the Bill Evans school
Rootless Voicings — A Form
The classic four-note left hand: 3–5–7–9 grammar, no root, maximum color.
All 12 keys
C major
Dm9 – G13 – Cmaj9
3 of 4 voices hold from ii to V · total resolve motion 5 semitones
D♭ major (C♯)
E♭m9 – A♭13 – D♭maj9
3 of 4 voices hold from ii to V · total resolve motion 5 semitones
D major
Em9 – A13 – Dmaj9
3 of 4 voices hold from ii to V · total resolve motion 5 semitones
E♭ major
Fm9 – B♭13 – E♭maj9
3 of 4 voices hold from ii to V · total resolve motion 5 semitones
E major
F♯m9 – B13 – Emaj9
3 of 4 voices hold from ii to V · total resolve motion 5 semitones
F major
Gm9 – C13 – Fmaj9
3 of 4 voices hold from ii to V · total resolve motion 5 semitones
G♭ major (F♯)
A♭m9 – D♭13 – G♭maj9
3 of 4 voices hold from ii to V · total resolve motion 5 semitones
G major
Am9 – D13 – Gmaj9
3 of 4 voices hold from ii to V · total resolve motion 5 semitones
A♭ major
B♭m9 – E♭13 – A♭maj9
3 of 4 voices hold from ii to V · total resolve motion 5 semitones
A major
Bm9 – E13 – Amaj9
3 of 4 voices hold from ii to V · total resolve motion 5 semitones
B♭ major
Cm9 – F13 – B♭maj9
3 of 4 voices hold from ii to V · total resolve motion 5 semitones
B major
C♯m9 – F♯13 – Bmaj9
3 of 4 voices hold from ii to V · total resolve motion 5 semitones
The story
The sound of modern jazz piano dates, more than anything, to the mid-50s realization that the left hand could stop playing roots — the bass player has them — and spend all four fingers on color: 3rd, 5th, 7th and 9th. Bill Evans didn't invent the idea (Red Garland and Ahmad Jamal were there too) but he perfected its grammar. This is the "A form": the 3rd of the chord on the bottom. On the dominant, the grammar makes its one standard substitution — the 13 stands in for the 5 and the ♭7 takes the bottom — which is exactly what lets the magic happen: watch the progression and three of the four voices don't move at all from ii to V; a single tone slips down a half step and the whole harmony pivots. That near-stillness is why rootless voicings sound so smooth under a soloist, and why they remain the default left hand for straight-ahead playing seventy years on.
Listen: Bill Evans — "Waltz for Debby"; Wynton Kelly on "Freddie Freeloader".