " "
3
! $
3
73 Dm7 G7 Em7
"
&!
! " %
3
" " " "
" &
( #" " " " " "! " % ' " " " " " )" "#"#"
76 A7 Dm7 G7 CM7 A7
'
! " $ $ " " " " " ")"#"
Dm7
"" " "
G7
" " " "
CM7
""" (
FM7 Bm7(b5)
")" " " " " "
81
! "! $ ' $ " ' " " % %

3
E7
" " " " " "
Am7 E7 Dm7
86
)") " " ) " ) " # " " " " ")" *"
" " " " """
! " "
G7 Em7
" " # " #"
A7
" #" " #"
90
" " )" " #"*"#"#" """"
3
! " " " "
" # " # " " )" *" )" "

93 Dm7 G7 CM7
)" "
! " " % % ' $ "" " " % %
3
#" " " #" "

straight
)" " "

' $ " " % ' )"$ " %
97 D7(#5) G7 CM7 A7
"
! ' $ % ' $ #"
3 3 3
( " " " " " # " " ")""( " "
101 Dm7 G7 CM7
! ' " )" " % +

3
4
" ! # " " " " " #"

105 F#7 & " #Em7 "
B7
" " A7
! $ % ' " &" " #" " $ $

3
109 Dm7
" " " & " #" "
A7
(" "
Dm7
#" ("
G7
! " " "' #" ' " " " &" " " )
3
113 Dm7
" "
G7 CM7 FM7
* 3
" " " " % " &" " $
! % " " #""*" " "#" " % ""
'
3
" "& " " " " " " "! "
117 Bm7(b5) E7 Am7 E7
" " " "
3 3
! % ' #" % &" " " " " " "

' " '
3
121 Dm7 3
+ 3 Em7
+ 3G7 3A7 3 3
! """"""""" """"""""" """"""""" """""""""

+
3 3 3 3 3 3
"#"(" "#"#" "

125 Dm7 G7 CM7
% " " " #" " " "

" && "
" " #"
"
! ' " #"&" " " " " "
3
5
Alice in Wonderland
Sunday at the Village Vanguard - Take 2
G7 % %
& % % %
Dm7
% % % % % % %
CM7 FM7
% % % % % '!
# "! $ % % % %%%
& %
5 Bm7(b5)
% %
E7
% % Am7 E7
% % % % % %(% % '!
Dm7
# $ %%% ) %*%+% % %
3
%
10 G7 Em7
% % % % % (% A7
# % *% +% ' % % %
%% % % % %
3
3 3
13
% *% +%
Dm7
%"*%
G7 CM7 A7
# % % % % %
% % % % % ' ,
17
Dm7
% % % %
G7
%
% - %%%
CM7 FM7
3
% % $ % % %(% % %+% % % % %! '
# %%
#*$ % %#+$% % % % %
21 Bm7(b5)
% % % %
E7
% %%
Am7
. % *% % % % % % % (% %
5
# % % %
% ( % Dm7 % % % % G7
$ )! -
24 E7
% *% %
# %(% %*%*% % *% %+% % %(% %
*%+% % % .
( % % *% % %
# ) ! *%& % *% % % (% % *%
%
Em7 A7 Dm7
27
3
*% % *% % % *% % +%
3 3 3 3 V.S.
3 3
6
30 G7 CM7
! " #" " " " " " " " " " " $
" " "
# " " # " G7"! " " CM7 " """"
& " "! "& " ' !
"
33 D7(#5) A7 Dm7
! % "& ("
38
"" " " " "" " "
G7 CM7
" " ! # " " ")"* "
" # " F#7
" ' % """ " "
!
3 3 3
"! # " # " " " "*#A7" "

$!
" )")" *"
42 B7 Em7
& % & " & " ")'

!
" " " ) " "*# " " "
3 3
Dm7 A7 Dm7 G7
45
" " " ")" "
+ " )" " ) "$+ " * " " "
! $ $
[early]
" " " " " " " " CM7
[late] Dm7 " " " " " FM7
G7
" " " " " Bm7(b5)
" " " "
49
" " " " " " " " """"" """"" " " " "
!
4:3 4:3 5:3 5:3 4:3
" ) " " " " " " " Am7
E7
" " E7
" )" " " " " )" ")" " " # " " ) " "
54
!
3 3 3
" #" " " " " " " "

$! &
"# "
Dm7 G7 Em7 A7
57
"! " "
! " #" " " "" $
)"$ )"$
+ +
" )" "*#"

61 Dm7 G7 CM7
" )" " " " " " #" " % $
! % ")"*" " ,
3
&
3
7
" " " " "

"#" $" " " " "# "! "
Dm7 G7 CM7 FM7
"""
" "#" " "$#" " &
65 %
!
3
69 Bm7(b5)
" " " #" " ) "
E7
$ " " ) " " ) " " "
Am7
" )" " " " " " "
"
! ' ( #"
3 3 3 3
72
" " " " " " " Dm7" " " " " " " )G7" ")")" "#" "$#Em7
E7
"#" " "
! '( '( ""
3 3
"" "
A7 Dm7 G7 CM7 A7
76
" " " " " " " " " "
4:3
! " " " * ' "#"$" " " ' ('*

3
+' ( ' * *
3
$
81 " &
Dm7 G7 !
" #" " " $ " " " ) " CM7
"#"!% " "$
FM7 Bm7(b5)
! ' ( " &$ ' #"( " " "

4:3
( 3
E7
" " " "
Am7
E7
" ) " " " $ "
Dm7
"
G7
"$"$#" " " " " " " " "" " " " " "
86
! *
3 3 3 3
91
" "
Em7 A7 Dm7
"
! ' ( " )" " #"!
% " $" " * " #" $" " " " #"
94 G7 CM7
" )" "
! "$#" " " " " " " " '
( ,
8
#" " " " " " "' "! " "
97 D7(#5) G7 CM7 A7 Dm7 (
! " $ "% " #" & " " " " & $% & $%&
3
" #" * " "!' " " " "

G7 CM7 F#7 B7
#" " "
" " " #" "
102
$ # " ) $%
! %
4:3
# " # " " '" , " #" "

Em7 A7 Dm7
"
107
! +" #" +" #" #" $ " " " "

3
%
" " " " " '" "+#" " " " " " "3
110 A7 Dm7 G7
! " " " " &
113 Dm7
" "
G7
" " " " CM7
"
FM7 Bm7(b5)
" " " " #" " "
! "'" " " " '" "
3
" """ &
3 3 3
" " $ " " " " " "$ " " " # " """
118 E7 Am7 E7 Dm7
(
$ " #" '" &
! % % "
3 3
" " " " Em7

" ""
" " " #" " " " " '" " " "
122 G7 A7
" "
! &
3
" " " " " " G7 "% " " ' "!( " + " CM7
125 Dm7
"""""" "
! " $ % $ " # " " # " "
3
9
Alice in Wonderland
Village Vanguard
Transcribed by Austin Gross November 12, 1966 Solo by Bill Evans
! ' & & (!

Dm7
(
G7
&& &
CM7 FM7
& &Bm7(b5)
(!
#" $ % & &( & % &)
&! & & & Am7 & &&&& &

(!
&! '
6 E7 E7 Dm7 G7
% &' & & & % )

# ) &&
11
&!
Em7
& & & *& +&
A7 Dm7
# ) ( & & & & &
G7 CM7
& +& & &
A7
& & & & & &
14
& & & & +& & *&
#
Dm7
& & + & + & & & CM7
G7
& & *& & & & +& & +& &
17
& *& ,& & &)
# %
3 3
& &&
FM7
Bm7(b5) E7 Am7
& &*& & & % $ & & & & & *& & & & &! '
20
# ) % ) &&
3
E7
&
Dm7
& & *& &
G7 Em7
& + & & * & *& &
A7 "'
' &&
24
# & % & *& - %*&) & *& $ $

4:3 4:3
& & & & *& & & & & & &&
29 Dm7 G7 CM7
%
# & & & & & & *& &
) .
10
" " " " " # " " " "$"

D7(#5) G7 CM7 A7
33
" " " " "
! " #"#"$" " " " " " "% & ' & % "
3
37
" " $"
Dm7
("
G7
" " " " " #" "
CM7
! " " """ " " " " " ' '
"!
F#7 B7
# " #" " " "
Em7 A7
41
" #" " " & ) #" $" " " " $"
! " #" $" " $" (" "
$"Dm7
% A7 Dm7 G7
" $" (" "#" " #"
) "# '
45
! #" " #" " " " $" (" "

3
" " " "
"# " " * " $ " * " " *# " " "# "# " #
Dm7 G7 CM7 FM7 Bm7(b5) E7
49
! & &%%
# ,"+ $" # " #

! " #" # "# " #
55 Am7 E7 Dm7 G7 Em7 A7
* #" "
3
",+ ",+ " ""*
"
! "#
61 Dm7 G7 CM7
"# "# "# " * "

" " ' '
11
Autumn Leaves
Portrait in Jazz - Take 1
Transcribed by Austin Gross December 28, 1959 Solo by Bill Evans
#
" # !! $ % ' & & !#"& & & &
& & & &
(& & &
Cm7 F7 BM7
#
"# & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & &
&&& & &

4 EM7 Am7(b5) D7
## & '% % ' % & &

" & &&&&& &&&&& )& & &
7
#
Gm
& & !#" & & & & Cm7
*
# & &
" & & & )& & & & (& +
10
# & )&
F7
& & & & & & & & & & #
BM7
' &
EM7
)& & & (&#& & &
" # & & & & &&
3 3
13 Am7(b5) D7 Gm
# &
" # & & & & & & & $ & &)& & &)& & & & & & & & )& & $ +
3 3
17 A7 D7 Gm
# ' #& & & & & & & & #& & #& & +
" # % )& & & $ & & & )&
#
21 Cm7 F7 BM7 EM7
#
" # % &, & & &#& & & & & & &#& & &, & & & & &#& & & & $ +
3
V.S.
12
" # % $ "$ $ $ $ $ &$ "$ "$ $ $ $ $ "$ $ &$ '$ $ $

25 A7 D7 Gm
! " $ $
28 A7 D7
" &$ "$ "$ $ $ $ $ "$ $ ( $ $ "$ $ $ $
!" '$ $ $ &$ &$ "$
31 Gm
" "$ $ $ $ $ "$ $ $ $ &$ "$ $ $
Cm7
! " $ $ ( # $)
34 $ $ $ $ $ BM7
F7
$ $ $
EM7
" $$ $ $$ $$$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $
!" # )
3 3
37
" $ $$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $
Am7(b5) D7 Gm
!" $ $ $ '$ $ $ # $) $ $ "$ $ "$

3
40
" $ $ & $ " $ Cm7
$ " $ $ "$ $ &$ "$
!" $ $ $ # )
3
$ $ $ $ BM7$ " $ $ $ $ EM7

$ $ $ $ $
42 F7 Am7(b5)
" ) $ $ % $ $ ) # # % $$$$ $ $ #
3
!" # #$ $
3 $
"
D7
$ $ $ '$ '$ $ Gm
$ $ $ $ $ &$ "$"$
$ $ $ '$
3
" # % $ $$
! $ '$ $
3
49 A7 D7 Gm
"
! " $ $ $ $'$ !""#$ ( # % $ $ $$$$ $
3 3 3
$ &$ $
'$ $ $$$ $
13
52
" # # # # # #
Cm7
F7
# # " # "# # #
" # # # # # $
3
! ### #
55 BM7 # " # # # EM7

##### A7
" # # # ## (# #
!" % &
3 3
#'# # # # #
(# # #
58 D7 Gm
" ( # #
3
" %
3
! '# '#'# '#'# # % ( * # 3
# % # ##
)# # # + # # #
( '# 3 # ( !)"# 3 #
61 A7 D7 Gm
" #
! " % # # # # # # & % % "# "#"# # # # & % % #& # # # #
3 3
## # # # #####
64 Cm7 F7
" % #& # ##
! " # # "# # # # #
3
! " % # #, # # # # # # )#
67 BM7 EM7 Am7(b5)
" 3
- # $ % (# #
# # # # # #
70
" # # # # "# # "# #
D7 Gm
!" # # '# # # "# # # ) # !""##

$ -
%$ ##
73
"
Cm7 straight
# # #
F7
### BM7
###
! " % ( ## # #
## #& & # # #
##
# ##
76 EM7 Am7(b5) straight D7
" # # 3
!" # # # # #
% (# # #"# #'#'#
## # # '# #
( # 3 V.S.
14
79
"
Gm
%
A7
% %
D7
% '% %
&!% ) !& % ) !& % )
! " # $ %& %'% % % %'% % ( '% '% '% # $ %
3
83
" % '
Gm
% % % % % *
Cm7
% % %%%%
! " % % % % " % % % % % % %
"* % % % % % % "% % % % % % % "% % % % "% %

86 F7 BM7 EM7 straight
! " %
3 3
" %
! " $ ) '%""#% %
89
" %
A7 3
'% % %
D7
'% +%
% %% % % %
Gm
%'% % +% % +%'%
3 3
$
# $ %& % % * %% % %3 % %
92 A7 D7 Gm
"
! " % % % %'% % % #
!&
%% % %
$
# $ %) % % % % $ %) % % # $ %& % % % % % %
96
" %$ % % Cm7 F7
%
BM7
!" $ #
3
EM7 Am7(b5) D7
%%%%%%
straight
$ %) % % % % % "% % % % % '% % % '%

100
"
!" #
Gm Cm7
% % % % F7" % % %
103
" % % , %- %%%
! " %"% % % %'% % % % # ( %
% ) $ )
3
3
107
% % " % % % % % EM7
BM7
% % % % % "%
Am7(b5)
%
""$ ) % %. %. % % %
3
!
3
15
# # # # #$# # # # #
D7 Gm
110
"
3
!" # # #### % &

3
3
3
A7 '# '#D7 '
# '
Gm
$# $# # (# (# # # # #) % * + #, $# # # # #
113
"
!" %
3 3 3 3
117
"
Cm7
, # # # #
F7
# # # # "# # # BM7#
!" + # # # # # # # # "#
# #
120 EM7 A7 D7
" (# #! , "# "# % + (#- $# # #"# "# (#- +
! " # # # # # $# $#
3
123 Gm A7
"
! " + $#- # #(#(# "# #- + + $#, # # # # # "# . # "#
3
##
126 D7 Gm
"#
! " # "# (# # "# (# # # $# # # # # + +
# # ## ## ( # #
129 Cm7 F7 BM7
" # # #- + + # #$# #"# # # #"# # # # #
!"
3
# # # #
# ## # # - # #
132
"
EM7 Am7(b5)
# #- + *
D7
"#
!" # # # # # "# + , # + - ##
3
##
# # ## 3
" #- + + $#- "# #

135 Gm
! " $# "# , + *
# # # V.S.
16
137 Cm7 F7
"
!" ## ## # # # # %
3 3 3
# # # # $
## # # ###
#### #
17
Autumn Leaves
Portrait in Jazz - Take 2
Transcribed by Austin Gross December 28, 1959 Solo by Bill Evans
& #&
% & & & &' ( % ( &' &
Cm7 F7
#
" # !! $ $ )
3
& * *
BM7 EM7
# & & & &% )
Am7(b5)
&
D7
"# ( +& & & & & & & & &,& & & &
3 3
& & ' & &
7
#
Gm
& ,& & & & + & & # & & #& Cm7
& +& #& & & & & & &
#
" && ' ( & # &
# & & &#& &!#"& & & % &&&& & &&

10 F7 BM7 EM7
# ) && & & &

"
13 &&
Am7(b5)
& & ,&
D7
& +&
Gm
# && && & & & & &,& & & & &
"# & & & ,& & % )
3
,& & +& &

17 A7 D7 Gm
## 3
,& &
3
% ( - ,& & &
" ,& ,& & & & & & && ,& &
3
&&
Cm7
& & && & & #& & &
F7
# & & &#,& & & & % & #& &
20
#
" & ( ' & & &
3
23 BM7 EM7 A7
#
"# & & & & & & & & & &
3 3 3 3
- &+& ,& & & & &
&
& &$ & # & & & #& V.S.
18
&## ##
26 D7 Gm
"" % ' % # # # # # # # &# # $# ) * #' #'# #

! $#"# # # &# # # "# # # (
3 3
3
' 3 #
29 A7 D7 Gm
"" # # # "# # # # "# * # #

! #&#&# # "# # &# $# # # #
&#
# #
32 Cm7 F7
" # # $# # #
3 3 3
! " #&#$# + *"#' #&# # # # # &# &# $#&#$#"# # # #

3
3 3 3
# # # ## # D7# &# # &#

35 BM7 EM7 Am7(b5)
" + * #( # # # # ) + *( + * #(
!" + * (
3 3 3
# # straight
# #
* #( # #
39 Gm Cm7
"#
! " # &# # $# # # $# # &# + )
F7 " # " #
[late]
" # # , # " # "#BM7 EM7 Am7(b5)
##### ## ## % -
42
" #
! " ## # # # # # # # # #&# # # #
3
D7 Gm
"" # # # "# # # # 3 3 3 3
! # &# # $# # # # # &# #$# # # # # # # # # #
49 A7 D7 Gm
"
! #&# # # # # # # # # # # "# #"# # # # # # # # # # # *&#' # # # #
3 3
"
3 3 3 3 3 3
52
" ###########
Cm7
" # # # "# # # #
F7
! " "# # # # # # # * + *(
3 3 3 3 3 3
19
55
" " # #
BM7
" # !""#3
!"" # # #&# # #'#
EM7 A7
## #
! " $ $ % #% $ $ (##
3 3 3
58
" # #
D7
#
Gm
) " #
3
!" # # # $ % &# # # # # # # '# #"# # #&# #'#) %

#
3
3 3
3
61
"
A7 D7
)
Gm
# #
" # #
! " $ % #* # # # # # # # $ $ % # # #&# # # # % *
3
" # # "# "#

3 3 3
#
F7
'# # # # Cm7
# # + # " # "# #
####
64
" # # #
!" '# #
Am7(b5)# #
# # '# # #
#
BM7 EM7
" # % #####%
67
!" # # # # # $ *
!'"D7# & # # # # # # Gm
3 3
#
Cm7
70
" # # # # "# # #
straight
# ## #
!" ##$ , #
# # #' #
3 3 3
F7 BM7 EM7
74
"# # # # # # ##
" % * # &# #* * ## # # $
!" $ #
77
"
Am7(b5)
# # # &# #
D7
#
Gm
&# # # "# # # #
! " % #* '# # # #&# # # # #
A7 D7
#
" # "# # # # "#
straight
&#
80
" # '#
! " "# # # # # # $ ## # " # * % % #%
*
V.S.
20
Gm Cm7
$ " $ $ $ $ $ $
3
83
" &$ $ $ $ $ $ $
!" # $% $ $ $ ' '
3
F7 " $ " $
$ " $ ( $ " $ "$ $
BM7 EM7
$$ $ $ $$$ $ '
86
"
!" 3
$ )
3 3 3
$ + $ $ $ "$ $ $ $ $ $ "$ $ $$
A7 D7 Gm
89
" $ $
&$!* $ $ "$ $ $ $
!" # % %# ' #%
$
&$ " +$ $ $ $ $
92 A7 D7
" $"
! " &$ $ "$ $ $ &$ +$ # % % $
%
95 Gm
"
! " $ $ $ $ &$* $ $
* $ &$ +$ &$ $ $ $
21
Autumn Leaves
Birdland
Transcribed by Austin Gross March 12, 1960 Solo by Bill Evans
& ) &* ) & & & & & + %

Cm7 F7
#!
"# ! $ % & '& (& * & &
& & #& & & & & & #&

3 BM7 EM7 Am7(b5)
# ,
" # ) & #& & & & & & & & & & & &, ) & &
3 3
+ ) &*'&, &&'&, &&

6 D7 Gm Cm7
# &
" # &, )'& & &* '&* & & + (&!& &(&!& & & %
, , ,
&
10
,&
F7 -
'&!, -
BM7 && "" EM7
& & & Am7(b5) && && &#&
# & ) &&* && )
'&,
" # '& & (&
!
% ) * & & #& & &
3
14 D7 Gm A7
## & #& & & % $ )'&, & & & &#& &
" '& (&'&#& & #& & &
# & & & ) & & % ) , & & & &'&(&(& #& &'& & &(& & &
18 D7 Gm Cm7
" # & '&(& &

* 3
22
# #F7& #& # & . & & & & & BM7
& & & & & & +
EM7
"# % + ) ,
'&
'& & (& #($& & &

25 A7 D7 Gm
# , & & , & ,&&&& & & &
3
#
" '& & 3
* ) ) & ) )
'& & * '&
3 V.S.
22
28 A7
"
! " # $% &$ $ $ $ $ $ &$ $ $ $ $ "$ $ $
30 D7 3 Gm
" ' # $%
! " $ $ $&$ $ $ "$ $ $ $ $
$$ $ $$ $$
33
"
Cm7 ($ ) F7 $" $ "$ $ BM7 $
$$ ' # * $ $&$ $ +
EM7 $$ !! $ $ $
"
! $&$ $
3
$ $ $ # $
!! $ ! D7"$ !
3 3
" # # $ ! # $ ! # $$ !! $ $ $ $$ $ +
$
$ $ $,$ $
37 Am7(b5) Gm Cm7
! " $$ $&$ $ $ $ $ " $
42
"
F7
$ $ $ BM7
$ $$ EM7 Am7(b5)
3 3
#* $ $ $ $ "$ $ + $"$ $"$ $"$&$,$,$
3
!" + #
3
$$
" $,$ $ $ $ $ $ $" $ "$* # ' # &$* $ $ $ $ $ $"$ $ # %

D7 Gm
! " $ $ &$
3 3
3
49 A7 D7 Gm
" % "$ "$
! " # &$ $ $ $&$% $&$% $ $ $ $,$ $,$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $& $ '
3
% %
3 3 3
52 Cm7 F7
" 3
!" + # ' % # % % $ % $,$% $

3 3 3 3
$ "$ $ $ $ $ &$ $ $ $ $ $ $ &$ &$ $

% % % % % %
,$ &$ &$ ,$ ,$ &$
$ $ $ "$ $ $""#$ $ $
55 BM7 EM7 A7
"
!" $ $ $ + # $
$ "$ $ $ $ $ $
23
$(( !!
58 D7 Gm A7
"" #### ### # % & ' # # " # # # $

! $# # # # #$# # $# # #
" ##")##"# ##
62 D7 Gm
" )# #& #
! #$# # # #
#) # # *
3
# # # # $# # # # ) #
65
" #
Cm7
# # # # # )F7# # $ # # ) # $# # BM7$#$' #! # # #
!" #& * & * * & & #
#
68 EM7 Am7(b5) 3 D7
" # # % "# "# # # # # # % & # # # # $# $# #
3
! " $#* #+ #
3 3
71 Gm
# # " # 3#
# # # # # # Cm7 #
"
!" # # # # # * & % "# , % & *
3 3
# # "# # # # "#
F7 BM7 EM7
& #* # # #* # #' # # # # # # # "#

74
"
!"
# # # # "# # ' &

77 Am7(b5) D7 Gm
"# # #
"# # # # # #$# # # #$#
3
! " # #")## #
A7
$ # ")#D7# ")# # #
$# # ## # %
80
""# # & # %
3
$#
! # * $# # #
3 3
83
'
Gm
# # # # ) # $# " # # Cm7# # # # " #
" )# )#$# # # ## ###
!" & # # # # # # #
3 3 V.S.
24
# " # # # #!""# # # &

86 F7 BM7 EM7
"" " # $ # " # % % # # # # " #

! # "# # # #
D7 # ) # # # *# # # #
89
" # #
A7
# # # # # # #*# Gm
!" # ' ( & ' ( # #
92 A7 D7
" % #
! " # # # # # *# # ' & ' )#( # "# # # # *# ' ( # *#
95 Gm
" # # #% ' +
!" # # # # # # # #
25
Autumn Leaves
Birdland
Cm7 F7 BM7
# % &' & & & & & & & & & (
" # !! $ $ & &
4
#
EM7 Am7(b5) 3
& & # & & & *&
Gm
& &&&&& & &
D7
" # & & &#& & ) & & & &*& & & & &
3
# % ' & & &*& & ! & ! & ( & #& & &
8 Cm7 F7 straight BM7
#
" *& & ) % &' & &*& & &,& ,&#&
+
12 EM7 Am7(b5) D7
# & & &*&
" # & & & #& & & ) ) & & &
3 3
& & & & & &
&&&& *&
",# & ",# &

*& & & &
15 Gm A7
# & #& & #& &,& %#&
3 3
" # & *& & ,& ) ( & *&
& & & &

D7 Gm
18
# & # & & & *& &
"# & & & & & ) (
& & &
Cm7
& & , & & , & , & # & #&
F7 BM7
# & #& & & & &*& &
21
"# % + & && &

& #& &
3
",# *& & &! ",#&",#& 3

24 EM7 A7 D7
##& & & % + &",#&

",# & &
" &&&& +
* & *& V.S.
26
% % " % % (
'% % '% % %
Gm A7
&
27
" %
!" # $ % % %
% % !"" % % %
D7
" $ ) % %'% % % % % % % % & *% % %
30 Gm
! " % '% %'%*%& $ $ %

%# % %# % F7% # ' %$& % %# % BM7* %& % % # & % %#'% % % %# '%& %
3
Cm7
%#
EM7
33
"" ) ) ) ) ) '%
) ) )
!
% # % * % % % #*%& '% D7% %& % % # '%& % Gm

Am7(b5)
37
" ) *% %# % '% % % % # +
! " ) ) ) # $ &
)
41 Cm7
% % %
" & % %
!" $ % %
% ' %$& %# %$& %#* %$& * % %'%$& % % %$& " % # $& *% # '%$& % % $&
%# %$& % % % BM7
F7 EM7 Am7(b5)
*% '%
42
"" ) ) ) ) '%
)
!
%'%$& %# %$& %# $& % %

D7 Gm A7
% % %
" % % % % % % % "%
!" ) % %'% % % % % +
3
'%
)
3
*%!*"%
50 % % % % % %'%
D7 Gm
" %%% % &
!" % %'%'% $ $!'"%& % % % % % ) $
53 Cm7
% % % % % % "% % "%
F7 BM7
%% %
""$ %% % %
3
! ) "% % # $ &%% %%
% 3
3
27
# !'" !("
$ % & '# #!'"# & % $ !("# #'# '# (#
56
" # #
EM7
# # # #
A7
'#3 #
D7
# 3
# #
!"
3
Gm A7
59
" # '# #(# # #"#
####
3
! " # # # # # #'# #!'"# # # # #

3
# # '#
D7 Gm
)
62
"# # # # # #
! " # '# $ # # # '# # # % '#) # *
$#
Cm7 F7 BM7
# # " # "# "#

65
" quasi-straight
# +# "# "# # # # # # # #
!" % ####
# # #
68
!$"
EM7 Am7(b5) D7
"
! " % '#$ # # # # # (# # # "# # # # # #
*
# # # '#
Gm
71
" " # # " # (# " # '# (# # " # '# # (# # #
! " '# # # # # # # # # '#
3
3 3 3 3 3 3
" # # "# # # # (# "#
3
# # # # # # F7
73
" # # ## #
Cm7 # # # $
!" %
!(" # # # # # # # # # # # Am7(b5)
3 3 3 3 3 3 3
BM7 EM7
# # % $ # # # $ % % # # # # (# #"# # #"#
75
"
!" % $ $ # ##
3 3 3
78
"
D7
# # (# '#
Gm
# # #'#(# #"#
! " '# # # # # , -% & % $ # "# # # # # ) %
'# '#(#
V.S.
28
% $ '$
81 A7 D7 Gm
" $ $ $ $ &$ %
3
! " # $ $ $&$ $$'$ ( # ) # ( ( # #'$ $ $ $ $ $&$ $( #
$ $ $ & $ $ Cm7$ & $ $ " $ $ " $ " $ F7$ " $ $"$

$"$ $'$ $
84
"") #( ( # # ( (
!
3
$ $ $ D7$ $
! " $ $ $ $ $'$ $ # ) '$ $ !&"$
EM7 3 A7
% '$ $ &$ $) $$$$
87 BM7
" 3
3 3 3 3
$ * $ $ $ $
Gm A7
'$
91
" $ $ $ '$ $ &$
!" $ $ $ $ &$ $ $ $
3
94
" * D7
$ $ $ $ Gm
$ '$$ &$$ %
'$$ $$ $$ '$$ $$ '$ $ # $ "&$$ $$
3
!" ' $ &$ "$

3
$
29
Autumn Leaves
Birdland
Transcribed by Austin Gross April 30, 1960 Solo by Bill Evans
#! & & #& & *&

'& &
"# ! $ % & '& & (& # & & ) +
# ,,
Cm7 F7 BM7
& &!'&
3
# & & & & & (& &+ ) & & & & & & & & & &
'&!
*
"
'&
& &#& & & & "(#& & &

&& & '& & Am7(b5)
& &&& D7
&
4 EM7
# &
"'#&
& &
3
"# & &'&

Gm
7
#& & &
F7
& & & & $
Cm7
" # &'& & & &(&(& & & & & & (&
3
& % &&
3 3 3 3
11 BM7 EM7 Am7(b5) D7

#
" # & & & & & & & & & & &* % ) *) *
& & & & '& & & &
%
& &$ #& &
& & &!'& &* -

15 Gm A7 D7
## ) &#&'& & & & &#& & &* ) #,

" *
&&& & +
& $ &(& & $ &'& & & & & & $

&!(&
+ #&& $
19 Gm Cm7 F7
# ! *
" # ) &(& &+ & &#&+ &'&!* & - ) + &
# &* & * ) * )#&&+ && & &+ && $$

23 BM7 EM7 A7
" # (& & '& & & % $

V.S.
30
" !% # # ## ##%& ' % $# # # #

26 D7 Gm
"
! $# $# & # # #$# # # # # $# # # # # # # ##""##
( (
29
"
A7
$# #
D7
$#
Gm
##$## ##% & ' & ( )#"#"# # # #3
!" #$# # #"#

3 3
# # # # )#$#
" # " # #
Cm7
#
F7
# ## #
32
" # # "# # # )#
! " # $# # )# " # # #% & *
##
# # #$# # # # "# )# "# # # # # ) # # # #
BM7 EM7
" #
35 Am7(b5)
" "# )# #
!" #
## $#% )## ))## # $##

D7 Gm
$
38
" # # # # $# #
!" )# "# # # $#
# ##
# *
41
" # Cm7
#% # #% # # #% #
!" ( (
#
F7
#% # # #% # # # #% # # #% # # #% # # %
BM7 EM7
# # )#
Am7(b5)
# # #%
42
" ## ##' * & (
!" ( ( ( (
D7
# # # $Gm
# # # # # #"" # # # # #
" ( ( & ' & ( $#
!" * &
# "# # # # # #
#
A7 D7 Gm
# #
49
" " #
3
! " # # # "# # # # * ' #$# # #

3
31
Cm7 #
" # # # #$#%#$#$#%# # # & ' ( ( # # # #$# # # # #
$# #
52
! " )
3 3
54
" $#
F7
# # %# " # # %# #
BM7
# # #
3 EM7
# # $# ## # #* * ( ##
#
3
!" # #
3 3
+ $#, $## !! %#, $#, $## !! %#, # # *

57 A7 D7 Gm
"" ###$## ##"##%## ## # # #

! #$# # ##
3 3 3
61 A7 D7 Gm
" ,
! " ( # # #$# # # # # "# # # # #$# # #$ # #$## %## ## ## ##"%##
3 3
Cm7
# # # # %# #$$ ## " # # %3# #
F7
# # # #$#
64
" ##
!" + ####
3 3
BM7
# # # # # Am7(b5)
EM7
%# # #
# # #
67
" # # # ### # # ) " # # #%# # *
!" () (
3 3 3
# # # $ # % ## #Gm
D7
# # # # # "# # % # ##
# # ##
70
""* () # %#
!
##
Cm7
# # # " # # # # $# # ""## ## # # # # #
F7 BM7
##
73
" #
!" "# # "#
# %# "# %# # # # # # $# # " #
EM7 Am7(b5) D7
## ##
76
" %#"# # * ( )
!" # ( '&
3 V.S.
32
# #&
' $#( $#)# ! $# )#
79
" ##Gm
#
A7
$# )#
!" # # # $# # # # # $#%
3
" # # # # # # ' # # #$# # # # )# # # # #

82 D7 Gm
! " # #
% $# # #
# $ #( # $ #( # # ## ) #
$ #( $ #(
# # ' % # # # # $# # # )# # #
Cm7 F7 BM7
85
"## #
! "
3 3 3
"$# ")#
' % "$## # ' % ")## # # # # +
88
"
EM7 A7
( $# $# # #
D7
# 3
! " # "# # *
3
#
# # # # " # # # # ##
A7
##
$# $#
91 Gm
" $# # # $# % " # #
!" ' % % #
3
# # $# #
D7 Gm
# ## #
' $#%
94
" # "# + # # # # #""## *
!"
3
"#" # # # # #$# # # # #
Cm7
# #
97 F7 BM7
" # # #
!" * ## ## # # # #
3 3 3
3
##
100 EM7 Am7(b5) D7
" #
! " * "# # # ""## #)#( ' + )# $# # )# #$# #)#"#$# #$#, -' +
Cm7
# #
103
"
Gm
# ## # #
! " ' #% # # #$# #)# #$# # # # ' + * # ##
3 3
3
3
33
# "# #!
F7 BM7
## # #
EM7
106
" # "# #
!" $ $ % & % &
3
'# # # (# #
Am7(b5) D7 Gm
## # # #### # & #
109
""
! ) # # "# # *&
3 3 3 # #
34
Autumn Leaves
Village Vanguard
Transcribed by Austin Gross March 1966 Solo by Bill Evans
Cm7 F7
# & ' '( '( & & ' ' ' ' &'') & ' ' ' &#')
" # !! $ %
) ' )
#& ( ( (
3 BM7 EM7 Am7(b5)
" # ' &

*' ' )' & ' & '
'' ) )& ' & ' ' ' & (' '
'
' ' + ' '*' ' ' ' %

6 D7 Gm Cm7
## & '& '& ' & '' ''''

" ) ) ) '' ' )
# ' ' ' #' ' ' #' ' #' #'
10 F7 BM7 EM7
#' ' ' ' #'
" # #' ' ' '( & ' ' '
3
13
#
Am7(b5) D7
' ' #'
' '
3
#
" ' #' ' ' #' ,' ' ' '' ' *' ' '
' '
15
# ' *
Gm
' ' '!*"' ' ' #' ' ' '
!,"' #' ' ' & %
A7
"# ' ' '& '& (

) #' ' ) '
3
# & ( ' ','' ' #' ' ' #' ' #' ' ,' ' #' ( & +
18 D7 Gm
#
3
" *' ' ' ' ' ' #'
'# ' ' -

21 Cm7 F7 BM7 EM7
#
" # ' + '*' - '# ' ' % '''& '
(
3
-
35
" $ % & # % % #$ # % % "#$ # % % $ # # # $ %

25 A7 D7 Gm
"
! "# ' ' ' # (# )# )# #
# # "# # # # (# # #
28 A7 D7
"
(# )#!("# # (# #
!" * # # # # " #
31
"
Gm
# # % #+ # )# "# # # #
"
! # (# # # )# ' #
3
$ #
33 Cm7 F7 BM7
"" # # (# # )# # % # #
! # ' "# # # ( # # # % # # #
% $ #
D7
,# ,
36
"
EM7 Am7(b5)
, # " # ## #
$
! " ## # # # & # # # % #' % # # # # #
,# " # # # # " # # ## #
# # # # # &
Gm Cm7
(# ' % &
39
"" & '

!
,#F7
) # ,
# " ,
#
BM7
, ,
# #)# #" ## ,
# #
EM7
" ,
#!"" # ) ,
#) ,#!)" # " ,#+
Am7(b5)
#
42
" (# )#
)# "# #(# # # "# " ## ## # &
!"
3 4:3 4:3 4:3 4:3 4:3 4:3 4:3
# # # # #(# # # # Gm "#
# #(#
D7
" ####### # # # & (#
!" %
#(#
%$
3 3 3 3
( # #
# # ) # # "(## ## # "# #
A7 D7
Gm
49
" " # # * )# #
!" % ' % ' % '
V.S.
36
# $ # # % # % # !$" ###
Cm7
%# #
F7
# # # # "# #
52
" %# $ # # #
!" # $# & '
3
### # ## * !$"### ##
!%"
BM7 EM7
55
" # #%#( ## ) ## # # ###
A7
### #%#### # #
#
D7
! " * %# # %#
( # & & ( %# &!%"%++

59 Gm A7
"
! " %#( $### #"%#### #### %# $$#### * $# #
# %# # +
" ## !"" ++
&%#( ## ) %#( ## # ## /& #( & #( #( & # 0
62 D7 Gm
"
! " &!$"# & ++
'
37
Autumn Leaves
Keystone Korner
Transcribed by Austin Gross September 8, 1980 Solo by Bill Evans
' #' ,
Cm7 F7 BM7
# % & '( & ' & '( *'( +
" # !!
3
$ $ '
)
4 EM7 Am7(b5) D7 Gm
# % & '( ' ' ' , ' ' #' ' ' ' ' ' '
" # ,+ - +
' ' ' '! ' ' %

'''' + '
Cm7 F7 BM7 EM7
9 3
# (
" # % & ' ' ' '. % % )
33 3 3
# % & ( ' ' ' & ') ' ' ' %

13 Am7(b5) D7 Gm
" # *' & ') ' ' #' ' ' '
' ' ''

% & '( ' ' ' & ') /' *'
16 A7 D7
#
" # ' *' '"*#' ' *' /'
3
'' ''
'*' ' ' / ' ' ' ' *' ' # ' '*' /' !
Gm
'! ) '#' ' '

19 Cm7
#
"# &
3 3
F7
' ' ' ' #' '
BM7
0 0 0 # 0'
EM7 A7
' ' ' '#' ' ' % % #' ' ' ' '/'# ' ' '
3
22
## & )
" '
' "*# ' '
3 3 3
0' *'
#' ' / ' *' ''' ' #' ' ' ' ' '
26 D7 Gm
# % & )
"#
3 3 V.S.
38
29
# #
A7
# # # " # # # $D7# ## $#& ## Gm
## ## # #
" # # #
$# % % # # '
!" ###
3
Cm7 F7 BM7 EM7 Am7(b5)
# # ' #!$# # # # # # # " (

33
" & 3
!" ( # # ' #### (
" ## #
38 D7 Gm Cm7
" & &
! " #) * + * # # # # "# # # # #$# # ' " #
3 3
### # #
% # $#
# #,$#
F7 BM7 EM7 Am7(b5)
# " # # "#
#,$#"#
##
straight
" #
straight
# #
42 3
" # # % # # % # " # #* + +
!" # * * %
3
"
D7 # $# 3# Gm
# $# # - -
!" # # "# # + + * % # # # # "# # #) #)
3
49 A7
$# #
" #"# * # % * * & * # ## # * * & # # # # #$# #
D7 Gm
"
! # % $# % # % ##
# "# "# # #
3
#
Cm7
# # #
F7
# , #
52
" # $# # ,# # # ,#$#, # # # # # # # #
!" *
3 3 3 3
# # # " # # # EM7$ # , # #" # #

BM7 A7
# # $#
55
" % # " #
# "# # $# #
!" *
%
3
" #& #
D7
# " #% # , # # # $# #
Gm
# # ## # # " # # "# ## ##
#"$#
58
"
! " "# * # # * "# * % #
3 3
%
39
61 # #
" ## #
A7
# #
## $ % #& # # # # # # # # # $ % #' $ # ###
D7 Gm
! " # # #
" (( !! )## ((( !!!

( ! # (( !!
## BM7 #### ### !!! # ## ## %"### ((( !!! ###
65 Cm7 F7 EM7 Am7(b5)
! " )#
&
' '
((( !!! ## )### ### #*)#"& ( " ## ## # # Cm7! ! " # # #*

#! ' % ' # (! # #! '
( & # # "#
D7 Gm F7
70
" # # # )#"
!"
(( !! " # # # ( !
## # # # ( ! ## (( " # #
## # # +# ((
# ,#* ,#*
BM7 EM7 Am7(b5) D7 Gm
75
" ## (( # #
!"
80
" &
A7
#
D7
# # ! !
# # # # #& # !
Gm
! " $ % #& # # # % #! #' # ' '
" # ! #' # " # #' #! #! #' # # # # ! #! # # # #& # !

84 Cm7 F7 BM7 EM7
! " ' (
'
"# #"$# #
89 A7 D7 Gm A7
" # % #' $ # # -
!" % ' $ # # - %'$
40
"# $(
94 D7 Gm
! " $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ & $' & $' $ $ $(

$ % % / 0
41
Beautiful Love
Birdland
Em7(b5)
) % %%%
straight
%
% (% %
%(% % % % %(%
1
# ! $
3 3 3
" ! & ( % % % % % % %(% %
% '% 3 3 3 3
A7 Dm
% % % % (%
2 % %%%% % % &
"# % (% %(%& '% % ) $ %%%
5 Gm7
% ) % % %%
C7 FM7
"# % % % %'% $ #%(%!& % %

3
* % % % % %( %
3
& %(% % % & % % % "

8 Dm Gm7 Em7
, $ %& % % %#% % %
3
# $ % ,
3
" % % * (% % * %+
3
12
% % % % (% % %
A7 Dm
" # % % % % % % #% %
% (% %
&
Em7(b5)
$ %* % % % % % % % #% % % % % , $ %& (% % % %
14 Em7(b5) A7 straight
"# ) %+
A7 Dm
18
# % '% (% % % % % % %%%% % % % %
% (% (% % %(%(% %% %%
3
"# % &
3
3
21
Gm7
%% %% %% # %% # %%
C7
(%&
%% ' %% (%& %% FM7
% % %% %% %% -
" # % (%% %% %
3 3 3 3 V.S.
42
& & $ $ $"$ $'$ "%#$ $ $ !& $ $ !& $

24 straight Dm Gm7
3
! " # $ $ $ "$ "$ $ %$ " $ $ # # '$ '$ '$
"%# $
$$
27 Em7(b5) A7 Dm
" & ( ) "$ # & # & # & $ $ $ $ $

3 3
! $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $
$ '$ 3
30 B7 A7 Dm
! " $& "$ $& $ $ $ $ $ $ $ # & $ $* +

$ $
$$ $
$'$ $ $ $ $ $ $ '$ $ $*
33 Em7(b5) A7 Dm
! " $ $ # $, $ #,- . #, - #,
$
Gm7
* $ $* C7 3
$
FM7
$ $ $ $ $ $ $'$!& $ $ $ $ $ $ $ - - # &
37
!" $
3 3
as quarter-note triplet
$*
starting on 'and' of 4
40
*
$ &
Gm7
$ $$ $ $ $ $ $ # $$ $ $ # $& .
Dm 3
! " $ $$ $
$ $ $
& $ "$ $ '$ $ $ '$ $$
43 Em7 A7 Dm 3
"
! $# & "$ $
$ $ $$$- $ $
3
$ % $ $!& " $ $ $ $ Em7(b5) $

$ $
46 A7
!" # , $ "$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ - .
3
$
$ $
3
Em7(b5)
'
A7
$ $ '$ $ $ $& $ Dm
$ $ $ ' $!& $ $
49
'$ $ $ $ $ ' $ '$
' $ $ ,
! " $ $ $'$ #
3 3 3 3
3
43
# # # #
# # # # # # # #
Gm7
52
!" $ $ % & %
3
" #3 " # # # 3# # # # 3# # # # # # # ( #&

C7 FM7
54
####
!" % % % $ % & '# # %
3
)
Dm
# #
Gm7
# # # #
Em7(b5)
"# # # # #
% '#& # # #*
!" $ % & % &
# ## ## * * *
60 A7 Dm B7 A7
" # # '# #
3
#
! '# # '#!# #'#!# #'#!# # #! "# # #!# #(#!* '# #(#!* '#
* *
3 + + + + + + +
63 Dm
! " #!* # # # # # # # % # #
#' # # # # # # #'# #
%
+ + + + +,
44
Beautiful Love
Explorations - Take 1
Transcribed by Austin Gross February 2, 1961 Solo by Bill Evans
% (% % % %
" # !! $
3 straight
& % % (% %
% '% (% % % % %
% % %
Em7(b5) % % % ' %& A7 # % %#% %! %
Dm
" # * + $ %) #%'% %#% %#% +

3
)
%%
Gm7
& %
C7 FM7
"
5
#%#%'% % %
" # %) % (%& % % % % * + $ % (%
3
%% , (% %
% % ! % %
Gm7 Em7
$ %& % % % % % + $%% % %
9 Dm
" # % % % 3
% # % % % % % % (%
12 A7 Dm
"# % % % % ,
3
14
% % % % Em7(b5) % % # % % A7
"# $ % $ $ + ) % % % + ,
3 3
&%straight
3
% % % %#'$% % %
Em7(b5) A7 Dm
17
% (% %% %%
"# $ (% % % $
%
$ %%%%
% %
20 % # % (% % % Gm7
straight
% %% % % % % C7 % % %% %
) % (% % % % (% % % %
"# + $
3 3
45
23 FM7 & & & "& & & "& & &
& & &!(& &" & & &
Dm
!" # $ % ' ' $

3 3
&" & (& & & &

26 Gm7 Em7(b5) A7
" % & & (& "& & & & & & & & & & & &
! ' &
29 Dm
) & &
B7 A7 Dm & (& &
! " & & % & & & & & "& & & & & & & & & & $ # %'
*"
33 Em7(b5)
& & (& & " & (& &+ +
A7 Dm
!" &(& &" &(& & $ % &' & &(& & & $
& , & C7& & ( & & " & & " & FM7
&&& & & $ % & &!(& & &(& & $
37 Gm7
!" # $ '
$#
& &&& & & & ,& & &
$"
(&! (&! & & & & "&
41 Dm ) Gm7) Em7
!" % $ % $ '
%$&
& &&
&
straight
&%
44 A7 Dm
"
! & & & &( & , & % & & $ #
& & & & &
%$& " &
& & & & "& & & "& & & &
&
47 Em7(b5) A7
!" % ' & (& & & &

46
# " # # "#$# #!$"# A7

49 Em7(b5) Dm
# # # #$# #
! " # $# %# # #$# # # '
# & #
$#
52 Gm7
! " $# # %# # # &
!%"
3 3 3
( "#
!$" $# # # # # # # " # # " # " #
FM7 # # % # # # # # # # $# "#
54 C7
3
# # " # # " # #%# # $# # '
# #
" # ) &
3
! "#%# #$# #
3 3 3 3 3 3 3
Dm ## # ( ## # ( ## Gm7
3
# ## $#( ## % ## $#( ## % ## ##"%## $#( ## %## $#( ##"%##
Em7(b5)
$#( # $# # $# $#(
!" )
3 3 3 3 3
" ## $#( ## ## ## ## ## ## # ## " ## ## ## ## ## $## ##

60 A7 Dm straight B7 A7
!" ) * #
3 3 3
63
## #
Dm
( " # # # $# #
" # # #( # ( & "# #
(
! ' $#
#
65 Em7(b5)
#% # # ###
Dm A7
$# # %# #
!" & # #$# # # ) ) & ' ###
# # )$#&( #
#
3
69 # # # $#&( # %# #
Gm7 C7 FM7
!" # # # # # ) & # "# "# # # # *

'
# # #
72
# # " #
Dm
#
# # # #$# # # # # # # #
Gm7
# # #
Em7
##
3
! " & # ) )
3
47
#
A7
# $# # #
Dm
#
76
# % #
!" &
3 3 3
78
( # # # Em7(b5)
3
# # # "# A7
# # # # # #)
!" ' # ' ) & & & ' ) )
3 3
# $ #
Em7(b5)
# ##
A7
# # $ # # ##
Dm
# # #$# # # #
# #
81
!" # #
3
& & ' )
3 3 3
$# # # *# # "*## # &
85 Gm7 C7
# ####
FM7
(!# # & ' $# #
!" ## $# )
# # "# # # #
"*#
88
) #
Dm
# # # " #
Gm7
# " # "# #
!" ' $# ## # $# #
# $# #
3
### 3
""#
( ##' ###' #
91 Em7(b5) A7 Dm
! " " # #
# # # # ### & ' # ) )
%$ straight
##' ##
94 B7 A7 Dm
" " # ' ( 3 &

3
' "# # # ' $# #
! ) # ####
"%# # "# #
97 Em7(b5)
# # # # #
A7 Dm
!" # # ' ' # # # '$# # # # # # # "# # &

3
# ##
3
100
# # # # " # # # # # # # # # # #$# # # " # # *# * #
Gm7
#
!"
3 3 V.S.
48
# # # "# ## # $# "# ## $#
% &! '
102
# # # #" # "# #"#"#$# FM7
C7
#### #
!"
%$
3 3 3
"$#
Dm #
# #### ( # )# # # # # # )# #)#
Gm7 Em7(b5)
# "####
#
105
!" & &( )# $# # # # &(

"%#
3 3
"$#A7# # #
! # ")# ## 3 # ### *
108 Dm
" # ) # & ' # # # # # #

! # ### #
"%#Em7(b5)
3
111
##
straight A7
#
3
# # # #
Em7(b5)
!" & "# # # & % % ## # ###

3
# "#
3 # ## 3 3
# # # # # # #
"# )# $# )# ### )#
114 A7 Dm
! " #)# )# # # % % # "#

3
3 3 3 3
# "$## +)# # )#
# # # #
Gm7 C7
# # # # ##
FM7
)#
117
! " ####%
3 3
!" & #! # # #
##% ##% ##% ##%
120 Dm Gm7 Em7(b5)
# # # & - -
124 A7 Dm B7 A7
! " % & )#( # # # # )#&# "# # # # # # # #

3 3
127 Dm
# ##
" & ( ,
3 3 3 3
! ### # " # ####
)# # # #
3 ###
49
Beautiful Love
Explorations - Take 2
% % %
" # !! $ & $ %& % % %
% % % %
% %! ) %%%
Em7(b5) A7 Dm
%
3
% ( %%%
"# ' % % % % % ' *
3
Gm7
% % % % % # % % %%% %%
FM7
C7
% +% +%
5
" # $ +%& % % % % %
%",#% +%
Dm
%
8 Gm7
%
straight
% %
3
"# * % % %+% +% % %+% % ,% $ % +% % %

(
% % % %
#% % %"##% % % % * %%'
11 Em7(b5) A7 Dm
#
3 3
" %%%% % % %
3
% % %
+%
14 Em7(b5) A7
" # ' $ %( % % ' $ %& #% % % % % %+ % ' % ,% #% %

Em7(b5)
3
%A7$ % %
3 3
18
+ % % ,% +% % +% $ % %
Dm
+% % % %(
"# % % ' ' $ ( $
3 3 3
% % % % ) # %
,% "##%
straight
21Gm7
) % %3
C7 FM7
% % %% % % 3 3
"# %% % %%
3 3 V.S.
50
$ % #&'# # #"# #( # ! # ! # # ( # ! # $ $ %"#

# (# # # #
24 Dm Gm7 Em7(b5)
3
!" # #
28 A7 Dm
# # # # " # " #
B7
# # # ####
A7
! " '# # # # # $ ###
31
# #
Dm
# # # '# #
straight
! " # # # # $ $ % &
Em7(b5) A7 Dm
33
# # # #'# #"# # 3 straight
! " '# )# # # # # # #' # $

3
% ( # # #"# )#
)# #
) # # ")# # " # #
3
# "# # # #
Gm7 C7
36
" # # '# '# # #
!" # # "# # # $ % & #
3 3
" # "# ! straight

FM7 Dm Gm7
# '# # # # $ * ##
!" # # # * * #! *
Em7
43
# #!
A7 # # # # Dm
# #
&
! &
" * * % $ *
3
# # # " #
# # #
46 Em7(b5) A7
% & # #
!" + # # # '# ## $
3
(
# #
$ %! -
49 Em7(b5)
# #
A7 Dm
( # '# # '#
" %
! '# # # # "# # ,
#
51
# # # " # # "# #
# # # #$#$#
52 Gm7
! " #"# #$#$# # # % & % #

3
# "# #
# "# #$#( '# ! (
54 C7 FM7
! " # # # "# # $# # " # # '# # " # # #

#
# # Gm7
### # "'# # # ##
Dm Em7(b5) A7
"'#
# # # #
straight
### #### # #$#
"
! # # # # # # # # #
3 3 3 3 3 3 3
# #" # # #
61 Dm B7 A7 Dm
#
! " # # # # # # # # "# # # # # # # # # ) %* % *
3
Em7(b5)
# # # # $ # # ###
Dm A7
# ##
65
#
# # %*& %* # & # % & # #$#
!" % * *
####
Gm7 C7
# # # # # # # FM7
### # ##
$# # (
69
* & % # #$# #
!" ) %
3
# # # # # #
# # # # $# # " # # "# # # # # " #
73 Dm Gm7 Em7
* % % *
!" #
3
# # # # $# #
A7 Dm
76
# # # # # # #
!" )
%$
3
A7 Em7(b5)
"# #
4:3 +# # #
# # # # $#
78
! " # # % #
3
# # # # " # #
3 3 3
52
"!#
Em7(b5) A7
" # "# # # # #
Dm
# # ##
81 ###
3
# # # $ # %#$& #
&
3
"# # # # ## #
## $ # #
%#
!" #
3 3 3 3 3
Gm7
# # # # " # #
C7
" # " # # "# "#
FM7
85
( # # ## # # #
! " $ ' # # $ ) ( (
A7 " # " #
89
#
Dm
#
Gm7
" # # # #
Em7(b5)
# " # # ## ##
#
!" ( # # ##
(
"# "# #
4:3 3 3 3 3
93
# # $& # % & B7
Dm A7 Dm
# # # #(
!" $ %# # # #%#$& # # #*# # # # # ## ## (
3 #
53
Beautiful Love
Bill Evans at Town Hall
" # !! $
3
& (% % % % % % % !'"% % (% % %
% '% % %
) %% % # % (%
$ %+ % % % % % %
Em7(b5) A7 Dm Gm7
" # % )# (% % * )
# % # % % % % FM7
%%%% % % % % % #% % # % % % %(%' %
6 C7
"# , $ + %
3
% % % # % % Gm7
% % # %
Dm
% %
9 Em7 A7
&
%%% % $ $ + &
"# + + % #% % &
% % % %( % %% (%
% % % Em7(b5)
# % % %
% % % %
13 Dm A7
"# % % % % % % % % , $ % % (% % %(% % % % $ &

(%
Em7(b5)
% % # % A7% # % % % Dm
(% % %%%% %%%
17
# % % -
" % % #% % % %
% C7 % % # % # % % % % FM7# % %
% % % # % % % # & %# %
& % % (%
21 Gm7
+ + (% +
"# $ % %
3
% % % %#
+ %#
Dm Gm7
(% % % % %
Em7(b5) A7
+ % % % (% % %(% % % % %
25
"# $+ +
V.S.
54
29 Dm
# # # #
B7
#
A7 Dm
#"# # %#$ # # # #"# & ' ( %#
!" # # # # ## # ) '*
Em7(b5)
+ # #
A7
# ###
Dm
# # %#& #
33
*'*' ( %# # # # ## ) '*
!" '*
# # ! # # # # # # # # & #! $
Gm7 C7 FM7
' #*%# # # #,#%# #

37
!" * '*) * %# # )
3
#
Dm # # Gm7
# # # " #
Em7 A7
# %#& # "# # "# # #
41
"
! *# * * ' ' * ,# ' * "# # # # %# # # #
3
Dm
%# # # # " # # "# Em7(b5) A7
& # ## * ## ##
45
!" # ' # ) * "# # #%# ) (

3
A7 # # % # % # "%# # , # # Dm # # # %#
49 Em7(b5)
%# #%# # # # # #' ' *
! " # # # %# *
3
# %# # # # # # # # %# # # ,#
# %#
52 Gm7
# # #
!"
3
" # " # # # FM7

## # # #%# #$ #* , # " # # # " # ,# # # ,# #%#, # # #
C7
%#
54
#
!" )'
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
Em7(b5) #
# #Dm
# # # #
Gm7
# " # # " # # "# # # # # #
!" ## # #
%# * # # # # * "#
3 3 3 3 3
3
55
# !%"# # %# # # # #& # #
$# # # #!$"# # #
60 A7 Dm
! " $# ##
3 3 3
62 B7
&
A7
# # ## # $#
Dm
# $# #
! " "# # # # # ' ( ( # # $# # ) ( ' ( '
# # # # #*
65 Em7(b5) A7
# # # # $ # # Dm # # # # # # $# #
!" (' (' (' # # ' #
# # # # $# # ##
##
C7 # #
69
Gm7
# # #
$#&
# FM7 Dm
##
3
# ' '
!" ' ' # + ( + )
# # #$# #$# # # # , #
Dm
74 ,
Gm7
## Em7 A7
#
!" # # -
# "## # # # - %$ #
# # # ## ## # # ""## # %%##
3 3
## # # ##
Em7(b5) A7 Em7(b5) A7
$# # -
( ## # ##
78
' #
!" '
'
"# # # # #
!%Dm
# # # # $$## # ## ## ## ## # # ## ## # # ## ##
Gm7 C7 FM7
!" '
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #' # # # # #
' '
!%"
## ## # # ## # #
Dm Gm7
# # #
#& # $#' #' # # # # ,
! ## ## # ' ##
88 Em7(b5)
" ## ' "# #
! " !%"# # # ( # #& ( ( # #

92 A7 Dm B7 A7
&
# # # # "# # #
V.S.
56
95 Dm
!" # $# # # # # # # # #% & '

57
Beautiful Love
Village Vanguard
Em7(b5) A7
& &
" # !! & & '& &
[after bass solo]
$ $ % '& && ( ) ) '& *&)
& &
& & &

( , & '& &, ( &) (
3 Dm Gm7
#
" & & #& & #& & + % &
6 C7 FM7 Dm
#&
" # ) ( & #& & #& & #& #& % & & & & #& & & & & + &, ( + + ( &)
3
10 Gm7
& # & & # & & & &'& & #& *& &
Em7 A7
&
& & & ( & & &'& &
3
#
" & & #&
3 3
& ' &, & # & && & & #& & &
&
13 Dm Em7(b5)
, & & & & &
" # &! & - & & ( )
& & "*# & &

" # #& & &"##& & & & &#& &
A7 Em7(b5) A7 Dm
#& & & & & &! & &! &,
) -
&&&& & & , & & #& & & & #& &
20 Gm7 C7 FM7
& &
3
"# - $
'& & & &*& + ( &! )
24
# & & & & & #& & *& Dm
& #& & &
Gm7
, ,
" # ( ) ( & & & & '&, &, & &)
V.S.
58
# % # Dm
# # # # %# # " #
# # # #$ #$ %# #
A7
27 Em7(b5)
#
!" $ $ $ $
30
# # # # # #
B7 A7 Dm
# # %#
!" $ $ %# # # # # # # & ' $
# ! # # #! # # # ) ) ' * %# # # # #
##
33 Em7(b5) A7 Dm
!" ###### ( 3
# %# #
3
# # # #%# #"# # #
37 Gm7 C7 FM7
!" & #
' ## #
3
# # # # # # "# # # # # #%#
#! # # # " # # # # %# # #
Dm Gm7 Em7
# # #
41
# # # ' $
!" # $ )
# "#
A7
%# # +# %# #
Dm
# #
44
# # # # '
!" ' $ $ ' $
#" # # # "# # # # #
Em7(b5) A7
46 #
# # # # #
!" # ) ' $ $ ' ) &
$#% " # # #
Em7(b5) A7 Dm
%# # +# %# # # "#
# # # #%# #
49
!" ' #"# #"# #%# #%#

$#%
* # # 4:3
52 Gm7
! " # "# # # ) ' # $ # # #

# # # ,
59
$ FM7 $
# # $# $# # $#
54
# $
#
C7 4:3
# # # # # #
4:3
!" # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # % # # #&## # #
#
$ 4: 4:3 4:3 4:3 4:3 4:
$
3 3
Dm # Gm7 #&# # # #!) " # Em7(b5)
* " # # #
A7
" #
#&# # # ' % ' % ( % % ' # &# ( +
!
# "# # "# # # # #
Dm B7 A7
# % #' % # #
61
! " % #
' '
3
63 Dm
# #" #
!" # # "# # + '
# # #
# " &# # #, # # # # &# &# # # # #

Em7(b5) A7 Dm
##(
65
!" ' %' ( %' # *
# # # C7 # #
# # # #"# # # #" # # ( #&# # # # #-#&#
69 Gm7 FM7
" %&# # #
! ' ' 3
# # # " # & # # - # Em7

73 Dm
# &# # #
Gm7
# # "# # # # # # #
#
!" % ' '
3
76
#
A7
#!) #" #, #, #!&##"
Dm
-# # # #
!" ' (
&# # # # -# # " # ### #"$ # # # # # # #&# # # ##&$#

78 Em7(b5) A7
! " % '
3 3 3 3 3
60
$# " # # $# !"" # # $# !"" # #A7 " $# # $# # !"" # #!""$# Dm

Em7(b5)
# # # ## ###
81
! " % & ' %

4:3 4:3 4:3 4:3 4:3
# # #####
# #
'!""# # # (# # #
Gm7 C7
# (# # # )# *
84
! " # %
87 # ##
FM7
# " # # ) # # (# #
Dm
# Gm7
###### # # +' *
! " % ' ' % % ' * ' # + + +
% # # #
%
3
#" # # # "# # (# A7# (# # )# (# ,

# # #" #
91 Em7(b5) Dm
!" ' % ### ## #
94
#
(# )# # # (# # #
B7 A7 Dm
+ # " # #!""#
! " ' % ###### ' # "#
Dm# #
[trading with drums begins]
!" ' % # ## # #
97
(#, Em7(b5)
A7
+ # # # " # # #
## ' % ' % ' ## ' %
##
% %
101
# #% #% # C7# # # # # #"# FM7
Gm7
!" ' % ' ' ' % % % # # # # ## -

%
####
105 Dm Gm7 Em7 A7 Dm
!" . . . . . .
# # "# Em7(b5)
# ###
# (# # # # # *
111 Em7(b5) A7 A7
!" . & & ' %

61
115
# # # # # # # # "# #
Dm Gm7
! " $# # $# #! # # # "## #
%
$# # "$## # # # $# #
& # # # # $# # # #
118 C7 FM7 [trading continues...]
" # #
!" & % % & '
62
Beautiful Love
Paris Concert
Transcribed by Austin Gross November 26, 1979 Solo by Bill Evans
!
" #! $ % ' &
& )& & &
& (&
' &! &! & & & & & & *

Em7(b5) A7 Dm
& &3
"# * & + & & & & & #& & &
)&
3
& & & & ! & & & & &)& & & ! &
% + & & &! +
Gm7 C7 FM7
, % &' , (&)&
5
&)& (*
"#
3
& +
Dm Gm7
&")& '
9 Em7 A7
* & (& & & & & *
3
"# & & && % &

& )&' - & & &
& & &! Em7(b5)

& # & & &
A7
, % + & & & &)& & & & ,

13 Dm
* & &+ + +
3
"# *
17 Em7(b5)
& & ' (& & &+ & (& & &)& & & &+
A7 Dm
# , % ' 3
" & & &! )& +

+
3
20
& & )& & &)& &! Gm7
' & &
C7 3 & &
& +
3
"# + , % & & & & & (& +

3
& & & )& & & ( & & ) & & # & & )& & ( &
FM7 Dm
23
&
"# & &)& & & , % + &
3
63
26 #
Gm7
# " # # " #
Em7(b5)
#
#$# # #$# # "# # #$#
A7
# # #
!" # # # # #$#
29
# " # # "# #
Dm
# # # # "# # $# # #
B7 A7
! " $# # # #
&# &#
31 Dm
# "# #
!" # # "# # # # %
3 3
& A7 &
# $# #
Em7(b5)
# # # "Dm
# #! # *
$# # # '# $# #
33
" ( ) # $#
!
3 3 3 3
#" # # # # # Gm7 # C7
$# $# # '# # #
36
) # "#
! " ( # # # "# # # # #'# #
$#FM7
% Dm
"## *
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# # $# # # #
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# $# # # " # # "# # # "# "# #
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67
I Should Care
How My Heart Sings
" !! #
3
$ $ $ $ $ $$
$$
$ $ $ $ %$ $
1 F#7 B7 E7 A7 D7 G7
%$ )
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10 Bm7(b5) E7 Gm7 C7 FM7

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# # # ' # # # Bm7(b5)# # # ' # # #%E7#

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# # %# D7# #
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70
I Should Care
Bill Evans at Town Hall
$ $ $ $ '$ $ $ $ $ $
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76 FM7 Bm7 E7 Am Am7 D7

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! """"
)
93 Dm7 G7 CM7
! " " " " " " " " " " " " " "&"#" " * + ,
)
74
I Should Care
Village Vanguard
Transcribed by Austin Gross July 3, 1966 Solo by Bill Evans
" !! # $% $ &$ $ &$ $ $ $ $ $ $ &$ $ $ $
$ $ % B7 % $&$%$$ ( ' $$ ' $ $ G7

")#$$ '$ '$
1 F#7 E7 A7 D7
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" $
# $ $ $'$ $&$ '$ $ $

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3
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$ ' $ $ &$ $
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Bm7(b5)
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E7
$ $' $
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$ ' $ $ $ C7$ $&$ FM7

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# * $ '$ '$ $ '$ $ $ ' $ $ $$$

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3
# $ $ $ $&$ $ $ &$ $ $"&#$ $ $ $% #

14 Am Am7 D7 Dm7 G7
" $ $$ $ $ *
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3
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' $ $ &
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$ $ $
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17
$ $$ $$
&$ )$ ' $ '$ '$ $ $
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20 CM7
+ +
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+$ A7&+$
Em7(b5) +$ +$
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75
# #
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30
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48
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# %# # & # & # '# # # #

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51
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3
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54 A7 Dm Fm7 B7
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CM7 Bm7(b5) E7 Am
57
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3
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D7 Dm7
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#
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62 G7
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$
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A7
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68
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Bm7(b5)
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71
# # %# # #
! ### " &#$ " * "$* $" "$ *
# # ,#+
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75
# # # Bm7
#
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77
# # #
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78 Am Am7 D7
" # " # " # # # # # ' # # # " " % #

! $ $ &# $ &# #
&# # #
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# # B7# &# % & # E7# % & # ( A7# # (
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81
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84 A7
# #
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3 3 3 3 3
3
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3
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D7 Dm7
#
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78
I Should Care
Village Vanguard
Transcribed by Austin Gross May 26, 1967 Solo by Bill Evans
! $ $ &$ $ $ $
"! # % $ &$ $ &$ $ &$ $ $
$
$ $&$ $ $ ( $ !+" $ ($ $ $
F#7 B7
1
('
E7
$
A7
D7
$
G7
$ $
CM7
$ $ $
# $ $$$ * #) $
%
&$
" )
3
( $ &$ $&$ $ +$ !+"

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!("$ $
5
$ $ ( $ ( $ $ $ $ $ $ &$ +$
" ($ $ ($
3
Fm7
( $ $ ( $
B7
+ $ $ CM7
$$ Bm7(b5) E7
8
($ $ ) $$$ $ $ $ $ &$ $ $ &$ $
" # ) # * # )
3 3 3 3
$ ( $ $($ C7 +$ $ &$ $$
$
11 Gm7 FM7 Bm7 E7
" # ) $ $ $ ($ $ ($ $ $ $ ($ $ $ $
$
3
$ $ $ $ $ &$ $ Am7
$ !+"$ $ $
Am D7 Dm7 G7
$ $ $ $
14
$ $ $ * # ) $
"
F#7
$ $
B7
(E7 $ & $ + $
$ !(" $ $$
A7
$ ( $ $ $ !(" $ $ $
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17
( $ $ &$ &$
" $$ * #) $
3 3
$ $ &$ $ $ +$ &$ $ $ +$ &$ $ $ # &$

20 CM7 Em7(b5)
" )
* $ ($ $ $ ($ +$
3
79
" " #" " " " $" " " " # " " !#" " " # "
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# " % " "
22
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3 3 3 3
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CM7 Bm7(b5) E7 Am
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" " $" " $"
25 straight
"
!
3
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28 D7 Dm7 G7
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$" $" " "" " "
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31
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42
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80
& " " " " "

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53 A7 3
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Dm
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! "'" " "
3 3 3
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Bm7(b5) E7 Am D7
58
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61 Dm7 G7 CM7
" "
) "#
! " "" " ""
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" " "
-
)
81
I Should Care
Village Vanguard
Transcribed by Austin Gross April 18, 1970 Solo by Bill Evans
$ $ $ '$ $
" !! # %$& $ %$ $ '$ ($ $ $ $ %$ $
3
) $ % $ $ ( $ 'E7$ $
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I Should Care
Getting Sentimental
Transcribed by Austin Gross January 15, 1978 Solo by Bill Evans
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My Romance
Waltz for Debby - Take 1
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My Romance
Waltz for Debby - Take 2
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Sweet and Lovely

Explorations
Gm7 C7
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Bill Evans and The Craft of Improvisation PDF

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Bill Evans and the Craft of Improvisation

Austin Andrew Gross

Submitted in Partial Fulfillment

Requirements for the Degree

Professor Robert Wason

Department of Music Theory

Copyright 2011 Austin Andrew Gross

! Austin Gross was born in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, and grew up in Emmaus,

Pennsylvania. He attended West Chester University from 2000 to 2004 as a member of

academic year, he taught at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

! It is a pleasure to be able to thank three mentors who have shaped my perspective,

! I am also grateful to have had Matthew Brown as a teacher and advisor. He

on our many conversations together.

! Dariusz Terefenkos classes on keyboard techniques helped to stimulate an

proofreading my transcriptions. I have taken many of his suggestions.

sense of meaningful place, purpose, and direction.

remember. Having a lifelong musical companion and friend as a kind of birthright is a

wonderful way to go through life.

! For her immeasurable support, strength, and love, I am eternally grateful to my

they can be elaborated in different ways.

repertoire, comparisons can be made between Evanss performances of different tunes.

elements can be conceived as structural frames for the solo.

! Acknowledging the existence of such cross-performance structures provides

composition and improvisation. In Evanss case, comparing multiple performances of the

a fruitful starting point for aspiring improvisers.

Part I: The Craft of Improvisation! 13

Chapter 1: Improvisation as Problem-Solving! 14

Chapter 2: Determining the Syntax and Deriving the Models! 48

Part II: Tunes! 95

Chapter 3: Autumn Leaves ! 96

Chapter 4: Beautiful Love ! 129

Chapter 5: Alice in Wonderland ! 178

Chapter 6: My Romance ! 191

Chapter 7: I Should Care ! 196

Chapter 8: Sweet and Lovely ! 208

Works Cited! 221

Copyright Permissions! 226

Note on the Transcriptions! iii

List of Transcribed Performances! iv

TABLE 1: List of Performances! 9

TABLE 2: List of Interviews! 11

EXAMPLE 1.2: Formal Plan of First A Section of How About You! 22

EXAMPLE 1.3: Tonal Plan of How About You! 23

EXAMPLE 1.4: Evanss First Eight Measures of How About You! 24

EXAMPLE 1.5: Example of a Top-Flight Solo on How About You ! 27

EXAMPLE 1.6: Demonstration of working simply on How About You ! 28

EXAMPLE 1.7: Demonstration of a vague solo on How About You ! 28

EXAMPLE 1.8: Top-Flight and Simple Solos with Analysis! 30

EXAMPLE 1.8 (cont.): Top-Flight and Simple Solos with Analysis! 31

EXAMPLE 1.9: Evanss Vague and Approximate Solo with Analysis! 33

EXAMPLE 1.10: Diagram of typical jazz resources and processes! 44

EXAMPLE 2.1: Chopin, Mazurka, Op. 6, No. 1, mm. 1-4! 53

EXAMPLE 2.3: Schumann, Im wunderschnen Monat Mai, mm. 1-8! 56

EXAMPLE 2.4: Deep Middlegrounds in Two Types of Deceptive Openings! 59

EXAMPLE 2.6: Evanss phrase shifts in Who Can I Turn To Solo! 65

EXAMPLE 2.7: Alternate approaches to beginning a solo on Autumn Leaves ! 67

EXAMPLE 2.9: Contrapuntal Reinterpretation of V as ii-V Progression! 71

EXAMPLE 2.10: Reharmonizing a Chain of Dominants by Reharmonizing

EXAMPLE 2.11: Common Practice Period Behavior of Scale Degree 7 in Dominant-

EXAMPLE 2.12: Jazz Behavior of Scale Degree 7 in Dominant-Tonic Cadences! 75

EXAMPLE 2.13: Jazz Behavior of Scale Degree 2 in Dominant-Tonic Cadences! 76

EXAMPLE 2.14: Essential Voices of Melodic Closure in Evanss Right-Hand

EXAMPLE 2.15: Polyphonic Origins of Example 2.16! 79