Nardis is the most hip jazz standard and is also super hip

CORRECTIONS: The intro to the Mike Stern recording is NOT in 7/4, it's just got some weird rhythmic groupings and I never updated my teenage error. I apologise for being dumb.
Nardis is one of the dopest jazz standards around, and it's way cooler than you. Bill Evans and Miles Davis are cooler than you. MF Doom and Kendrick Lamar are cooler than you. Terrace Martin and Thundercat are cooler than you.
Don't worry though, they're cooler than me too. You're almost certainly cooler than me too. You can also get cooler by listening to it. I hope this video gets you there.
I'm Tim Beau Bennett, and I'm making videos about jazz history. Sometimes I talk about jazz musicians, sometimes the songs, and sometimes about genres. I play jazz guitar, though I would call myself a keen amateur, rather than a professional. These videos are a work in progress, but there are many more to come - so please subscribe and let me know what you'd like to see in the comments!
#jazz #Nardis #standards
⦿ HIT ME UP ⦿
TimBeauBennett
timbeaubennett
⦿ RESOURCES & LINKS ⦿
Kind of Blue - A Davis/Evans collab: • Was Kind of Blue a Col...
Jeff Meshel’s excellent article on Bill Evans & Nardis: www.jmeshel.com/124-bill-evan...
⦿ MUSIC TO HEAR ⦿
The definitive Bill Evans' recording or Nardis (IMHO): • Bill Evans Trio - Nardis
Madvillain - Raid: • Madvillain - Raid
Abstract Orchestra - Raid: • Abstract Orchestra 'Raid'
untitled 05 - Kendrick Lamar: • untitled 05 09.21.2014...
Joe Henderson’s recording of Nardis: • Nardis
Mike Stern’s fusion version of Nardis: • Nardis
Nardis with Ari Hoenig on drums: • Pilc Moutin Hoenig - N...
Nardis/Untitled 05 live (feat Terrace Martin, Thundercat, Robert Glasper, Kamasi Washington, Chris Dave): • Untitled 05/Nardis - R...

[@TimBeauBennett]

CORRECTION: Joe Henderson's recording of Nardis appeared on The Kicker, not Page One. Both are good albums, though I actually prefer The Kicker, so that works out well for you. Thanks to u/profscumbag on Reddit for the fact check.

[@Jack-vc2te]

I don’t know why some people are mad about people learning about Nardis through madlib. I think it is good because it is bringing people to jazz and great songs like Nardis.

[@TimBeauBennett]

1000% man - so many modern jazz players came to it through rock or pop (Pat Metheny anyone?) so I think this is the same. The popular music of the day might have changed, but it's the same process

[@ramsesstafford4640]

It's not the first time people have learned about jazz through hip-hop A Tribe Called Quest has put a lot of people onto jazz. My 94 year old father put me on to Jazz.

[@goobert2469]

@@ramsesstafford4640 this is true, I’m heavily into jazz and started getting into it through Tribe, Pete, nujabes and them guys

[@G8tr1522]

me, remembering when i got into hip hop through jazz when i was 19 in 2013.

[@ElectroAtletico]

I've always viewed "NARDIS" as the great Miles Davis song that Bill Evans "owned". Meanwhile, "Blue in Green" is the great Bill Evans song that Miles Davis "owned". 😎

[@FranciscoBerkemeier]

Came from Reddit. Absolutely love this kind of content. Songs have stories and crucial moments behind them. To get to know the details truly makes the song even more special. Nardis is one of my all time favorites. Awesome video

[@TimBeauBennett]

Thanks Francisco, really appreciate that! And I totally agree - when I was getting really serious about learning the repertoire I found it really useful to learn the background of a tune, so I guess I'm trying to make stuff that would have made it easier for me at that time.

[@kaimaster30]

This quality of this video (and channel) is exceptionally high - I LOVED watching this, stayed entertained the entire way through. I actually really loved your demonstration of Nardis on guitar + Rhodes at the start of the video, I wish I could hear more of it hahaha (if you have it uploaded somewhere please let me know!) Keep up the amazing work, your channel deserves wayyyyy more recognition and I’m confident it will come with time :)

[@ninrey19]

Your videos are criminally underated I enjoy them so much!

[@on-locationwithpastorbobma6656]

Thanks so much for all this background on Bill Evans. I've been a fan since I started playing jazz piano in the early 60s after I heard Kinda Blue. Looking forward to the other videos.

[@chakuseki]

What an awesome video about one of my favorite songs. Thanks for linking so many different eras and artists!

[@stephenrothman6058]

I’m 65 years old and have been a fan of Bill Evans since I was a teenager. I saw Bill live many times and feel like he played Nardis most of those dates. With the exception of the jazz musicians who were contemporaries of Evans, I never heard of most of the musicians you mention in this video until tonight. Now I have plenty of new stuff to check out. Thanks.

[@jeffreygeorge4537]

Loved the video! I'm pretty sure the Mike Stern version is just in 4/4 but obscuring common time by emphasizing changes on beat 3

[@aleclindsay3174]

Subbed! Great vid! Fellow keen jazz amateur & MF DOOM fanatic. There's a reason there is overlap between those two groups in the venn diagram. DOOM understood and had impeccable taste in music.

[@TimBeauBennett]

Heck yeah - I feel like people having great taste is the first and most important step in making great music. DOOM had that locked

[@petecurry4881]

In the version on Bill Evans' Explorations, the beginning of the head goes back to Emaj7 very quickly: Em7 - Fmaj7 - *Emaj7 - B7 - Cmaj7 - Fmaj7 - Emaj7 - Emin7. In every other version and even the soloing it usually goes straight to the B7, but I always liked that little detail in that arrangement.

[@josephon23]

isn't there a Am7 between Cmaj7 and Fmaj7

[@josephon23]

I agree though I really like the explorations version too

[@isahamilton01]

Great video! I knew there was some connection to be made with Untitled 5 but was never sure how to find out what it was. Everything makes sense now. Some outstanding musicianship from everyone involved

[@txa1265]

Thanks for the reminder of how awesome that Mike Stern album is! Nardis I do always think of Bill Evans, great video - and good luck with the channel!

[@TimBeauBennett]

Yeah I've been listening to it on repeat the last few days. I really like hearing how modern players approach standards, it shows off their personal style in a more familiar context, which is always cool.

[@paxwallacejazz]

Why no one ever mentions Ralph Towner's many Solo versions of Nardis is beyond me. Always acoustic using classical technique he plays piano really well and the guitar very pianistically. A master who's always gone his own way as great a composer as you'll ever find no really. A humble servant of the music.

[@dogukandalgc3670]

Man you deserve more and more views videos are amazing by all means

[@TimBeauBennett]

Haha thanks man - if I can get around to finishing the videos I've already got taped then that might help!

[@GabeKMusic]

Fantastic content. Happy to have found your niche channel!

[@KateCarew]

Nope, you’re not the only one 😂 I grew up (born in 1978) listening to this and it BURNED my brain. During college I tended bar at a really great little jazz club that had a modicum of notoriety associated with it and I got to hear great music, solidifying my deep love of jazz for eternity. I like this dissection. Nice piece 👌🏻

[@TimBeauBennett]

Hey cheers, much appreciated. Was a fun one to make, just got to listen to rad tunes for a few weeks.

[@KateCarew]

@@TimBeauBennett you’ve got a nice gig going! I appreciate how well you share the info too!

[@iandownie9174]

That was great! Not sure if you were interested in other songs that sampled nardis but Madlib first used this sample on the track “on point” while producing for his hip hop group called “the lootpack”.

[@TimBeauBennett]

Yeah definitely keen to check it out, thanks for the tip!

[@zdunas23]

Nardis on George Russel's Ezz-thetics with Eric Dolphy is sick too

[@guitarjr]

Well done man! Super interesting and informative

[@tangerlegend]

Awesome video and production quality! Subscribed:)

[@TimBeauBennett]

Cheers! Thanks for checking it out

[@alexanderpotts8425]

came for the jazz history, stayed for the castle clip

[@TimBeauBennett]

Me too my dude, me too.

[@nickjohnson398]

I first heard Nardis two years ago through "Raid" off Madvilliany, fast forward two years and now I've been taking jazz piano lessons, learning standards, improv, the whole jazz shebang. In the short-time I've been studying jazz, I've already become 10x the musician I was before, so in more ways than one Nardis changed my life haha.

[@jonathanzielke2280]

Bro, all the best! Thanks for this effort.

[@jonathanrossmusic2509]

Great standard, and great video!

[@AlexB-zw4bs]

Great content. Thanks! Will be tuning in to more videos.

[@kenzinho91]

Great video!

[@Jensienator007]

I honestly don't understand how u haven't got more views/subs my man. I really enjoy your content! Thanks a lot

[@TimBeauBennett]

Haha thanks Jens. I think my lack of consistency in uploading isn't helping! But hey, I have two half edited videos for you to look forward to...

[@Jensienator007]

@@TimBeauBennett Awesome 🙏😌

[@rowanno]

This is super cool to learn about. I had no idea that Nardis was sampled in one of my fav MF DOOM songs, AND one of my fav Kendrick songs

[@edmondkennedy7656]

Also came from reddit; this is damn great content!

[@TimBeauBennett]

Cheers Edmond - thanks for saying so!

[@rillloudmother]

Another great video. Keep it up, man!

[@TimBeauBennett]

Cheers dude - thanks for coming back. Relevant to your avatar, I re-watched the original muppets movie the other day - still holds up.

[@david8905]

Joe Henderson's version of Nardis was on his "The Kicker" album.

[@franekkwiatkowski9472]

Great video brother

[@het_gele_teken]

Massive fan of the Mike Stern version of Nardis here. Great video, thanks!

[@joebloggs339]

Great video. My favourite version (bc it's the only version I know) is Lenny Breau playing it with Dick Cotton. That whole album is, IMO, the absolute pinnacle of Lenny's playing.

[@johnnyschex2647]

What's the name of that recording ? Thx.

[@selmabaptista8189]

I can only thank you for this amazing article, incredible comments! Thank you!

[@jackxavier3915]

You really do ya homework! Chris Dave, Mike Stern too!

[@kaueoliveira7224]

Awesome content, man. Keep it up!

[@TimBeauBennett]

Thanks for checking it out!

[@germansozzi2187]

I've been listening to Evan's recording of this as well as some other artist's, and I found that while that E major chord is played on the melody of the song, on the solos that chord is always substituted for an E minor: the E major chord is never played. If you, or anynone, hace some insights about this, I would love to hear them. Great work!

[@Caleb-zl4wk]

My interpretation of that would be that it's just a lot of chords to play in a small space and it's easier to solo over a track when it has simpler chords yk

[@matthewbrown900]

This is a great video. I'd definitely watch more like this!

[@TimBeauBennett]

There are more in the works! Thanks Matthew

[@brucewright8965]

good stuff!

[@11coopbasscooper55]

Hey, I appreciate this. I'm a bass player and I have been on the Japanese jazz for a while now. The bass lines are something I am learning right now. They do bass lines kind of different than what the US has been playing for years. Basically, the grooves (japanese), go a difference way. Ex: we may do major bass lines,...where in my mind, the japanese will do a major bass line and head off into a minor groove instead of you being able to predict the next note. So, that make me sound different around my bass friends. If that makes since. :D

[@TheGlippe]

Hey man, that's cool. Could you suggest a recording that illustrates that?

[@11coopbasscooper55]

@@TheGlippe like "CASIOPEA" just look them up and scale through some of their tunes. Wait a minute let me check for 2 particular one I know you'll like,...hold up a second. Try these two,..."MIDNUGHT RENDEZVOUS and SET SAIL. Listen how they groove on off key style. Let me know what you hear. I'm down for hearing others opinions as well. Kind of like, we help each other. 👌😉

[@TheGlippe]

@@11coopbasscooper55I can dig it. I'm a self taught trad jazz guy with a lot of gaps in basic music theory. That being said, In midnight I hear a tune in e minor but I dont hear a definite e minor chord. Sound more like E7. Which is cool. The bass isn't time keeping so much as being free to serve the song in its own unique way. I really didnt like this type of music at first. I remember a lot of high school jazz guys liking this stuff: I thought it just sounded plastic. Something that you could use as a soundtrack to an instructional video from the eighties. Its definitely grown on me since then. Vaporwave sounds like it uses tracks from this genre. There is alot of good stuff for a bass player to check out in this music especially if you do the slap bass guitar.

[@mariobendimezrivero3838]

What about Chet Baker’s version on 1985 LP Candy with a beautiful piano introduction by JL Rassinfosse and Michel Graillier on the bass, beautiful!!

[@noahcraig8420]

I had the honor of playing this with my closest buds and i can say without a doubt it was the most magical experience I’ve had on stage. We stumbled on it by chance in the real book and still joke about it to this day

[@rafaeltmanso]

amazing content. thank you!

[@alainpicard2206]

Great video. Have you heard the Ralph Towner version from his 1979 album "Solo concert"? I love this versions but I look forward to ear the versions you suggest.

[@TimBeauBennett]

I've actually had a friend recommend me it just this morning! I haven't checked it out but I certainly will. Thanks for watching!

[@GillJazzTranscriptions]

@@TimBeauBennett very great version by Ralph Towner, it’s also a good pianist!

[@remyvegamedia]

Came late. But I've actually noticed that the melody of the A section outlines the E Double Harmonic Major scale, especially because of it using that Emaj7 with the b2 on the last bar leading to the Emin7.

[@alexmarkowski3859]

Tony Rice Unit is my first exposure to this classic and really the sweetest version i know. And still my favorite. Check it out when you get a chance.

[@Ben-uk5qt]

thundercat, terrance, kamasi, glasper, and chris dave is a fucking crazy band, still so glad we got that lmao

[@reginaldallenii5681]

brilliant breakdown! new sub here

[@tedl7538]

Great overview of the song and its various incarnations. Thanks much!

[@choward5430]

I noticed 379,043 times Bill Evans live in Helsinki views in what appears to be a personal residence. 200+ views are me! Each time I watch it, I love it. I have every piano note memorized. Bill Evans annihilates this song.

[@adiabadic]

I found Nardis through the Madvillain sample but only today did I discover that it was sampled in untitled 05. God I love digging through samples

[@olivier_desmet]

Great video. I still love the Cannonball version. It's really unfortunate that Miles never recorded a version of it.

[@TimBeauBennett]

Totally, I would have loved to hear him play it. I don't LOVE the cannonball version, but I still enjoy it if I listen to it, if that makes sense. To be fair though it is a weird tune and it was the first time anyone had taken a crack at it

[@paulmalfara6071]

Aside from the songs on Kind of Blue... an album essentially built around Bill Evans' piano style. Yeah, since Bill Evans composed some of the songs and contributed greatly to the others.

[@david8905]

Richie Beirach played a beautifully haunting version of the song on his trio album "Eon" for ECM records (1975). Frank Tusa and Jeff Williams joined him on the date.

[@TooOldFor]

Philip Catherine's album "I Remember You" has a nice version of "Nardis", too.

[@jermainecarter539]

“Setting Sun” by a late 90s hip hop group called Unspoken Heard was the first time I heard Nardis .. I’ve heard a million versions since.. brilliant tune

[@Ambidextroid]

My favourite version is Chet Baker trio on the album Candy. Check it out! There's a video recording of the session on KZbin.

[@LateNightNotes]

Great video. Check out Richard Beirach's version on his 1974 album Eon. Brings an entirely different perspective to the tune while maintaining the spirit.

[@chrishoey9158]

Great vid! Love bill evans!

[@flickrmark]

Just got here so for your interest : A rare Richard Beirach album on the Japanese "Trio" (Kenwood) label kzbin.info/www/bejne/oIiQmmCjfs-df9U And another Beirach take here kzbin.info/www/bejne/aIe6fZp8fbyHrac Someone earlier mentioned his version from the album "Eon" which is definitely worth hearing 👍

[@pixiedixie3187]

Jorge Pardo Las zigarras son quizas sordas" Nardis......OOOOH,Boy!! In this album ,Jorge, (Flute and Sax) made versions of Miles Davis tracks, mixing Jazz and flamenco ,,,awesome!

[@bmprrr]

Subscribed!

[@TimBeauBennett]

Cheers!

[@JosephPardyMusic]

classic track i love it

[@GrumpyStormtrooper]

What a great video, glad I got it in my recommended page

[@TimBeauBennett]

Hey cheers! Glad you liked it.

[@jorymil]

Had no idea this became a crossover pop hit! Cool!

[@maximbelmont4641]

This video was such a great random find since a Miles is my favorite artist of all time. I love Evans, Doom & Lamar...BTW I didn't even know Lamar song sample Nardis.

[@TimBeauBennett]

Awesome, glad you dug it! Yeah there are so many sweet jazz samples in hip hop, I'll try to do more vidyas on them in the Future

[@maximbelmont4641]

@@TimBeauBennett thank you...I'm also got a idea for you... Wynton & Miles both record a album in tribute to Jack Johnson (Boxer,) I can't think of two albums that clearly shows the difference musical point of view of both artist.

[@TimBeauBennett]

Actually that's a very cool idea - both of them have such different attitudes to music too

[@Don2Rich]

If anyone wants to hear what Miles might of sound like on this tune, check out Wallace Roney on Cody Moffett's album Evidence

[@derfeus]

Tony Rice, the great bluegrass guitarist, recorded this tune a few times.

[@PaulieStamets]

oh this series is great to smoke to. Thanks man

[@shanewirkes]

Great video! I hope there’s an alternate universe where that Bill Evans biopic starring Crispin Glover got made to much acclaim.

[@TimBeauBennett]

There must have been someone who tried to make it happen at some point, surely. I'll assume that alternate reality exists under proven otherwise

[@aleksandarstojceski3139]

Always thought if they ever make Bill Evan's movie he should play him

[@FandenFaen]

I recommend Chet Bakers duet with piano on Nardis from the 80s. It's here on youtube.

[@nehuencastillo2781]

i loveee nardis in all versions

[@eosborne6495]

Tony Rice’s bluegrass version is also killin

[@julianjustin3455]

Is there anything in this world that gives away similar vibes this masterpiece does ?

[@philpistone6087]

Listen to joe Henderson el barrio not exactly but you’ll be very glad you listened

[@ricardofranciszayas]

On the version of Bill Evans on this video, Eddie Gomez is phenomenal.

[@jivinmiles6352]

I instantly recognized two Kendrick Lamar songs that uses the Nardis vibe when you played the chords. “How much a dollar costs” is the other one. The chords aren’t the same but the vibe feels the same to me

[@cerberus2881]

Atmos Trio did a nice job with it.

[@jackxavier3915]

YOOOO UNTITLED 05 IS MY SHIT SHOUT OUT TERRACE MARTIN. THUNDERCAT TOO. THIS IS DOPE. DIDNT EVEN CATCH THE NARDIS INNIT!!!!💯

[@TimBeauBennett]

YOOOO I COMPLETELY AGREE WITH THIS COMMENT!!!!

[@-Osiris-]

Statik Selektah sampled this as well!

[@MassiveChetBakerFan]

Chet Baker also recorded some wonderful versions of Nardis.

[@davids.963]

I love Chet Baker at Gazell library version. Don't miss the piano intro, it's an absolute perfection.

[@mewsick5093]

Mike Stern is so fucking underrated that it's disgusting. That kind of shit gives me mood swings.

[@MrBumrah123]

Imagine this dude telling you to listen to something because it makes you 'hip'. FML

[@laurieverchomin8638]

Nardis = the extended liminal bridge. Being hip is cool. Being is better. Just being.

[@djmileski]

Explorations album to me has the essential version on Bills headline

[@TheCompleteGuitarist]

Is there a vibes version of this song?

[@beforeourveryeyes]

Any chance that anyone was inspired by Camillo de Nardis? Thank you!

[@future62]

Great vid as always. Question- is this Phrygian, and if so are there any other examples of songs/standards in that mode you can recommend? This is a really nice departure from the modal/2-5-1 stuff that is super prevalent. Thanks

[@TimBeauBennett]

Hey future - thanks for coming back! And yeah, the song is essentially in E Phrygian, though it evokes some harmonic minor in the melody around the B7 and Emaj7 chords, which are both 'outside' the mode. In both cases the melody descends by a semitone -> minor third -> semitone, which is that classic harmonic minor sound. The B section is a bit more functional though, which is a nice contrast. As for other tunes to check out, start with 'Solea' off Sketches of Spain, same era. There's also some Phrygian in 'Speak no Evil' the Wayne Shorter tune, but I admit I haven't checked it out that much. That all said, I'm not a super theory master. I mostly conceptualise the harmony based on what I need to play over the tune, so there may be other/better ways to analyse these songs.

[@gauchemurleau]

White Rabbit is Phrygian, and Grace Slick wrote it after binge listening to 'Solea' as TBB notes below. Django Reinhardt works are replete with examples and worth exploring.

[@remyvegamedia]

The melody actually outlines E DOUBLE HARMONIC MAJOR 😁 E F G# A B C D#

[@lastho]

"its just the vibe of it" that was perfect. imagine being a jazz lawyer, in court for defending all these criminally cool tunes. wish that was a job.

[@TimBeauBennett]

You know it would be great. Although with all the copyright lawsuits being thrown around these days, I wonder if we're not that far off...

[@SoChilledOutGuy]

I understand that legally MF DOOM was english, but he was a New Yorker through and through.

[@jamesgarratt4186]

This was stellar! A1 content and commenter

[@TimBeauBennett]

Cheers James - much appreciated :D

[@chasebethersonton5169]

Neapolitan Minor or Neapolitan Major? Thx.

[@bikocyko]

Nardis, by the artist working the hardest don't discard this video, it's super nice

[@djmileski]

Nardis is on page one?

[@Keith-zc2nn]

If you can hear Emily Remler you would freak. I have it. I want to post it but it's just audio and I'm not sure how.

[@Boldstrummer]

0:25 Guitar

[@christophernorman8127]

This channel looks very good. .. A Bullcrap void, in fact.... ......I will investigate further.😊