The song is full of jazz-influenced harmony. As discussed in The World of Jazz, jazz harmony extends the triad by stacking up more thirds and often chromatically alters various notes to create something harmonically dissonant.

The voicing of a chord is also an important consideration. Playing 6 notes all a third apart doesn't make a satisfying 13th chord. Omissions are made (the root and 5th are often missed out) and other notes are put in different octaves to make the chord fit well with other chords in the progression (voice leading).

The art of jazz comping does not need to be mastered for GCSE music but it's interesting to know what's going on!

Most of the chords mentioned below are also notated underneath. They are written in root position as well as in the guitar voicing. The bracketed notes are what is played by the bass guitar, usually sounding 1 or 2 octaves lower. In this context, these chords make the song very stylistic and make the chord changes emotive and expressive, enhancing the song's melancholic love theme.

• Extended chords used include Bm11, C9 and G13.

• Slash chords include Bm7/A in bar 34 (1'42).

• Diminished 7ths such as G#dim7 in bar 35 (1'44) are a type of chromatic chord with a distinctively jarring harmonic sound.

• Altered chords are numerous and include Cmaj7(#9), C#m11b9 and F#7(b9)(11).

The final chord of the song is a Bm13, particularly effective as it sounds less final than a Bm chord with no extensions. Avoiding a sense of finality is a common approach in jazz music.

In the bass guitar, double stopping is quite frequent. The harmonic intervals formed tend to be 5ths but they are often augmented 4ths (called tritones). An example of one is at bar 10 (0'38) and makes the harmony sound quite discordant. Harmonising using a bass guitar is quite rare and shows a unique aspect of Spalding's creativity!

A more consonant example of double stopping happens from bar 19 (1'10). Here the bass plays in parallel 3rds which sounds harmonically pleasing.

There are some perfect cadences in the song, as discussed in Tonality. In a jazz perfect cadence chord V is often preceded by chord ii. So in the key of B minor you might have the chords: C#m - F# - Bm. You will be able to see these 3 chords in many places on the score. A good example of a II-V-I cadence is at bar 52 (2'19). The frequent chord changes from the bar before create a faster harmonic rhythm in what is often called a turnaround in jazz. A turnaround is normally heard at the end of the head, as is the case in this example. It helps to create a sense of anticipation building up to the return of the first (usually tonic) chord of the progression.

This iconic jazz standard was recorded for Dexter Gordon's 1986 album, "Biting the Apple". The song includes a very catchy and recognisable melody for the head and Gordon's tenor saxophone solo begins at 0'55.

Use the second video to listen to the solo and see its transcription. The chord changes are also given. Note that it is written a tone higher because the tenor sax is a Bb transposing instrument.

The harmony of the song revolves around the key of C minor and has some similar changes and alterations which create some jarring effects, suitable and effective in a jazz context.

• From 0'10, a II-V-I cadence is heard using some altered chords to create a chord progression that concludes satisfyingly though with some harmonic tension.

• From 0'24, a turnaround is heard in the piano. Though only a Dm7 is shown on the transcription, you can hear some other chords put in to create a sense of momentum in the harmony.