Spencer Williams, music · Glenn Miller and Jack Teagarden, verse lyrics · First recorded by Louis Armstrong, 1928
Basin Street Blues
Spencer Williams wrote it in 1928, naming it for the New Orleans street where he lived as a boy. Its melody leans on blue notes, though its are not a strict blues. Armstrong performs it in the film The Glenn Miller Story, and Miles Davis recorded a ten-minute version in 1963.
Listen in this order
The path starts with Louis Armstrong's 1928 record and the 1931 version in which Jack Teagarden sings the words. It then moves through Ella Fitzgerald with an orchestra, a small band led by Duke Ellington and Johnny Hodges, the Dave Brubeck Quartet, a ten-minute Miles Davis quartet, Oscar Peterson alone at the piano and Keith Jarrett's trio.
1930sThe Charleston Chasers, directed by Benny Goodman1931
1940sElla Fitzgerald with Sy Oliver1949
1950sDuke Ellington and Johnny Hodges1959
The Dave Brubeck Quartet1959 · Cool jazz
1960sMiles Davis1963 · Hard bop
1970sOscar Peterson1970 · Bebop
1980s
1990sKeith Jarrett Trio1992 · Contemporary jazz
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Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five · 1928
Basin Street Blues / No
Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five recorded it in Chicago on December 4, 1928, and OKeh issued it as 8690. According to JazzStandards.com, Armstrong introduced the song on this record, and it also plays the song's original .
B♭ major · 4/4 · two-beat · 107 bpm (medium slow)
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Armstrong sings the tune without words while a trio hums behind him. Earl Hines plays piano, and the credits also list him on celeste.
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Play the first eight of the in B♭ as : , , , G7, , , then with in bar 7 and with F7 in bar 8. Smaller version: play plain B♭, D7, G7, C7 and F7, one chord per bar and G7 for two bars.
The Charleston Chasers, directed by Benny Goodman (vocal Jack Teagarden) · 1931
Basin Street Blues
Benny Goodman directed this New York session on February 9, 1931, with Glenn Miller and Jack Teagarden on trombone. According to JazzStandards.com, Teagarden recalled writing the new and the words with Miller the night before.
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Jack Teagarden sings the song with words, which Armstrong's 1928 record leaves out. He also plays trombone in the band, next to Glenn Miller.
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Sing or play the melody over a slow, steady loop, one chord per : , , , G7, , . If you cannot yet play the melody, play only the roots, B♭, D, G, G, C and F.
Ella Fitzgerald with Sy Oliver and His Orchestra · 1949
Basin Street Blues / I'm Waitin' for the Junkman
Ella Fitzgerald recorded it with Sy Oliver's orchestra on September 20, 1949, and Decca issued it as a 78, number 24868. The record is a sung version with an orchestra behind her.
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Ella Fitzgerald sings the words with Sy Oliver's orchestra behind her. The whole record runs just over three minutes.
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Play the second half of the as . Bars 9 to 14 repeat , , , G7, , . Bar 15 is B♭maj7 with and 16 is B♭/F with F7, which leads into the next chorus. Smaller version: play only the first chord of bars 15 and 16, B♭maj7 and B♭.
Back to Back: Duke Ellington and Johnny Hodges Play the Blues
Duke Ellington and alto saxophonist Johnny Hodges recorded it for producer Norman Granz at Columbia Studios in New York on February 20, 1959. Verve issued it on Back to Back, with Harry Edison on trumpet, Les Spann on guitar, Sam Jones on bass and Jo Jones on drums.
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At just over eight minutes, this is the longest version so far. Listen for Johnny Hodges on alto saxophone, Harry Edison on trumpet and Duke Ellington on piano.
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Play 1 to 8 as a slow rocking pattern: a bass note on beats 1 and 3 and the on beats 2 and 4. Bars 1 to 6 are , , , G7, , ; bar 7 is then , and bar 8 is then F7. Smaller version: play only the bass notes, B♭, D, G, G, C, F.
The Dave Brubeck Quartet recorded it in Los Angeles on April 22, 1959, with Paul Desmond on alto saxophone, Gene Wright on bass and Joe Morello on drums. Columbia issued it that year on the album Gone with the Wind.
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A quartet of alto saxophone, piano, bass and drums takes the song in under five minutes. Follow Paul Desmond's alto saxophone and Dave Brubeck's piano.
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Play four steady beats per on the root of each for bars 1 to 6: B♭, D, G, G, C, F. Smaller version: play two beats per bar.
Miles Davis recorded it at Columbia Studios in Los Angeles on April 16, 1963, with pianist Victor Feldman, bassist Ron Carter and drummer Frank Butler. Columbia issued it on Seven Steps to Heaven in July 1963.
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The quartet plays for more than ten minutes with only trumpet, piano, bass and drums. Notice how the same short keeps coming back.
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Soloing over the takes more than the melody and basic . Smaller version: play the third of each chord in 1 to 6, one note per bar: D, F♯, B, B, E, A. Then link them with notes of your own.
Oscar Peterson recorded it alone at the piano in Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer's private studio in Villingen, West Germany, between November 10 and 13, 1970. MPS issued it in 1971 on the album Tracks.
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One pianist plays alone, so Peterson supplies the beat, the and the tune with two hands.
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Play 1 to 6 with one low note in your left hand and the in your right hand: , , , G7, , . Smaller version: play only the right-hand chord, one per bar.
Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock and Paul Motian played it live at the Deer Head Inn in Delaware Water Gap, Pennsylvania, on September 16, 1992. ECM issued it in 1994 on At the Deer Head Inn.
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Piano, bass and drums play for more than nine minutes, recorded live at a small inn. Notice how long the trio stays with one short .
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Play 7 and 8, then bars 15 and 16, back to back. Bar 7 is then and bar 8 is then ; bar 15 is then and bar 16 is B♭/F then F7. The first pair leads into the second half and the second pair sets up the next . Smaller version: play only the first of each bar, B♭maj7/D, Cm7, B♭maj7 and B♭/F.
Spencer Williams writes it in 1928, and Louis Armstrong records it in Chicago that December, singing without words. The Louisiana Rhythm Kings follow in June 1929 with Jack Teagarden singing.
1930s
The Charleston Chasers record it in February 1931 with Jack Teagarden singing words he later said he wrote with Glenn Miller. Armstrong returns to it with a big band in January 1933.
1940s
Ella Fitzgerald sings it with Sy Oliver's orchestra in September 1949, and Decca issues it as a 78.
1950s
Teddy Wilson's trio plays it at the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival. In 1959 Duke Ellington and Johnny Hodges stretch it past eight minutes, and Dave Brubeck's quartet with Paul Desmond records it in Los Angeles.
1960s
Jack Teagarden, the singer the song is most tied to, records it in Chicago in 1961. In April 1963 Miles Davis's quartet takes it past ten minutes for Seven Steps to Heaven.
1970s
Oscar Peterson plays it alone at the piano in a German studio in November 1970, days after Dave Brubeck's trio with Gerry Mulligan plays it live at the Berlin Philharmonie.
1990s
Keith Jarrett's trio plays it live at the Deer Head Inn in Pennsylvania in September 1992, and ECM releases it in 1994.
More great versions
6 more, from 1929 to 1970. Tap a cover to play it here.
1920sLouisiana Rhythm Kings1929
1930sLouis Armstrong1933
1940s
1950sTeddy Wilson Trio1957
1960sJack Teagarden1961 · Swing
Sweet Emma and Her Preservation Hall Jazz Band1964 · Early jazz
1970sThe Dave Brubeck Trio featuring Gerry Mulligan1970 · Cool jazz
Louisiana Rhythm Kings (Red Nichols, Jack Teagarden)
1929
Louisiana Rhythm Kings 1929-1930
Jack Teagarden sings and plays trombone on this June 11, 1929 record by the Louisiana Rhythm Kings, with Red Nichols on trumpet. According to Phil Schaap, it may be the first record with a sung lyric, though Teagarden's few lines match another song more closely than the later words.
Armstrong recorded it again for Victor in Chicago on January 27, 1933, this time with a big band and an arrangement by Zilner Randolph. According to Phil Schaap, he again sings without words, and the humming from the 1928 record returns.
The Teddy Wilson Trio & Gerry Mulligan Quartet with Bob Brookmeyer at Newport
Teddy Wilson's trio played it live at the Newport Jazz Festival in July 1957, with Milt Hinton on bass and Specs Powell on drums. Verve issued it that year as part of MGV 8235.
According to JazzStandards.com, Jack Teagarden was the musician most often tied to the song. He recorded it in Chicago in June 1961 for the Verve album Mis'ry and the Blues, with Don Goldie on trumpet and Henry Cuesta on clarinet.
Dave Brubeck's trio with baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan played it live at the Berliner Philharmonie on November 7, 1970. CBS issued it in Europe in 1972 on Live at the Berlin Philharmonie.
The tune's layout, its keys and the chord chart, for anyone who wants to play along.
Show the form and chords
How the tune works
B♭ majorusual key
16 barsA · A form
B♭ majorkey centers
A8 bars
A8 bars
B♭
The runs 16 in . Bars 1 to 6 are , , , G7, , , one to a bar except the doubled G7. From D7 on, each chord leads to the next: D7 to G7, G7 to C7, C7 to F7, and F7 back toward B♭. Bar 7 is then , so the bass steps down D, C♯, C, and bar 8 is then F7, which leads into the second half. The second half repeats bars 1 to 6, then ends with B♭maj7 and in bar 15 and B♭/F and F7 in bar 16, which sets up the next chorus. The iReal Pro chart also lists an 8-bar introduction. According to JazzStandards.com, the original is B♭ major, and Spencer Williams's original is a that Armstrong's 1928 record includes. These chords follow the iReal Pro chart; other lead sheets may spell some of them differently.