This is a solo transcription and analysis of Wayne Shorter's tenor saxophone solo on his original composition Infant Eyes.Used with permission of author


Infant Eyes is a ballad that was recorded in 1964 on Shorter's pivotal "Speak No Evil" album for Blue Note Records. The musicians on the album are, Freddie Hubbard trumpet, Herbie Hancock piano, Ron Carter bass and Elvin Jones drums. It is a ballad that was written for his daughter Miyako. Shorter says about the ballad, 1 "Infant Eyes was written when she was an infant, she was about six months....it has repetitions at certain levels: A repetition, a sequence so many steps up, another repetition of the melody, another same shape." The form follows an A B A form with each section being 9 bars long.
The A sections have a minor mode quality throughout whereas the B section has a major sound that has a stronger and more open quality as a contrast. The first three bars of the B section is an Eb pedal with different chords superimposed. This also contributes to the sense of contrast and variation. The composition has a very strong natural climax in the fourth bar of the B section which also is the 13th bar of the whole 27 bar tune.
The melody consists of a two bar rhythmic phrase that repeats almost identically throughout the whole piece. Naturally the pitch content and melodic shape is varied and the melody proceeds in a very lyrical, simple and organic way.
Harmonically the piece moves quite slowly, with one chord per measure. As earlier mention there is a three bar pedal on the B section. For a complete harmonic analysis see separate page.
The rhythmic feel is very calm and restrained throughout. Bass and drums stay in a two-feel. The form is only played three times with the first time being the melody, then Shorter's solo. The last chorus has Herbie Hancock playing a short solo on the first A section only. The B section and last A is the melody played again by Shorter.
Noted should be Hancock's brilliant accompaniment throughout the whole piece. Chord voicings are very advanced in terms of variety and never fall into the haphazardness that sometimes is the trademark of habitual playing. His interaction with Shorter is immediate, complementary and at the same time very intriguing.
Shorter's solo is one of pure magic. It has spirituality and sparseness that stem from an attitude that every note counts. Every musical idea is treated like it should be, with respect. Each phrase unfolds like the petals of a flower, naturally leading from one flower to another in the carefully assembled bouquet.2 "I was thinking of my daughter" says Shorter, and as a listener one can not resist being at Shorter's side, gazing into his daughters infant eyes.