Miles Davis: Rouge

John Lewis throws us off track at the beginning of this charming piece by not only writing an introduction in 3/4, but starting it on beat three. Soon the piece goes into 4/4 and really swings. Technically an exercise in half-step cadence movement, some of the writing is awkward, particularly during the second measure of the bridge. Lewis later corrected this for the 1991 album Re-Birth of the Cool, and that became the definitive version. Lewis also used part of the chordal structure of "Rouge" for "The Queen's Fancy," recorded in 1954 by the Modern Jazz Quartet. Solos here are by Lewis, Konitz, Miles and Clarke.