Jazz Changes

Turner Layton, music · Henry Creamer, lyrics · Introduced by Al Jolson at the Winter Garden in 1918

After You've Gone

After You've Gone is a 1918 song by Turner Layton and Henry Creamer. Players like it because the chords move often and the form is easy to follow. Marion Harris, Bessie Smith, Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman and Charlie Parker all recorded it.

B♭ major · 40 bars · A B A C form · how it works

Listen in this order

Start with a blues vocal and a trumpet vocal, then hear a piano solo, a swing trio, a string band, a live bebop jam, an alto saxophone quartet and a guitar quintet. Each step shows another way to play the same chord changes.

8 recordings, 1927 to 1956 · Play all 8 on YouTube ↗

  1. Bessie Smith1927 · Soul & R&B
  2. Louis Armstrong1929
  3. Art Tatum1934
  4. Benny Goodman Trio1935 · Big band
  5. Quintette du Hot Club de France with Freddy Taylor1936
  6. Jazz at the Philharmonic1946
  7. Sonny Criss1956 · Bebop
  8. Wes Montgomery1956

Step 1 of 8 Now playing✓ Heard

Hear the song as a 1927 blues-band record

Bessie Smith and Her Band · 1927 · Soul & R&B, Cool jazz

The Essential Bessie Smith

Listen for
Smith's voice leads over piano and banjo, and the band also has a cornet and a trombone.
Try this
Play the first eight bars of the chart with one chord per bar (E♭maj7, E♭maj7, E♭m6, A♭7, B♭maj7, B♭maj7, Dm7, G7), slowly. Listen for the move from E♭m6 to A♭7 to B♭maj7.
Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

Step 2 of 8 Now playing✓ Heard

Hear Armstrong sing the song

Louis Armstrong and His Orchestra · 1929

“After You've Gone (vocal)”, Vol. V: Louis In New York

Listen for
Armstrong sings the chorus himself, and the track runs about three and a half minutes. Follow the voice first and note where the phrases land against the chords.
Try this
Sing or hum the melody while playing the chords of the first eight bars (E♭maj7, E♭maj7, E♭m6, A♭7, B♭maj7, B♭maj7, Dm7, G7). Play slowly and stop after one A section.
Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

Step 3 of 8 Now playing✓ Heard

Hear the tune as a piano solo

Art Tatum · 1934

“After You've Gone (Take C)”, Classic Early Solos

Listen for
Tatum plays the whole song alone, so one pair of hands covers melody, chords and bass line. The track runs under three minutes.
Try this
Play the melody with your right hand and one bass note per bar with your left, using the roots of the first eight bars (E♭, E♭, E♭, A♭, B♭, B♭, D, G).
Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

Step 4 of 8 Now playing✓ Heard

Hear a small-group swing version

Benny Goodman Trio · 1935 · Big band, Swing

“After You've Gone (Take 1)”, The Essential Benny Goodman

Listen for
Clarinet, piano and drums share the song with no singer. Listen for who plays the melody and who plays the chords.
Try this
Play the chart's eight-bar B section (C7, C7, F7, F7, B♭6, B♭6, Fm7, B♭7) as a root-position loop, then add the melody on top if you can.
Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

Step 5 of 8 Now playing✓ Heard

Hear the song played by a string band

Quintette du Hot Club de France with Freddy Taylor · 1936

Shine

Listen for
Taylor sings over violin and guitars, and the group lists no drums or horns. Notice how the guitars keep the beat.
Try this
Strum or play the chords of the first eight bars in steady quarter notes, slowly, the way a guitar rhythm section keeps time.
Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

Step 6 of 8 Now playing✓ Heard

Hear a long live jam on the tune

Jazz at the Philharmonic (Charlie Parker, Lester Young) · 1946

“After You've Gone (Live)”, Bird and Pres: The '46 Concerts / The Complete Jazz at the Philharmonic on Verve, 1944-1949

Listen for
The band lists two trumpets, two altos and a tenor with a rhythm section, so several horn voices take turns. See how many you can tell apart.
Try this
Play the root of each bar's chord on a bass or the left hand in whole notes while the recording plays (E♭, E♭, E♭, A♭, B♭, B♭, D, G for the first A section). Soloing over the changes needs more experience, so this is the smaller version.
Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

Step 7 of 8 Now playing✓ Heard

Hear an alto saxophone quartet version

Sonny Criss · 1956 · Bebop

Go Man!

Listen for
One horn leads with piano, bass and drums behind it. Listen for how the piano comps under the saxophone.
Try this
Play the melody on your instrument over a backing track or a friend playing the chords, then try repeating it with one small change. Soloing over the whole form needs more experience, so the smaller version is to play only the melody and chord roots.
Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

Step 8 of 8 Now playing✓ Heard

Hear a guitar-led version

Wes Montgomery · 1956

In the Beginning

Listen for
Guitar and tenor saxophone share the front line over piano, bass and drums. Notice which instrument takes each turn.
Try this
Play the melody and the A-section chords (E♭maj7, E♭maj7, E♭m6, A♭7, B♭maj7, B♭maj7, Dm7, G7) at a slow tempo. Soloing over the changes needs more experience, so the smaller version is to play only the chord roots in rhythm.
Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

More great versions

4 more, from 1927 to 1974. Tap a cover to play it here.

  1. Sophie Tucker with Miff Mole and His Molers1927
  2. Teddy Wilson1950 · Swing
  3. Sarah Vaughan1962 · Soul jazz
  4. Ray Brown Sextet with Herb Ellis1974

How the tune works

B♭ majorusual key
40 barsA · B · A · C form
B♭ major → C minor → B♭ majorkey centers

Each A section starts on E♭maj7 for two bars, then E♭m6 and A♭7 lead to B♭maj7, and Dm7 and G7 turn the phrase back toward the next section. The B section is a chain of dominant chords: C7, C7, F7, F7, then B♭6, B♭6, Fm7 and B♭7, which sends the tune back to E♭ for the second A. The last 16 bars, labeled C here, begin in C minor with Cm7, G7 and Cm7, and then Ebm(maj7) and A♭7 lead to B♭maj7. After a short run of Am7, D7, Gm7 and E°7, the section closes with B♭6/F, G7, Cm7, F7 and two bars of B♭6, then Fm7 and B♭7. These key areas follow the iReal Pro chart and leave out passing chords.

Play the changes

B♭ major
Open in iReal Pro ↗
A8 bars
E♭maj7
E♭maj7
E♭m6
A♭7
B♭maj7
B♭maj7
Dm7
G7
B8 bars
C7
C7
F7
F7
B♭6
B♭6
Fm7
B♭7
A8 bars
E♭maj7
E♭maj7
E♭m6
A♭7
B♭maj7
B♭maj7
Dm7
G7
C16 bars
Cm7
G7
Cm7
E♭m(maj7)A♭7
B♭maj7
Am7D7
Gm7Gm7/F
E°7
B♭6/F
G7
Cm7
F7
B♭6
B♭6
Fm7
B♭7

Chart from iReal Pro's Jazz 1460 playlist, contributed by its users.