Blue Hours

An F major jazz ballad at 72 BPM — the tempo where melody becomes everything. At this speed, there's room for the piano to linger on held notes, to phrase across bar lines, to let silence do some of the work. The ii-V-I-iii progression (Gm7–C7–Fmaj7–Am7) is warmer than the standard ii-V-I because it delays resolution — the Am7 at bar 4 creates a subtle suspension before the repeat. Contrabass walks at half the density of an uptempo piece: four quarter notes per bar, but each one feels deliberate, unhurried. This is the sound of 2am in a small room.