Journal of Jazz Studies vol. 11, no. 1, pp.

65-104 (2016)

Melodic Structure in Bill Evans’s 1959 “Autumn Leaves”

Steven Strunk

EDITOR’S PREFACE

In March of 2014, a scholar made an inquiry at the John Donald Robb Musi-
cal Trust regarding a paper Strunk had delivered at the University of New
Mexico sixteen years earlier. Strunk had presented at the John Donald Robb
Composers’ Symposium in March of 1998, which featured noted jazz composer
Maria Schneider that year. Professor Richard Hermann of the University of New
Mexico had arranged for a panel of jazz theorists consisting of Steve Larson,
Henry Martin, Keith Waters, and Steven Strunk to participate at the symposium.
It was the first time the acclaimed “Gang of Four” had ever assembled.1
Following up on the inquiry, the Trust contacted Professor Christopher
Shultis of the University of New Mexico, a longtime director of the symposium.
Shultis contacted Hermann, who had a copy of Strunk’s handout. Hermann soon
contacted Waters to see about obtaining a copy of the paper. Waters then
reached out to Strunk’s widow, Elena, who furnished the paper, as well as an
abstract. At this point, all of the necessary materials had surfaced, and we found
ourselves with a valuable piece of unpublished scholarship. As Martin and
Waters had already been planning a Festschrift for Strunk, the venue for sharing
this paper with the broader academic community was obvious. A short time later,
all the documents made their way to me and I began to prepare them for publica-
tion.
The paper consists of a transcription of Bill Evans’s performance of “Autumn
Leaves” (primarily the right hand) from the album Portrait in Jazz, and an
analysis in the form of a running commentary. While certain adjustments and
alterations were necessary to prepare this paper for publication, the final
product reflects Strunk’s ideas in every way. The decision to retain certain
features that might seem unnecessary today, such as the explications of contour
segments and sentential organization, was motivated first by a desire to change
the text as little as possible, but also because these passages so clearly reflect
Strunk’s patient, thorough writing style and his genuine, avuncular nature.

1
Professor Hermann is credited with giving the group its name. Strunk, Waters, Martin, and
Larson would go on to perform and present together several more times between 1998 and 2011.

copyright by author 65
66 Journal of Jazz Studies

Many of the changes to the paper were minor, such as those one would make
to accommodate a journal’s style specifications. However, other differences
between the original document and the final published version deserve mention.
Strunk’s handout had ossia-like staves with pitch reductions interspersed
between the systems of the transcription. Here, the reader will find all such
reductions as separate examples within the article’s text. The complete transcrip-
tion—consisting of eight choruses, an introduction, and an extended ending—is
included in an appendix. While the original handout did not include chord
symbols, it seemed appropriate to incorporate them in the examples that involved
pitch reductions. Another important difference involves footnotes. Those in
italics are not in Strunk’s hand; they were inserted whenever it seemed that a
point needed clarification. The inclusion of these comments seemed preferable to
altering the original text.
The abstract for Strunk’s original presentation reads “This paper aims to
show how the performance makes a compelling improvisation through various
methods of structuring time. This structuring takes place at the levels of motives,
phrases, choruses, and the whole performance.” His aim was certainly true. This
paper showcases Strunk’s inquisitive nature—his ability, as Waters once
described, to “excavate significant data” from music of high quality. The reader
will also notice how the analysis reveals a strong formalist bent at times. Henry
Martin notes that while Strunk did study composition with such modernists as
Roger Sessions, Vincent Persichetti, and Luciano Berio, he preferred to keep that
often formalized world separate from his jazz playing. 2 Fortunately, we find
those two worlds intertwined in his analytical work.
“Melodic Structure in Bill Evans’s 1959 ‘Autumn Leaves’” has much to offer
in the way of analytical application. At the same time, however, Strunk’s focus
here has little to do with conventional concerns of jazz theory such as chord-
scale relationships, harmonic substitutions, or long-range contrapuntal frame-
works. In this way, the article is quite forward-looking, despite the fact that it
was written over fifteen years ago. Even while it remained unpublished, aspects
of this study concerning rhythmic displacement directly contributed to scholar-
ship in our field.3 And, as the centerpiece of this special issue of the Journal of
Jazz Studies, this article is sure to inspire further inquiry into the analysis of jazz.
—Keith Salley

2
Henry Martin, “In Memoriam Steven Strunk,” Journal of Jazz Studies 11, no.1 (2016): iii-v.
3
See two references by Steve Larson: “Rhythmic Displacement in the Music of Bill Evans” in
Structure and Meaning in Tonal Music: Festschrift in Honor of Carl Schachter (Hillsdale, NY:
Pendragon Press, 2006): 103, and Musical Forces: Motion, Metaphor, and Meaning in Music
(Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2012): 195.
Strunk/Melodic Structure 67

Bill Evans’s recordings of the late 1950s established him as a unique new voice
in jazz piano playing. His harmonic voicings, substitutions, and his improvised
lines sounded new at the time and have gradually influenced nearly all other jazz
pianists who heard him. His lines, although basically derived from bebop,
featured unusual rhythms and innovative melodic organization. Charles Blancq
has written of Evans’s “extraordinary ability in creating melodic lines that contain
a very high degree of structural integrity.”4 The present study of the melodic lines
of Evans’s 1959 performance of “Autumn Leaves,” aims to reveal some of the
constituent processes by which, in at least this one case, such structural integrity
was obtained.
In my opinion, the analytical tools used to convey an interpretation of a sub-
ject need not be part of that subject’s cultural background. However, to bring to
bear on Evans’s melodic lines some of the theoretical concepts that normally are
applied to “classical” music seems especially appropriate, as Evans’s musical
background was broad: he studied music first at Southeastern Louisiana Univer-
sity, then, in the years just preceding the recording in question, at the Mannes
College of Music in New York.5 Evans has acknowledged being influenced by
classical music, although “no more than [by] jazz,” taking whatever he “liked the
sound of.”6 Of influences, he also said “all musical experience enters into you.”7
His broad musical experience provided him with a rich array of melodic models.
Jazz performers are thought to hold analyses of jazz in low esteem. Evans
expressed a negative opinion of analysis in a 1960 interview: “It’s got to be
experienced, because it’s feeling, not words. Words are the children of reason and,
therefore, can't explain it. . . . That’s why it bugs me when people try to analyze
jazz as an intellectual theorem. It’s not. It’s feeling.”8 However, his comments
about his own use of theoretical ideas in his playing in a 1964 interview add a
different point of view:
The only way I can work is to have some kind of restraint involved—the
challenge of a certain craft or form—and then find freedom in that. . . .
Everything that I play, I know about, in a theoretical way, according to my
own organization of musical facts. And it’s a very elementary, basic-type
thing. I don’t profess to be advanced in theory, but in this area, I do try to
work very clearly, because that is the only way I can work.9

4
Charles Blancq, “Bill Evans: The First Trio,” Jazzforschung 21 (1989): 57.
5
Blancq, 55.
6
Gene Lees, “Inside the New Bill Evans Trio,” Downbeat 29 (November 22, 1962): 24.
7
Nat Hentoff, “Introducing Bill Evans,” Jazz Review 2 (October 1959): 28.
8
D. Nelsen, “Bill Evans” Downbeat 27 (December 8, 1960): 16.
9
D. Morgenstern, “Classic Interview—Bill Evans: The Art of Playing,” Downbeat 61 (Decem-
ber 1994): 46. [Originally published October 22, 1964.]
68 Journal of Jazz Studies

The construction of melodic lines was a subject to which Evans had given
considerable thought: “Just learning how to manipulate a line, the science of
building a line, if you can call it a science, is enough to occupy somebody for
twelve lifetimes.”10 He added to this idea while discussing melodic coherence:
It’s a problem, and one that I have in a way solved for myself theoretically
by studying melody and the construction of melody through all musics. I
found that there is a limited amount of things that can happen to an idea,
but in developing it, there are many, many ways that you can handle it.11

Bill Evans recorded “Autumn Leaves” with bassist Scott LaFaro and drummer
Paul Motian on December 28, 1959 for the album Portrait in Jazz (Riverside
RLP 12-315 [M]). There were two takes of “Autumn Leaves.” The first, issued
on the original monaural version of the album, has been referred to as “preferred”
by numerous critics;12 the second was issued on the later stereo version of the
album. This study deals only with the monaural take. Another of Evans’s
innovations, the development of interactive, collective improvisation among the
members of the trio, is demonstrated to a high degree in “Autumn Leaves.”13
However, this study will concentrate on the structure of the melodic lines Evans
played, without regard to their role in a “conversation” with the other players.
An improvised performance differs from a composition in that it occurs in real
time, with no opportunity for the performer to go back and revise. The problems
of maintaining interest and balance, of creating a sense of inevitability and
forward motion are constant for the improviser. An analysis may choose to look
at a transcription of a performance as if it were a composed score, moving
backward and forward through it, collecting items for comparison that originally
came into being for different local reasons. In contrast, the present study will
move through the performance from beginning to end, just as Evans did, in an
attempt to follow his ongoing solutions to the problems of “composing in the
moment.”14 The reader will find an annotated transcription of Evans’s perfor-

10
Ibid., 47.
11
Ibid.
12
For Example, Dick Katz and Martin Williams call it the “musically preferred . . . version of the
piece” in the booklet accompanying Jazz Piano: A Smithsonian Collection (1989, Smithsonian
Collection of Recordings): 58. See also Blancq, “Bill Evans: The First Trio,” 58.
13
Evans intended this innovation: “I’m hoping the trio will grow in the direction of simultaneous
improvisation. . . . In a classical composition, you don’t have a part remaining stagnant until it
becomes a solo. There are transitional development passages—a voice begins to be heard more
and more and finally breaks into prominence” (Hentoff, “Introducing Bill Evans,” 26).
14
The phrase is part of the title of Chapter 8 of Paul F. Berliner Thinking in Jazz: The Infinite
Art of Improvisation (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1994).
Strunk/Melodic Structure 69

mance as an appended file.15 Please consult the transcription while reading the
following discussion. Text references to measure numbers consist of a Roman
numeral (the chorus number) followed by an Arabic numeral (the measure
number within that chorus). Each chorus begins with measure one.

INTRODUCTION

The eight-measure introduction presents the chord progression of the repeat-

ed A section (mm. 1–16) of the tune in double time. The melody of each four-
measure phrase moves down stepwise from 8 ̂ to 5 ̂ ,the head tone. This line is
found across mm. 1–8 of the original melody as the first note in each occurrence
of the sequenced motive (see Example 1A, lower staff). Returning to Evans’
introduction, three sequential one-measure units lead to a cadence on the fourth
measure. Measures 1–4 introduce syncopation and the motivic rhythm of two
sixteenth notes leading into a downbeat. The varied repetition of the sequence in
mm. 5–8 introduces quarter-note triplets grouped in pairs beginning with the
second triplet quarter of m. 5. This grouping presents a displaced hemiola that
sounds three times in sequence. In addition to the A section progression and
some particular rhythms, Evans’s introduction has brought out sequence,
hemiola, and rhythmic displacement as processes that will recur frequently in the
choruses to follow.
A recurring feature of the melodic lines of this performance also begins in the
introduction: the use of passages with symmetric contours, i.e., contours that
have invariance under retrograde, inversion, or retrograde inversion. Perhaps the
origin of this feature lies in the middleground of the melody of “Autumn Leaves”
(Example 1) which includes <E♭, D, C, B♭> in the A section, followed by <A,
B♭, C, D> in the B section. The second segment is the transposed inversion of
the first, whether represented as a pitch segment, a pitch-class segment, or a
contour.16 If the two segments are concatenated, then the transposed inversion of

15
Except for some minor rhythmic differences, my transcription of the performance agrees with
that of Bob Hinz’s in The Artistry of Bill Evans Volume 2 (New York: Warner Bros. Publica-
tions Inc. 1995). Hinz, however, does include the left hand throughout.
16
The inversional relationship between these segments was pointed out in Keith Waters,
“Outside Forces: ‘Autumn Leaves’ in the 1960s,” Current Musicology 71–73 (Spring 2001–
Spring 2002): 284. Contours are notated here as they are in Robert Morris, Composition with
Pitch Classes: A Theory of Compositional Design (Yale University Press, 1987), 27–36.
Practically speaking, a set of pitches are assigned integers so that the lowest pitch is zero, the next
lowest is one, etc. Then, the integers are placed inside angle brackets in the order that their
corresponding pitches occur. Contours may be retrograded, inverted, or both at the same time. In
the case of contours related by inversion, the sum of equivalent order positions is the highest
70 Journal of Jazz Studies

that preserves the two discrete four-note segments in reverse order, again
regardless of representation (Example 2).17

Example 1. Joseph Kosma, “Autumn Leaves,” measures 1–24.

Example 2. Concatenation of middleground segments from A and B sections.

Symmetry is introduced in the introduction in a small way in mm. 2–3, where

two inversionally related retrograde-symmetrical motives are concatenated to
make a retrograde-inversionally symmetrical figure. (The first measure is slightly
different, and is not so strictly retrograde-symmetrical.) In mm. 2–3, motives <F,
G, F> and <E♭, D, E♭> have inversionally related contours <0 1 0> and <1 0 1>.
Their concatenation produces contour <2 3 2 1 0 1>, which is invariant under
retrograde inversion. This invariance holds also for pitch-class and pitch repre-
sentations of m. 3. (The set in this measure is 4-10 [0235], which is inversionally

integer in the contour so that the higher contour pitches are sent to the lower, and vice-versa.
Transposition does not apply to contours. The concepts of pitch segment and pitch-class
segment are also explained in Morris, 1987. Angle brackets enclose segments, which are ordered
sets.
17
That is, as a pitch-class segment, an inversion of the ordered series <3 2 0 T 9 T 0 2> at T0I
produces ordered series <9 T 0 2 3 2 0 T>. Ordered elements within the discrete halves of each
series are identical, but the halves themselves occur in a different order. Because pitches are as
registrally close together as possible—and semitones are equivalent to interval classes—the same
applies if we consider the elements as pitches rather than pitch classes.
Strunk/Melodic Structure 71

symmetrical.)
In the ensuing choruses, all of which contain improvisation, Evans strives for
balance, variety, a sense of forward motion through various processes in time,
melodic and rhythmic organizations that contradict the formal divisions of the
original tune, and a unified shape for the whole performance. The following
discussion will indicate some ways these ideals are obtained.

CHORUS I

As is usual, the first chorus paraphrases the original melody. Measures I-1 and
I-3 contain single notes, a long one and a somewhat shorter one, as do mm. I-5
and I-7, presenting the line <E♭, D, C, B♭> mentioned above. As this line is
very close to the original, Evans takes a variety of liberties with the pickup groups
that precede each of these notes. In the original song, these are each three
ascending stepwise quarters beginning a sixth below each of the long notes to
which they progress. Evans modifies each one in a different way, so that a sense
of forward motion is obtained through the process of extending the pickup
groups. At m. 8 of the Introduction, he adds a six-note prefix and a single
eighth-note embellishment to the first pickup group. These additions enable the
extraction of two retrograde-symmetrical subsets having contours <2 0 1 0 2>
and <2 1 0 1 2> (Example 3). The thirty second-note prefix actually sounds like a
way of “crushing” the first of the three original pickups, so that this group sounds
less modified than the following ones, basically consisting of four notes. The
second group (m. I-2), also of four notes, recalls the syncopation and sixteenths
of the introduction and begins the process of filling the interval of a sixth
stepwise, but this time with a gap. The third group (m. I-4), of seven notes, fills
the sixth completely with ascending stepwise motion, uniquely beginning with a
repeated note. The fourth pickup group (m. I-6), of nine notes, adds a three-
note “crush” prefix to yet another sixth-filling pattern, this one containing the
retrograde-symmetrical subset <G, F♯, D, F♯, G>, contour <2 1 0 1 2> (Exam-
ple 4). Like this subset, most of the retrograde-symmetrical contours in this
performance consist basically of ascents followed by descents or the reverse.
Hence, they have the general forms <0...n...0> and <n...0...n>, where n is the
highest element in the contour. For simplicity, I will call the former type an
“up(n + 1)RS” contour and the latter type a “down(n + 1)RS” contour, where “RS”
means retrograde-symmetrical. Thus, <2 1 0 1 2> is a down3RS contour.
72 Journal of Jazz Studies

Example 3. Retrograde-symmetrical contours, Introduction, m.8.

Example 4. Down3RS contour, I-6

The next phrase begins to continue this process, starting the pickup group on
the downbeat for the first time (m. I-8), but evidently the need for variety has led
to an interesting effect: with the time and the progression continuing, the
holding back of melodic motion in mm. I-9–13 has the effect of building tension.
The pickup to m. I-11 only consists of the last two sixteenth notes before the
downbeat; that to m. I-13, an ascending four-note arpeggiation of thirds. At the
cadential pickup of the A section (m. I-14), it is as if the door has been opened
and, releasing the tension, a flurry of eighth notes enters, consisting of an
Strunk/Melodic Structure 73

ascending dominant arpeggio followed by an ornamented descending tonic

arpeggio across m. I-15.18

This (mm. I-14–15) is one of a group of passages that exhibit segmental con-
tour invariance under retrograde inversion. Such passages in this performance are
generally constructed as a series of thirds in one direction followed (often at a
change of chord) by a stepwise connection to a series of thirds in the other
direction, filling the gaps in the first series, e.g., contour <0 2 4 3 1>. Although
this invariance is possible with ascents and descents of any degree of difference of
size, Evans chooses forms in which they are either equal or differ by one note. I
shall call this type an “interlocked” contour.

Example 5. Interlocked Contour, I-14–15.

At I-14 a reduction to chord arpeggiations produces interlocked contour <0 2

4 6 8 7 5 3 1>, which preserves segments <0 2 4 6 8> and <7 5 3 1> in reverse
order upon retrograde inversion (Example 5). The amount of energy being
released carries this passage beyond the downbeat, where it would normally end,
so that it ends on an odd beat (the fourth) and an odd note (E♮).19 The fourth
beat (and sometimes the second) is a frequent endpoint for Evans’s phrases,
supporting the ideals of rhythmic displacement and incongruity with the original
formal structure. After this release of energy, a measure's rest is taken.
The B section begins again to hold back melodic motion, but with the added
interest of two-handed chords and a reminder of the displaced hemiola of the
introduction at m. I-17. The release of tension comes at m. I-22, the high point

18
In calling m. I-14 as the “cadential pickup of the A section,” Strunk refers to the cadence that
provides structural closure for that section. The operative D7(♭9) harmony at I-14 (not shown in
the transcription), resolves to the global tonic Gm at the downbeat of I-15.
19
The E finds resolution to E♭ in an inner voice line: E (m. I-15), F♯ (m. I-17), F (mm. I-17–
18), E (m. I-19), E♭ (mm. I-20–21).
74 Journal of Jazz Studies

of the melody, and again the passage spills over past the cadential downbeat,
ending this time squarely on the third beat. Across mm. I-22–23, the original
melody <F5 E♭5, D5> is given a suffix <E♭5, F5>, producing a down3RS
contour, which is followed immediately by a fill (m. I-24) of an up4RS contour,
which contains the inversion of the previous down3RS contour as a subset
(Example 6). Evans develops the melody-fill pattern of m. I-24 into a sequence,
in which the fill provides the sense of forward motion by changing from a seven-
note group (I-24) to a six-note group (I-26), then to a five-note group (I-28),
with the latter two mimicking the contour of m. I-24. Although the mid-
dleground upper voice of the original tune ends with a stepwise descent to the
tonic, in m. I-30 Evans delays the downward motion so that the line ends on A4,
the ninth of the tonic chord that enters at the downbeat of m. 31.

Example 6. Retrograde-symmetrical contours, mm. I-22–28.

CHORUS II

The first improvised chorus is basically a bass solo, a choice unusual at the
time and seen as an innovation. Evans participates actively, however, and
continues to develop his own ideas in addition to responding to those of Scott
LaFaro. While the bass is soloing, Evans plays lines in octaves in both hands, in
contrast to the usual melody (right hand)/ accompaniment (left hand) assign-
ment of function he uses at other times.20 In this chorus, after a rest of eight

20
Octave doublings not shown in transcription.
Strunk/Melodic Structure 75

measures, Evans plays passages that generally increase in length and are separated
by rests which increase and then decrease in length. The series of passage lengths
in beats—with lengths of separations given in parentheses—is: 5, (3), 5, (7), 5,
(7), 7, (9), 12, (6), 11, (3), 16. This process gives a strong sense of direction to
the chorus.
The arpeggiations of mm. I-12 and I-14 are recalled at II-9, 11, and 14.
Although, as indicated above, these groups have equal durations, Evans obtains a
sense of growth by increasing the number of notes in each group. Example 7
shows the six-note group at II-9 (G4 is missing in the ascent, so this can only be
classified as an up3RS contour). The group at II-11 has seven notes (an up4RS
contour) followed by two “bebop” eighths anticipating the second beat. And, the
group at II-14 has eight notes (but still an up4RS contour) followed by a denser
pair of eighths, the first of which is harmonized.

Example 7. Up3RS contour, m. II-9.

Because the thirteen-note passage at II-17 goes up and comes down, it ap-
pears to be a continuation of the earlier passages (although it consists primarily of
steps). It introduces new ideas, however: the octatonic scale in II-17–18 has an
ascent that is longer than the following descent. Here and in later choruses, some
passages have ascents and descents that are unequal in length. In such cases, a
core symmetrical contour has either its beginning or ending extended, producing
a shape like a checkmark, or one of its transformations (inversion, retrograde, or
retrograde inversion).21 At II-17, the shape is a retrograde-inverted checkmark.
The reduction of the passage to an upward arpeggiation of the third, fifth,
seventh, and minor ninth of an Am7(♭5) chord (II-17) followed by a downward
arpeggiation of the fifth, third, and root of the D7(♭9) (II-18) results in the

21
It would be possible to reduce “checkmark” passages to simple three-element contours (here,
the contour would be <1 0 2>), but that would not convey the proportions of its directional
segments.
76 Journal of Jazz Studies

interlocked contour <0 2 4 6 5 3 1>, which preserves segments <0 2 4 6> and <5
3 1> in reverse order upon retrograde inversion (Example 8).

Example 8. Interlocked contour, mm. II-17–18.

A reduction of the passage at II-21 reveals an inverted checkmark, the begin-

ning contour of which is an up3RS type (Example 9, bottom staff). The
octatonic scale is still present here, both in literal form descending between B5
and C5 (m. II-22), and as the source for the transposition level of the sequence
in m. II-21. As the octatonic scale is constructed by successive transpositions of
ic2 at T3, so the sequence is constructed by successive transpositions of the first
four notes: <F5, E♭5 B♭4, G4> at T3. The third entrance of the sequential
motive is limited to its first two notes, <B5, A5>, which begin the descending
octatonic scale. The registral isolation of this descending whole step through the
sequence and its treatment in this passage (shown in Example 9) leads to
consideration of another means of obtaining a sense of forward motion, that
which Arnold Schoenberg called liquidation.

Example 9. Contour relationships, mm. II-21–23.

Strunk/Melodic Structure 77

In Models for Beginners in Composition (1942), Schoenberg speaks o liqui-

dation as “a method of getting rid of the obligations of the motif.”22 Of this, he
says, “Obligations of the motif derive from a tendency or inclination inherent in
a motif by which it aims at developing variation.”23 These statements may be
clarified by his reference to the technique of liquidation in Fundamentals of
Musical Composition.
The technique to be applied… is a kind of development, comparable in
some respects to the condensing technique of ‘liquidation.’ Development
implies not only growth, augmentation, extension and expansion, but also
reduction, condensation and intensification. The purpose of liquidation is to
counteract the tendency toward unlimited extension.
Liquidation consists in gradually eliminating characteristic features, until
only uncharacteristic ones remain, which no longer demand a continuation.
Often, only residues remain, which have little in common with the basic
motive.
The liquidation is generally supported by a shortening of the phrase.24

In the ensuing discussion, the concepts of reduction, shortening, intensification,

and condensation stand out as the main characteristics of liquidation. Although
not emphasized by Schoenberg, the application of these processes also results in a
sense of accelerating forward motion toward the end of the liquidation, after
which the idea being liquidated is not heard again for some time.
In the passage at II-21, the repetition and compression of the downward
whole-step might be seen as a liquidation. Its first three statements are separated
by three quarters of a beat, followed by two contiguous statements after which
none is heard except perhaps for a brief echo <C5, B♭4> in m. II-23. Consider-
ing the liquidated elements as a segment <F, E♭, A♭, G♭, B, A, A♭, G♭, F, E♭>,
its contour is <1 0 3 2 5 4 3 2 1 0>, which holds contours <1 0 3 2 5 4> and <5 4
3 2 1 0> invariant in reverse order under retrograde inversion (Example 9).25
The sequenced motive at II-21 occupies three eighth notes and begins on the
second half of the first beat, thereby setting up a displaced hemiola, a descendant
of mm. 5–7 of the introduction. Given the usual stress on the offbeat eighth
notes of bebop lines and the contour accents on C5 in m. II-22 and F4 in m. II-
23, another displaced hemiola might be heard to begin on G♭ in m. II-22,

22
Arnold Schoenberg, Models for Beginners in Composition (New York: G. Schirmer, 1942):
11.
23
Ibid., 15.
24
Arnold Schoenberg, Fundamentals of Musical Composition, ed. Gerald Strang and Leonard
Stein (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1967): 58.
25
This would be true considering the notes as either pitches or pitch classes.
78 Journal of Jazz Studies

extending to the end of the passage.26 Like the passage at mm. I-14–15, this
passage extends beyond the formal section cadence (i.e., the downbeat of II-23)
and ends on the fourth beat. Its last three notes are a transposition (T3) of those
that close the earlier passage.
The next passage at II-25 also begins with sequence and hemiola, but the
hemiola is not displaced. The interval of 3 semitones is present here not as a
transposition level, but as the interval separating the members of the trichord 3-
10 [036], the subject of sequential treatment. A reduction to an ascending
arpeggiation of the dominant ♭9 chord (II-26) followed by a descending arpeg-
giation of the tonic chord (II-27) reveals interlocked contour <1 3 5 7 9 8 (6) 4 2
0> in which element 6 is missing from the descent (Example 10). This condi-
tion results in slightly incomplete invariance of the reversed segments upon
retrograde inversion: only <8 4 2 0> and <1 5 7 9> are preserved. The repeated 3-
10 [036] trichords at the beginning of the passage can be understood as a
repetition and compression of the segment <F5, A♭5, B5>, which consists of the
first notes of each occurrence of the sequenced motive in the previous passage at
m. II-21. Incorporating the F5 at II-21, the starting pitches of these trichords
(G4, A4, B4, and C5) also ascend by either interval class 2 or 1, further connect-
ing the five instances. Repetition and compression also occurs with a rhythmic
motive (labeled M1), which first occurs at m. II-26, occurs again after four
eighth notes, and occurs again after only two eighth notes. Like the others, this
passage extends beyond the cadence of the phrase (II-27) to end on an anticipa-
tion of the second (weak) beat of m. II-28.

Example 10. Interlocked contour, mm. II-26–27.

The final passage, at II-29, begins with rhythmically straightforward sequenc-

es and descends gradually, producing no notable symmetrical contours. The
construction of the passage brings to mind, however, Schoenberg's concept of the
sentence. In Models for Beginners he writes of a sentence, “The opening phrase
is repeated at once (with or without variation). This repetition makes further

26
See dashed brackets in the transcription.
Strunk/Melodic Structure 79

exact repetitions unnecessary, and permits a continuation with either reduced

forms of the basic phrase or more remote motif-forms.”27 The passage at II-29
can be seen as a miniature sentence: the opening phrase is in m. II-29, its
sequential repetition is in m. II-30, and mm. II-31 and 32 are the continuation.
The first five notes of the continuation are a varied repetition of the sequence
motive, and its last four notes can be seen as a form of the sequence motive
reduced both in range and rhythmic duration (“residue”).

CHORUS III

In the third chorus, the bass solo continues. Although the durations of Evans’s
passages vary irregularly, the silences between them undergo three successive
processes of growth. In terms of beats of silence, these are (1) 4, 5, and 12 across
mm. III-1–11; (2) 2, 3, and 5 across mm. III-12–17; and (3) 4, 5, and 6 across
mm III-21–29. The first sixteen measures continue the motivic and developmen-
tal processes started earlier; the last sixteen present a small AA’BA” form.
Measure III-1 presents contour <2 0 1>, the inversion of the contour of the
last three notes of the preceding measure, <0 2 1>, thereby connecting the two
choruses. The next passage (at III-3) varies the activity between D4 and F4 that
began in III-1 and imitates chromatic motion begun a few beats earlier by the
bass (not shown). The chromatic triplets seem to “wind up” for their extended
ascent at the end, thereby escaping the repeated closed up4RS contours with
which they began. The ascent produces a checkmark shape in III-4, and the
passage ends with a triplet on a weak beat. In the next passage at III-6, following
a linear ascent from G4 to E♭5, an elaborated descent recalls the aforementioned
arpeggio motive of chorus II and, when reduced, produces an up5RS contour
(Example 11).

Example 11. Up5RS contour, mm. III-6–8.

27
Schoenberg, Models for Beginners, 16.
80 Journal of Jazz Studies

Three sequential motivic statements occur across mm. III-11–16. Here, the
two hands continue to proceed in octaves, however, the upper line is now
harmonized below, mainly in parallel thirds. Each statement is based on the idea
of an upper neighbor stepping downward through an arpeggiation in thirds with
differing degrees of elaboration (Example 12). The three statements involve
repetition and compression, as can be seen by listing the durations (in eighth
notes) of the notes of each as they approach the goal of their downward motions
and the total duration of each: (1) <1, 2, 2, 2, 2>, total 9; (2) <1, 2, 1, 2, 1>, total
7; (3) <1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1>, total 9. Although the last group, like the first,
totals 9 eighths, the gradual move to shorter values supports the feeling of
compression and concomitant liquidation.

Example 12. Elaborated arpeggios, mm. III-11–16.

Two groups of three measures each, mm. III-18–20 and III-22–24, resemble
each other. Evans plays ascending chord arpeggiations of varying sizes: 3, 4, 4,
and 5 notes in mm. III-18–20, ending on the fourth beat; and 4, 3, 5, 5, and 3
notes in mm. III-22–24, ending on the anticipation of the fourth beat.28 These
groups, occupying mm. III-17–24 (including rests), serve as the first section of a
small AA’BA” form. The B section consists of mm. III-25–28, in which six-note
vertical chords are played. The return to the arpeggio idea (A) at m. III-29
begins with a three-note vertical chord and reverses the direction of the arpeggia-
tion, balancing the earlier ascents. All the verticals across mm. III-26–27
segment into trichordal octatonic subsets: 3-7 [025], 3-8 [026], and 3-10 [036],
while the first two verticals comprise the tetrachordal subset 4-27 [0258]. The
chorus ends with a small checkmark shape: at III-31 a down3RS contour is
extended upward at its end by one note.

28
Strunk derives the final arpeggio in the first group from those notes that fall squarely on beats
(thus, F♯4, G4, B♭4, D5 and A5).
Strunk/Melodic Structure 81

CHORUS IV

This chorus, a piano solo, features numerous liquidations. It begins with a

retrograde-inversionally symmetrical figure of contour <1 2 1 0 1>. An up4RS
contour beginning at m. IV-7, beat 4 is extended by three notes at the end,
forming an inverted checkmark (Example 13). 29 This passage also presents
repetition and compression: consider the decreasing durations between instances
of the note G5. It enters on the downbeat of IV-8; the time to its next occur-
rence is 6 eighths; to the next, 5 eighths, then 2, 2, 2, and 2 eighths. We no
longer hear the note for a while after that. At the same time, three occurrences of
the rhythmic motive M2 (beginning in IV-9) are separated first by 2, then 0
eighths. In this way, motive M2 is also liquidated.

Example 13. Up4RS contour and inverted checkmark, m. IV-8–9.

A slight reduction of the beginning of the next passage at IV-11 reveals a

down5RS contour which is extended upward at the end to the downbeat of m.
IV-13 to form a checkmark shape (Example 14). Although the melodic motion
continues past the sectional cadential downbeat at IV-15 to end on an anticipa-
tion of the second beat of m. IV-16, the D on that sectional downbeat is the goal
of a process of compression that begins on B♭5 in m. IV-13. The stepwise
descending upper voice of the contrapuntal melody is elaborated by descending
arpeggiations derived from m. I-9 (Example 15). These elaborations cause the
effective durations (in eighth notes) of the downward arpeggiations from those
notes of the upper line to decrease as follows: B♭ (4), A (4), G (3), F (2), E♭ (2),
D (goal), creating a liquidation of descending arpeggiations.

29
Strunk’s handout featured the ‘ = ’ (equals) sign here. However, the double tilde (meaning
“approximately equal to”) more accurately accounts for the general equivalency of the functions of
A and A♭ in this passage.
82 Journal of Jazz Studies

Example 14. Down5RS contour, mm. IV-11–12.

Example 15. Upper-voice descent, mm. IV-13–15.

The first five notes of the passage at m. IV-17 present a down3RS contour,
and the two-octave ascent of that measure is matched by a two-octave descent in
the next. At the peak is a small interlocked contour, <0 2 4 3 1>, which preserves
segments <0 2 4> and <3 1> in reverse order on retrograde inversion.
Across IV-25–27, scalar passages connect the following extremes: G3/A4,
A4/D4, D4/D5, D5/G4, and G4/A5>. This set, in pitch integer notation <–5, 9,
2, 14, 7, 21>, is invariant under RT16I.30 When notated as contour <0 3 1 4 2 5>,
it is also invariant under retrograde inversion. The ascending portions of the
passage each occupy approximately three beats, while the descending portions
occupy one. These proportions produce a combination of checkmark and
retrograde-inverted checkmark shapes. These include an up5RS contour across
mm. IV-25–26 and a down5RS contour at m. IV-26–27 (Example 16).

30
Pitch integer notation accounts for distances of each member of a set of pitches from middle C
(here, the set is ordered). See Rahn 1980, 19–39. To perform the operation RT16I, invert all
pitches around middle C, transpose them sixteen semitones, and then put the result in reverse
order.
Strunk/Melodic Structure 83

Although the general plan of the passage is regular, its details are unique, being
involved in developmental processes. Hemiola results from grouping the first
three beats (triplet eighth notes) and the next three (sixteenths ending on the
second sixteenth of the last beat).31 The next four beats may be grouped together,
as they are mostly sixteenths, again ending on the second sixteenth of the last
beat. Two beats remain, so the passage ends on the fourth beat of m. IV-27.

Example 16. Contour relationships, mm. IV-25–30.

Another way of expressing the implied meter of the passage beginning at IV-
25, which would reflect its feeling of compression and forward motion, would be
as one measure of 6/4 followed by one measure of 4/4 and one measure of 2/4.
The repetition and shortening of units throughout the passage supports this
grouping. The unit first occupies the 6/4 “measure” and consists of a long ascent
to A4, a quick descent to D4, and a quick ascent to F♯4 one beat later. The next
statement of the unit occupies the 4/4 “measure.” Here the initial ascent to D5
has been shortened to three notes. The ensuing down5RS contour makes a quick
descent to G4 followed by a quick ascent back to D5. The final statement of the
unit occupies the 2/4 “measure” and has been stripped of all but its final ascent
from D5 to A5.
The passage at IV-28 begins with a turn, i.e., a down3RS contour, which
overlaps with an up6RS contour beginning in IV-29 (Example 16). The descent
of that contour is elaborated, and the sequential continuation of the elaboration
in IV-30 produces the inverted checkmark shape (see score). This passage
connects with mm. IV-26–27 in that they can both be reduced to arpeggiations
in thirds whose contours are related by inversion (Example 16, bottom staff).

31
Here, Strunk refers to a hemiola of rhythmic textures, where a durational span of six beats
divides into one half (comprised of triplet eighths) and another (comprised of sixteenths). In this
way, two roughly equal units of different rhythmic texture combine to form a span that is
temporally divisible by three.
84 Journal of Jazz Studies

Example 17. Contour relationships, mm. IV-31–32.

The next passage at IV-31–32 also reduces to an arpeggiation in thirds. In this

case, the arpeggiation forms a down3RS contour (Example 17). The end of this
passage contains—as polyphonic lines converging on E—an upper voice contour
<2 1 0> and a lower voice contour <0 1 2> which are inversions or retrogrades of
each other (see stemmed notes). The last two beats of this passage are identical
to those of I-15, ending on the “odd” note and weak beat.

CHORUS V

The piano solo continues. This chorus is devoted to motivic development and
the introduction of an expansive melodic model that will be used repeatedly in
chorus VI.
The opening eighth note triplets, recalling mm. III-3–4, attach chromatic
lower neighbors to third arpeggiations producing the partially interlocking
contour <0 2 4 6 7 6 5 3 1> (Example 18). Note the retrograde-symmetrical
central contour subset <6 7 6>. Omitting its central element 7 reveals the
interlocking contour <0 2 4 6 5 3 1>, first seen at m. II-17. Measures V-3–8
feature a reversal of the liquidation process, where motivic residues originally
compressed into mm. V-1–2 are presented at increasing time intervals: twice
after one beat, then again after three beats.32

32
Blancq, “Bill Evans: The First Trio,” 58, notes that this is one of several passages that “reveal a
rudimentary sense of motivic relationships.”
Strunk/Melodic Structure 85

Example 18. Partially interlocking contour, mm. V-1–2.

A passage begins at V-9 that continues unbroken to the downbeat of V-19.

One way to articulate it is to observe that the note G4 occurs at four salient
moments: at the beginning, at the end, as the first note of m. V-13, and as the
last note of m. V-14. The latter two locations enclose a passage with symmetrical
properties similar to those of mm. V-1–2. To consider this smaller passage first,
note that its contour is the combination of three overlapping contours, <0 1 2 3 4
5>, <1 2 0 1>, and <5 4 3 2 1 0> (Example 19). The central contour is retro-
grade-inversionally symmetrical, and prolongs element 5 of the surrounding
contours; omitting it reveals contour <0 1 2 3 4 6 5 4 3 2 0>, which preserves <0
1 2 3 4 6> and <6 5 4 3 2 0> in reverse order on inversion.

Example 19. Contour relationships, mm. V-13–14.

The passage from m. V-9 to the downbeat of m. V-13 dramatically opens the
melodic range, beginning on G4, ascending to A♭6, descending to C4, and
returning to G4, thereby describing an inverted checkmark interlocked with a
retrograde checkmark. Many of its pitches and rhythms will be developed in
similar passages in chorus VI.
86 Journal of Jazz Studies

The retrograde-symmetrical contour of the residual motive at m. V-3, <0 2 1

2 0>, is related to that of the repeated pattern in mm. V-15–18, <2 0 1 0 2>, by
inversion. This pattern occurs twice in eighth notes in V-15, then is imposed on
triplet eighths in mm. V-16–18. The high note of each pattern in the triplets
combined with the four beats of the measure produces the polyrhythm three
against four in each of those measures. The intervallic content of the pattern
narrows as it approaches the goal, the downbeat of m. V-19: 3-6 [024] in mm.
V-15–16, 3-2 [013] in mm. V-17–18. The series of high notes from each form
of the pattern, <F♯4, A4, A♭4>, close in melodically on the goal G4 at the
downbeat of V-19, and the four-note contour that results, <0 3 2 1>, preserves its
discrete dyads in reverse order upon retrograde inversion.
A short passage in mm. V-19–20, on reduction an up4RS contour, prolongs
G (Example 20). That passage and one other interrupt the appearances of triplet
passages between m. V-16 and m. V-31. The second interrupting passage, mm.
V-25–26, resembles the expansive one beginning at m. V-9. Both have an
inverted checkmark shape,33 cover a fairly wide range, use quarter-note triplets
around their highest point, and on their descents use a characteristic rhythmic
fragment (m. V-10, beats three and four, m. V-26, beats one and two) which will
be developed further in chorus VI. Immediately after this (mm. V-27–28) is a
passage shaped as an inverted checkmark beginning with an up5RS contour,
resembling many earlier passages (Example 21).

Example 20. Up4RS contour, mm. V-19–20.

33
While Strunk’s observation is true, the contour across mm. V-9–10 is a retrograde-inverted
checkmark.
Strunk/Melodic Structure 87

Example 21. Up5RS contour, mm. V-27–28.

By using the triplet passages at irregular time intervals and by interrupting

them, Evans is able to build a half-chorus from a simple motive without being
predictable. Most of the triplet passages end on the last third of a beat, giving a
sense of disconnection from the phrasing of the original tune. (The one passage
that ends on the beat ends on a fourth beat E♮, modeled after m. I-15.) Variety
is also served by the abandonment of the <2 0 1 0 2> contour after m. V-23,
except for a brief return m. V-29. The durations of the triplet passages and the
rests between them are given in Table 1. After the first long group, there is a
slight but general decrease in the length of the groups which might possibly add
to the sense of direction in this section. The “beats intervening” column shows
that after the first interruption, passages consisting of three triplets are separated
by first one and one-half beats, then two and one-half beats, etc. These varying
lengths allow the triplet passages to fall irregularly against the meter. At the same
time, however, the twelve intervening beats observe the division between B and
C sections of the tune.

Table 1. Use of Triplet Groups in Chorus V

starting measure beats of triplets beats intervening
16 12 8

21 3.5 1.5

22 3.5 2.5

23 3.5 12

28 3 1.5

29 3.5 2.5
31 2.5
88 Journal of Jazz Studies

CHORUS VI

This chorus features many of the rhythmic and melodic patterns most unique
to Bill Evans, which were admired and absorbed by others, gradually becoming
part of the general repertoire of most jazz pianists. As mentioned before, one
general rhythmic characteristic is the stopping of lines on a weak beat (the
second or fourth beat) or on an off-beat anticipation of one. All the passages in
this chorus have this characteristic. Some passages also start on a weak part
(usually the second half) of the first beat, as in mm. VI-4, 11, 15, 18, 19, 21, 25,
26, and 29. These rhythmic characteristics cause the line to seem to float
disconnected from the ongoing 4/4 beat of the tune in a manner distinct from
that of earlier performers. The general juxtaposition of long series of eighth notes
with long series of quarter-note triplets is also distinctive of Evans’ style.
One important rhythmic pattern is an anacrusis of two fast notes approaching
an accented note followed by another note ending the group (labeled M3). The
latter two notes have longer durations (at least before subsequent note onsets)
than the two upbeat notes. A single case occurs at VI-4, beat four. Successive
patterns occur across VI-11 and VI-12. Sequences of the pattern begin at VI-6,
VI-12 and at VI-22. Relative durational values are reversed in the sequence of
motives (labeled M3R) beginning at VI-9, beat two, so that the slower pair
precedes the faster.34 In m. VI-18, the two final eighth notes of the pattern are
extended to five. In VI-27, two occurrences of the pattern (with the modification
that the final note does not end the pattern) are overlapped in the pitch series
<C6, B♭5, G5, D5> and <D5, D♭5, C5, A4>.
The main innovative pitch characteristic of these passages is the use of the
octatonic scale. The presence of numerous octatonic passages argues for a more
conscious use of the scale than was the general practice of the time. Such
passages using octatonic subsets of five or more pitch classes in chorus VI are
listed in Table 2.
Measures 1-16 of this chorus present a series of passages each of which as-
cends and then descends. The range and duration of these gradually decreases,
supporting the impression that the section begins with high energy and gradually
subsides. The first passage, a three-measure phrase, ascends to the melodic peak
of the section, A♭6 and descends one step short of tonic, to A4, resulting in a
total range of 23 semitones. The next passage (mm. VI-4–8), a four-measure
phrase shifted one measure ahead of the comparable phrase of the tune, ascends

34
In truth, each of these motives finishes with a triplet quarter, which is actually longer in
duration than the straight eighths at motive onsets. However, Strunk is phenomenologically
accurate, as one still hears each of these motives conclude with two relatively swift attacks.
Strunk/Melodic Structure 89

only to F♯6 before descending to B♭4, reducing the range to 20 semitones. The
next four passages are each two measures in length, having ranges of 19 (B♭4–
F6), 17 (C6–G4), 12 (B♭5–B♭4), and 7 (F♯4–D♭5) semitones respectively.
Table 2. Use of Octatonic Subsets in Chorus VI.
starting measure first note last note ending measure
2 A5 C5 3
5 D6 C6 6
9 D6 C5 11
15 F ♯4 G4 16
17 G4 F ♯5 17
18 A ♭5 D5 18
19 F ♯5 G5 20
22 A5 C5 23

At m. VI-17, the process begins to reverse—another suggestion of retrograde

symmetry. Measure VI-17 presents an ascending contour of seven notes. After a
rest, m. VI-18 presents a descending contour of seven notes, the retrograde or
inversion of the contour of m. VI-17. As the last five notes of m. VI-17 and the
first five of m. VI-18 are contiguous members of octatonic collections, they are
also pitch- or pitch-class transformations of each other by transposed retrograde
or inversion. After these two one-measure passages, which together have a range
of 13 semitones, comes a two-measure passage beginning at m. VI-19—the end
of which is shaped like a retrograde-inverted checkmark—with a range of 16
semitones.
At m. VI-21 begins a three-measure passage (followed by one measure rest)
with the general contour of an inverted checkmark, which is closely modeled
after mm. VI-5–8. This passage, like the first of chorus VI, ascends to A♭6 and
descends to A4, producing a range of 23 semitones. With that process having
been completed, the rest of the chorus winds down to end the piano solo portion
of the performance. The small up4RS contour standing alone in m. VI-25 is,
perhaps surprisingly, one of the figures adopted by other pianists. Two more
passages end the chorus. The first, beginning at m. VI-26, generally descends,
ending as in m. I-15. In the next, beginning at beat four of m. VI-29, the top
voice of a polyphonic line presents the polyrhythm four against three, as there are
four equally spaced upper-voice notes in the time of three half-measures (Exam-
ple 22). Successive intervals between pitches in the descending line, <F♯, F, E♭,
90 Journal of Jazz Studies

D, C, B♭, A, G>, have durations (in eighth notes) of 3, 3, 3, 3, 2, 3, 3, and 4

respectively. Despite the nearly equal durations, the passage is directional because
of the stepwise descent of the upper voice and its counterpoint with an ascending
lower voice, <D, D♯, E, F♯, G>. Both lines close in on the goal, G4. Embedded
in the passage, which is completed in the first measure of chorus VII, is a
down5RS contour.

Example 22. Descending upper line and down5RS contour, mm. VI-29–VII-1.

CHORUS VII

This chorus is devoted to the Evans trio version of “trading fours,” a complex
imitative interaction of varying durations among the three players. Here, the bass
takes the lead. Evans responds in mm. VII-5–6 with an up5RS contour ending
on the anticipation to beat four. This passage proceeds in parallel tenths between
the two hands, recalling the parallel thirds of mm. III-11–16. His response at
VII-9–10 begins on the second half of the downbeat, ends on the fourth beat,
and returns to the octave doublings associated with the bass solo of choruses II
and III. In this passage, a reduction to arpeggiations of chord components in
thirds yields interlocking contour <1 3 5 4 2 0>, the inversion of which is <4 2 0
1 3 5>, in which invariant segments <1 3 5> and <4 2 0> appear in reverse order
(Example 23). The next passage, mm. VII-13–14, begins and ends in the same
metric positions as the preceding passage and consists of a two-statement
sequence on the interlocking contour <0 2 4 3 1>, the retrograde inversion of
which holds segments <0 2 4> and <3 1> invariant in reverse order (Example 24).
It also brings back the characteristic rhythmic pattern used in chorus VI. As in
chorus III, the introduction of relatively dense vertical chords (mm. VII-17–20)
and the return to parallel tenths (mm. VII-23) suggest a small form: this time,
ABA'. Measures III-29 and VII-22 correspond exactly in that they each begin
Strunk/Melodic Structure 91

with a three-note chord, but VII-22 functions as a retransition to A’. The B

section here (m. VII-17) introduces an octatonic subset, 5-32 [01469], in a
gesture that is similar to the octatonic subsets of the B section to chorus III-26–
27. The descending line of m. VII-22 acts as an anacrusis to the up5RS contour
in tenths at mm. VII-23–24, which presents six notes of the octatonic scale,
completing Evans’s contribution to the chorus (Example 25).

Example 23. Interlocking contour, mm. VII-9–10.

Example 24. Interlocking contours, mm. VII-13–14.

Example 25. Up5RS contour, mm. VII-23–24.

92 Journal of Jazz Studies

CHORUS VIII

As is usual, the last chorus paraphrases the original melody. Even so, ongoing
processes dominate its treatment. As in the first chorus the upper voice line <E♭,
D, C, B♭> is maintained; however, the ascending pickups to these notes apply
only to the first three. Again, each pickup is varied: the E♭ is approached by the
three original pickups, the D by a stepwise line of six eighth notes, and the C by
a mostly stepwise seven-note line of mixed rhythm. Also the third and fourth
beats of pickup measures VIII-2 and 4 are harmonized in thirds, a procedure to
be used to a great extent later in the chorus. In mm. VIII-5–8 Evans begins to
vary the upper-voice line. The C is given two upper neighbors in a hemiola
rhythm based on 6/4 against the underlying 4/4, and the B♭, which has no
pickup, is buried in a descending blues-inflected line which ends with the E♮
that so often has ended phrases of the A section of the tune.
Measures VIII-9–15 present a passage of parallel thirds alternately ascending
and descending over a gradually widening range: (1) C5 up to B5 back to C5: 11
semitones, (2) B♭4 up to B♭5: 12 semitones, (3) B♭5 down to A4: 13 semitones,
(4) A4 up to E♭6: 18 semitones, and (5) E♭6 down to D4 at the end of the
phrase in m. VIII-16: 25 semitones. In these sweeping gestures, which of course
contain retrograde-symmetrical cores, it is the upper voices of the low points,
located at or near the downbeats of the measures, that trace the descending line
<E♭, D, C, B♭> (however, the last note is displaced up an octave at VIII-15). In
addition to the process of range expansion, repetition and compression contrib-
ute to the sense of forward motion in this passage. The first statement of ascent-
descent (mm. VIII-9–10) has a temporal gap between its first and second
elements and it is separated from its subsequent repetition by a quarter rest. The
first repetition of this gesture (mm. VIII-11–12) has no gap and is joined directly
to the next repetition (m. VIII-13), so that the repetitions are compressed. The
descent of this second repetition is elaborated. Reduction reveals a descending
line, <D6, C6, B♭5 A5, G5>, which occupies seven beats beginning at the
downbeat of m. VIII-14 (Example 26). Reduction of the short single line codetta
immediately following the thirds (mm. VIII-15–16) reveals a repetition of the
same line an octave lower compressed into four beats beginning at the fourth
beat of m. VIII-15. Measures VIII-14–16 also contain compression of time
values: triplet quarters, eighths, triplet eighths, and finally sixteenths.
Strunk/Melodic Structure 93

Example 26. Elaborated descents and hidden repetitions, mm. VIII-14–16.

A and B♭, the structural pitch classes of the original melody at the beginning
of the B section, occur on the downbeats of mm. VIII-18 and 19 respectively.
The section begins with an ascending arpeggio very like the ones in the B section
of chorus III. The next short passage in mm. VIII-18–20 partly balances this
with its descending shape. It begins with the melodic adjacency <G4, A4>, a
compressed repetition of the first and last pitch classes of the ascending arpeggio
that immediately precedes it. In addition, the descent of the opening up3RS
contour, <B♭, A, G>, is repeated and compressed an octave lower at the end of
the passage (Example 27).

Example 27. Up3RS contour and repetition of descent, mm. VIII-19–20.

In mm. VIII-21–29, original melodic pitches C, F, and D are embedded in a

sequential development of the ascending fourth motive. The pitch series, with
notes of the original tune underlined, and ascending fourths in parentheses,
follows: <(C5, F5), C5, (B♭4, E♭5), (A4, D5), (G4, C5)> (Example 28).35 This

35
Brackets in the score indicate the ascending fourths.
94 Journal of Jazz Studies

pitch series is a compound melody harmonized by a series of sustained chords.

The durations of these chords are gradually somewhat shortened; the series of
durations in eighth notes is <9, 8, 8, 8, 8, 6, 8, 6, 1> (see transcription). The
upper voice of the compound melody, which continues in stepwise descent to a
final goal of B♭ in m. VIII-35, undergoes a greater degree of compression; its
pitches and durations, in eighth notes, are: <F5 (24), E♭5 (14), D5 (14), C5 (13),
B♭4 (1), A4 (15), G4 (1), F4 (l3), E♭ (1), D4 (8), C4 (1)>. The final tonic note
of the original melody, had it been played, would have occurred at m. VIII-31.
At this point Evans’s descending line has reached the pitch A4 and the harmony
V7 of IV, which suggests that the rest is coda. The final tonic of this coda takes
the form of an elaborately arpeggiated G minor seventh with ninth and eleventh.
Interestingly, the bass chooses to end on what I have called the “odd” note, with
which Evans ended so many of his phrases, E♮.

Example 28. Correspondence with original melody and upper-voice descent, mm. VIII-
21ff.

THE PERFORMANCE AS A WHOLE

An overview of the performance shows that retrograde symmetry is also sug-

gested by its formal layout. It is framed by an introduction and a coda, the
harmony of each of which approaches the final tonic through circle-of-fifths
progressions. Choruses I and VIII each elaborate the original melody. Choruses
II and III correspond with VII, as they take the focus off the piano, presenting
the bass as the leading voice (with drums participating as well in VII), and
Strunk/Melodic Structure 95

having most of the piano lines doubled in octaves throughout. Chorus III
particularly corresponds with VII in that, in each, a small form is presented
(AA’BA” in III, ABA’ in VII), the B section of which features octatonic chords.
Also the parallel thirds in III-11–16 have a counterpart in the parallel tenths of
VII-5–6. The central piano solo section (Choruses IV, V, and VI) does not
appear to be symmetrically organized. Chorus IV introduces numerous liquida-
tions. Chorus V develops the eighth note triplet motive while introducing the
expansive motive (at V-9–11 and V-25–26) that reaches its peak at the beginning
of Chorus VI. That chorus gradually reduces the scope and energy of the
expansive motive while presenting melodic octatonic subsets that lead into
Chorus VII. On the whole, the performance exhibits retrograde symmetry
around the central piano solo, and in that aspect correlates with the emphasis on
symmetry and invariance exhibited by the surface melodic features.
The methods of melodic construction discussed in this paper generally sup-
port the values desired in improvisation. An improviser who, as he or she plays,
reveals to us conceptions which seem both unified and fresh, and yet which, in
retrospect, seem inevitable, demonstrates the art of improvisation at its highest
level. Contributing to unity in this performance are the symmetric aspects of the
materials just discussed and the recurrence and development of motives. Con-
tributing to freshness are (1) Evans’s use of weakly bounded phrases that start
and end at weak rhythmic moments, and which contradict the phrase boundaries
of the original tune; (2) his seemingly conscious use of octatonic subsets both
horizontally and vertically; and (3) his rhythmic complexities (i.e., the poly-
rhythms and displacements). Contributing to inevitability are the techniques by
which a substantial segment of time is organized and given a sense of direction
toward a goal. These include liquidation, the sentence, the imposed three-part
forms, and the growth or decline of successive passages in terms of duration,
range, or both. Perhaps these remarkable achievements help to explain why, in
the view of many listeners, this performance is “preferred.”

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Berliner, Paul F. Thinking in Jazz: The Infinite Art of Improvisation. University

of Chicago Press, 1994.

Blancq, Charles. “Bill Evans: The First Trio.” Jazzforschung 21 (1989): 55–69.

Hentoff, Nat. “Introducing Bill Evans.” Jazz Review 2 (October, 1959): 26–28.
96 Journal of Jazz Studies

Hinz, Bob. The Artistry of Bill Evans Volume 2. New York: Warner Bros.
Publications Inc., 1995.

Jazz Piano: A Smithsonian Collection. [Liner notes] Smithsonian Collection of

Recordings, 1989.

Larson, Steve. “Rhythmic Displacement in the Music of Bill Evans.” In Struc-

ture and Meaning in Tonal Music: Festscrift in Honor of Carl Schachter,
edited by L. Poundie Burstein and David Gagné, 103–122. Hillsdale, NY:
Pendragon Press, 2006.

______. Musical Forces: Motion, Metaphor, and Meaning in Music. Blooming-

ton: Indiana University Press, 2012.

Lees, Gene. “Inside the New Bill Evans Trio.” Downbeat 29 (November, 1962.):
24–26.

Martin, Henry. “In Memoriam Steven Strunk.” Jounal of Jazz Studies 11 no. 1
(2016): iii-v.

Morgenstern, Dan. “Classic Interview—Bill Evans: The Art of Playing.”

Downbeat 61 (December, 1994): 46–47. [Originally published October
22, 1965: 15–16.]

Morris, Robert. Composition with Pitch Classes: A Theory of Compositional

Design. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1987.

Nelsen, Don. “Bill Evans: Intellect, Emotion, and Communication.” Downbeat

27 (December, 1960.): 16–19.

Rahn, John. Basic Atonal Theory. New York: G. Schirmer, 1980.

Schoenberg, Arnold. Models for Beginners in Composition. New York: G.

Schirmer, 1942.

______. Fundamentals of Musical Composition, ed. Gerald Strang and Leonard

Stein. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1967.

Waters, Keith. “Outside Forces: ‘Autumn Leaves’ in the 1960s,” Current

Musicology 71–73 (2001–2002): 276–302.
Strunk/Melodic Structure 97

Appendix A. Steven Strunk’s transcription of Bill Evans’s “Autumn Leaves” performance from
Portrait in Jazz.
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104 Journal of Jazz Studies

ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR

Steven Strunk was Professor of Music at the Benjamin T. Rome School of Music
at the Catholic University of America until his death in 2012. He contributed
seminal articles on jazz theory to the Journal of Jazz Studies, the “Harmony”
entry in the New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, and articles on the music of Wayne
Shorter and Chick Corea to the Journal of Music Theory. Strunk was also a
practicing composer as well as a jazz pianist who performed extensively in the
Washington D.C. area.