Wayne Shorter, music · First recorded for Blue Note on December 24, 1964 · Issued on the album Speak No Evil, 1966
Speak No Evil
Speak No Evil is a 50-bar tune in C minor by Wayne Shorter, recorded for Blue Note in 1964. The A sections start on a two-chord vamp, and the harmony begins to move in bar 8. Hubbard, Hancock, Carter and Jones played on the original, and bands from Oslo to Rio have recorded it since.
▶ Plays the whole path in order, one recording after another.
- 1 Learn the song Wayne Shorter✓
- 2 Hear it without horns Kirk Lightsey Trio✓
- 3 Hear it on guitar Peter Leitch✓
- 4 Hear a live reed quartet Chris Greene Quartet✓
- 5 Hear a modern trio Helge Lien Trio✓
- 6 Hear it with no rhythm section Denny Zeitlin✓
- 7 Hear a big-band arrangement WDR Big Band✓
- 8 Hear Brazilian rhythms Antonio Adolfo✓
How the tune works
Each chorus runs 50 bars in four sections: A, A, B and A. Each A section lasts 14 bars. The first eight bars alternate Cm7 and D♭maj7, one bar each. Bar 8 splits D♭maj7 and E♭m7, and bars 9 and 10 move faster, with Em7 and Cm7 sharing bar 9 and Dm7 and B♭m7 sharing bar 10. Bars 11 to 14 alternate A7♭5 and B♭m7, one bar each. The B section is an 8-bar bridge. It goes through Am7♭5, A♭7, Gm7, G♭7, Fm7 and B♭7, then lands on E♭maj7♯11 and D♭maj7♯11 before the last A returns to the vamp.
Read each line as four bars of 4/4. A bar with two chords splits the bar between them, in the order shown. Each A section is 14 bars, so its last line has two bars.
The source is the Chopin University of Music lead sheet in C (Medium Swing). It writes the A-section minor chords as Cm11, Em11, Dm11 and B♭m11, and the chart spells them as m7. The lead sheet prints Em7, Dm7 and A7♭5 one eighth note ahead of their bars, and the chart places them on the bar line, as the Weimar transcription of Freddie Hubbard's solo does. The bridge ends on E♭maj7(♯11♯9) and D♭maj9(♯11) in the lead sheet, with G♭13 in bar 4, and the chart writes E♭maj7♯11, D♭maj7♯11 and G♭7. The lead sheet prints the last A as a separate section with a repeat sign, a second ending and a coda vamp, and it writes B♭ without the minor sign in bar 12 of that last A; the chart repeats the first A and uses B♭m7 there, as the other two A sections and the Weimar transcription do. Shorter's own solo transcription in Weimar differs in bars 8 to 14 of each A and in the bridge. Fake books differ in places.
Listen in this order
Play all 8 on YouTube ↗The path starts with Shorter's 1964 recording, then hears the tune in a piano trio, a guitar quartet and a live reed quartet. It moves on to a Norwegian trio, solo piano, a big band and a Brazilian band.
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Step 1 · Learn the song Now playing
Wayne Shorter 1964
Speak No Evil
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- Shorter starts his two-chorus tenor solo at about 1:25, and Hubbard takes one chorus from about 4:10. Each chorus runs 50 bars, and each A section opens with Cm7 and D♭maj7 in alternate bars.
- Try this
- Play Cm7 for one bar and D♭maj7 for the next along with the opening of the recording, and count eight bars. Then play the full 14-bar A section from the chart.
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Step 2 · Hear it without horns Now playing
Kirk Lightsey Trio 1983
Everything Happens to Me
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- Piano, bass and drums play the whole 6:55. Compare what Kirk Lightsey plays in the opening bars with the Cm7 and D♭maj7 vamp on the chart.
- Try this
- Play the chart's first eight bars on piano or guitar, one chord per bar, at a medium swing tempo. Then add bars 8 to 11, where the harmony starts to move.
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Step 3 · Hear it on guitar Now playing
Peter Leitch 1985
Red Zone
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- Listen for
- Peter Leitch leads on guitar, and Kirk Lightsey plays piano, the same pianist as on the previous step. At 7:10 the track is more than a minute shorter than the original.
- Try this
- Play the 14-bar A section from the chart on guitar or piano in simple shapes: Cm7 and D♭maj7 for eight bars, then Em7 Cm7, Dm7 B♭m7 and the A7♭5 and B♭m7 ending.
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Step 4 · Hear a live reed quartet Now playing
Chris Greene Quartet 2018
“Speak No Evil (Live)”, PlaySPACE
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- Listen for
- Reeds, keyboards, bass and drums play in front of an audience. Count how many choruses the band fits into 6:21, and compare that with the original's 8:23.
- Try this
- Play the 8-bar bridge from the chart, one chord per bar, from Am7♭5 to D♭maj7♯11. Then play the last A section to hear how the harmony returns to Cm7.
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Step 5 · Hear a modern trio Now playing
Helge Lien Trio 2002
Spiral Circle
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- Piano, bass and drums play for 7:09 with no horn. Listen for which instrument states the theme, and count the 50-bar choruses against the chart.
- Try this
- Play bars 1 to 14 of the chart with a metronome at a medium tempo, then repeat the section. If that feels easy, add the bridge.
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Step 6 · Hear it with no rhythm section Now playing
Denny Zeitlin 2014
Early Wayne: Explorations of Classic Wayne Shorter Compositions
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- Listen for
- The track opens with free playing, and Zeitlin spends time on the bridge before the pulse and form of the piece arrive. Listen for the point where the 50-bar form settles in.
- Try this
- Play the chart's A-section chords as slow, open chords with no set rhythm. Bring in a steady beat when the recording does.
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Step 7 · Hear a big-band arrangement Now playing
WDR Big Band (arranger Michael Mossman) 2016
WDR Big Band concert program Wayne Shorter Stories
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- Two solos are named: Jens Neufang on baritone saxophone and Mattis Cederberg on bass trombone. At 5:27 the track is shorter than the original, so mark where each chorus begins.
- Try this
- Follow the chart along with the recording and mark where each A section and the bridge start. If the full 50 bars are hard to follow in a big band, mark only where the bridge starts.
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Step 8 · Hear Brazilian rhythms Now playing
Antonio Adolfo 2016
Hybrido: From Rio to Wayne Shorter
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- The band adds Brazilian rhythms to the tune. A review names trombone, tenor saxophone and piano solos on this track, so see if you can pick out all three.
- Try this
- Play the chart's bars 1 to 8 with the recording, one chord per bar, and keep your own steady pulse.
More great versions
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Toots Thielemans 1988
Only Trust Your Heart
Toots Thielemans leads on harmonica with Fred Hersch on piano, Marc Johnson on bass and Joey Baron on drums.
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Vanessa Rubin 1995
“All for One”, Vanessa Rubin Sings
Vanessa Rubin wrote new lyrics for the tune and retitled it All for One, on Vanessa Rubin Sings (RCA Novus, 1995).
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Flora Purim 2003
“Speak No Evil (All For One)”, Speak No Evil
Flora Purim sings the tune as Speak No Evil (All for One), credited to Vanessa Rubin and Wayne Shorter, on her 2003 album Speak No Evil.
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Dave Liebman Big Band 2014
A Tribute to Wayne Shorter
Mats Holmquist arranged the tune for the Dave Liebman Big Band, and a review credits guitarist Vic Juris with a solo on it.
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Igmar Thomas' Revive Big Band (feat. Myron Walden) 2024
“SPEAK NO EVIL”, Like A Tree It Grows
Igmar Thomas' Revive Big Band recorded the tune for Like A Tree It Grows, released on October 25, 2024, with Myron Walden as the featured artist.
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Aga Zaryan 2025
“Speak No Evil (All for One)”, Second Time Around
Aga Zaryan sings the Vanessa Rubin lyrics to the tune, titled Speak No Evil (All for One), on Second Time Around, released in 2025.