Jazz Changes

Toots Thielemans, music · Norman Gimbel, lyrics · First recorded by Thielemans in 1962

Bluesette

Bluesette is a jazz waltz by the Belgian musician Toots Thielemans, first recorded in 1962. Players like how its chords step down through E♭, D♭ and B before coming home to B♭. Singers like Mel Tormé, guitarists like Joe Pass and pianists like Hank Jones have recorded it.

▶ Plays the whole path in order, one recording after another.

  1. 1 Hear the tune as an instrumental Jimmy Smith
  2. 2 Hear a vocal with a big band Mel Tormé and Buddy Rich
  3. 3 Hear chords and tune on one instrument Joe Pass
  4. 4 Hear the tune on solo piano Hank Jones

How the tune works

B♭ majorusual key
24 barsA · B · C form
B♭ → E♭ → D♭ → B → B♭key centers

A chorus runs 24 bars in 3/4, in three eight-bar strains that each have their own harmony. The first strain (bars 1 to 8) opens on B♭maj7 for two bars, then falls through a chain of ii–V chords: Am7♭5 and D7♭9, Gm7 and C7♭9, Fm7 and B♭7. That chain lands on E♭maj7, the start of the second strain (bars 9 to 16). E♭m7 and A♭7 in bars 11 and 12 point to D♭maj7 in bars 13 and 14, and C♯m7 and F♯7 in bars 15 and 16 point to Bmaj7, a half step above home, at the start of the third strain (bars 17 to 24). Cm7 and F7 begin the way back to B♭, and Dm7, G7, Cm7 and F7 in the last four bars lead back to the top.

One published chord chart, in B♭ and 3/4, set out four bars to a line: bars 1–8, 9–16 and 17–24.

Key B♭ major
Abars 1–8
Bar 1: B♭ majorB♭maj7
Bar 2: B♭maj7
Bar 3: Am7♭5
Bar 4: D7♭9
Bar 5: Gm7
Bar 6: C7♭9
Bar 7: Fm7
Bar 8: B♭7
Bbars 9–16
Bar 9: E♭ majorE♭maj7
Bar 10: E♭maj7
Bar 11: D♭ majorE♭m7
Bar 12: A♭7
Bar 13: D♭maj7
Bar 14: D♭maj7
Bar 15: B majorC♯m7
Bar 16: F♯7
Cbars 17–24
Bar 17: Bmaj7
Bar 18: Bmaj7
Bar 19: B♭ majorCm7
Bar 20: F7
Bar 21: Dm7
Bar 22: G7
Bar 23: Cm7
Bar 24: F7

Taken from the chord chart on Standard Repertoire, which gives Bluesette as 24 bars of 3/4 in B♭, a jazz waltz. The chart marks major sevenths with a triangle, minor sevenths with a dash and the half-diminished chord as ø7, spelled Am7♭5 here. It uses a repeat sign for bars 2, 10, 14 and 18, written out here as the same chord again. The chart shows no repeat of the whole chorus and no endings, so a performance may play the 24 bars more than once. Compare this chart with the one you play from and with the recording you follow. Use the key buttons to move the chart to the key you play in.

Source: Bluesette: chord chart, Standard Repertoire

Listen in this order

Play all 4 on YouTube ↗

The path starts with an organ and big band record from 1964, then adds a vocal with a big band, a solo guitar and a solo piano. Each step gives you one thing to hear and one thing to try.

  1. Step 1 · Hear the tune as an instrumental Now playing

    Jimmy Smith 1964

    Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

    Listen for
    Follow the organ through one full chorus with the chart in front of you. Claus Ogerman arranged and conducted the band that plays behind Smith.
    Try this
    Play the chart's first eight bars slowly, one chord per bar, and hum the tune over them. Smaller version: play only the first four bars (B♭maj7, B♭maj7, Am7♭5, D7♭9).
    Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

  2. Step 2 · Hear a vocal with a big band Now playing

    Mel Tormé and Buddy Rich 1978

    Together Again: For the First Time

    Listen for
    Tormé sings over Rich's drums and the band. Each side of the LP was recorded in a single take, so the band plays Bluesette straight through.
    Try this
    Sing the tune along with Tormé, then play the chart's first four bars (B♭maj7, B♭maj7, Am7♭5, D7♭9) under your voice. Smaller version: play only the first chord of each bar and count three.
    Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

  3. Step 3 · Hear chords and tune on one instrument Now playing

    Joe Pass 1984

    “Bluesette (Live)”, Live at Long Beach City College

    Listen for
    Pass plays alone, with no bass or drums, so one guitar carries the tune and the chords. Compare what you hear with the chart's chords bar by bar.
    Try this
    On guitar or piano, play the chart's first eight bars with one chord per bar and hum the tune over them. If you can play the melody, try bars 1 to 4 with melody on top and the chord under it. Smaller version: alternate a chord in one bar with a melody phrase in the next.
    Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

  4. Step 4 · Hear the tune on solo piano Now playing

    Hank Jones 1991

    “Bluesette (Live At Maybeck Recital Hall, Berkeley, CA / November 11, 1991)”, Live at Maybeck Recital Hall, Volume Sixteen

    Listen for
    Jones plays alone, so one pianist covers the tune and the chords. Follow the chart and listen for where the chords change.
    Try this
    Play the chart's first eight bars with a chord in the left hand and the tune in the right, slowly enough to count three without stopping. Smaller version: play the chords alone, one per bar, and hum the tune.
    Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

More great versions