“Nardis” was written by Miles Davis in 1958 for Cannonball Adderley’s album Portrait of Cannonball. Miles never recorded it himself, but pianist Bill Evans, who played on that session, made it a signature piece and performed it for the rest of his career. Its haunting, exotic melody makes it one of the most distinctive tunes in jazz.
The tune is centered on E minor and has a strong Phrygian flavor, thanks to the Fmaj7 chord that sits a half step above the tonic. The form is usually played as AABA, with the A sections built around Em, Fmaj7, and a series of chords that lean on the harmonic minor sound. The bridge offers a slightly brighter contrast before returning to the dark A section. Different musicians play slightly different changes, so compare versions.
For improvisation, the E Phrygian mode (E, F, G, A, B, C, D) and E harmonic minor capture the tune’s character. Over Fmaj7, lean on the F and B notes to emphasize the half-step tension against E. Bill Evans’s approach was lyrical and motivic, building solos from small melodic cells. Try taking a two-note idea from the melody and developing it through the form instead of running scales.
Practice at a medium tempo first, then experiment. Bill Evans often played it with long, rubato introductions. Pianists should study his voicings; horn players should listen to Cannonball’s original. Learn the melody by ear, since its exotic intervals are easier to remember once you’ve sung them.
Recordings to study: Cannonball Adderley’s original on Portrait of Cannonball, Bill Evans’s 1961 trio album Explorations, and his later extended live performances that stretch the tune into long explorations.
Common mistake: treating it like a standard ii-V tune. It’s modal and color-based, so think in sounds rather than chord-by-chord changes. Learn more about the composer on Miles Davis’s Wikipedia page, and find more modal jazz lead sheets on Minedit.