Grandfather’s Waltz – Making sense of the form

Grandfather’s Waltz is a wonderful song recorded by Bill Evans and Stan Getz in 1964 (the Stan Getz & Bill Evans album) and again live in 1974 (on But Beautiful, recorded on a live date in Holland).  I transcribed Bill Evans’ piano solo from the 1974 live album – which I think is quite a little masterpiece.  The form of the song was strange, though.

Some time later, I heard from Dan Loschen, who was trying to make sense of the form. I’ve recently listened to all the recorded versions (that I know of), and come up with this rationale for the form. Continue reading “Grandfather’s Waltz – Making sense of the form”