Song Of Gideon – Jonny King

A gentle, subtle bossa in a modern jazz style. The soaring melody is very singable and certainly memorable. Jonny King's unique harmonic sense is on display in this song; though the melody implies a D♭ major key center, the changes are full of colorful and unexpected harmonizations. The tonic chord is actually D♭7sus, never resolving to D♭ major. Also check out the first chord with its melody note: Fmaj7♯5, with B (the sharp 11th) in the melody—rare and effective for a chord quality more often used to harmonize one of the chord's tones. The bridge (the form is 32-measure AABC) has a descending chord progression, mostly II-V7s but with an unexpected final chord: D/B♭ (same notes as B♭maj7♯5) following an F minor chord.

For most of the head, the rhythm section plays a 1-feel—whole notes in the bass. The fifth and sixth measures of the A sections on the recording have bass fills, but these are optional as the melody is a bit busier here than in the rest of the section. The coda repeats the last four measures two more times.