George Gershwin, music · Ira Gershwin, lyrics · Introduced in the musical Girl Crazy, 1930
But Not for Me
But Not for Me is a song by George and Ira Gershwin, written for the 1930 musical Girl Crazy. The changes fall by fifths around E♭, and the B and C parts both open on A♭maj7. Ella Fitzgerald, Chet Baker, Miles Davis, Ahmad Jamal and John Coltrane all recorded it.
The path starts with Ella Fitzgerald and Chet Baker singing it, then adds Miles Davis with Sonny Rollins, Kenny Burrell on guitar, two piano trios, John Coltrane's quartet and a slow Ray Brown trio. Each step gives you one thing to hear and one thing to try.
Only two players are on the track, Fitzgerald on vocals and Ellis Larkins on piano, so the harmony comes from the piano alone. The track runs 3:12, short enough to follow the 32-bar form.
Try this
Play the melody from the chart one 8-bar part at a time, slowly, along with the record. Find the record's key by ear and move the chart to it. Smaller version: play only the first four bars.
Baker is credited on trumpet and vocal, with Russ Freeman on piano, Carson Smith on bass and Bob Neel on drums. Follow the A, B, A, C layout of the 32 bars across the 3:03.
Try this
Play the melody of the first A part with the record, then add one chord per bar underneath. Smaller version: melody only, bars 1–4.
“But Not for Me (Take 1)”, Miles Davis with Sonny Rollins
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
Listen for
The front line is Davis on trumpet and Rollins on tenor saxophone, with Silver on piano, Heath on bass and Clarke on drums. The track runs 5:45, so count the 32-bar choruses and note which player has each one.
Try this
Find the record's key by ear, then play only the chord roots, one per bar, through the first A part with the record. Smaller version: roots for bars 1–4.
Only Kenny Burrell's guitar is listed on this title, so one instrument has to carry both the melody and the chords. The track runs 3:49.
Try this
Play one 8-bar part on your instrument with the melody on top and chords underneath, as one player. Smaller version: melody for four bars, then one chord per bar.
Piano, bass and drums play the whole 5:52, so Garland's piano supplies the chords and Paul Chambers plays the bass. Count the 32-bar choruses and note how many the trio plays.
Try this
Play the chart's chords on piano or any chord instrument, one per bar, through the first A part with the record. Smaller version: chord roots only.
The trio is piano, bass and drums, recorded live, and the track runs only 3:33. Follow the 32-bar form and listen for what the bass and drums do under the piano.
Try this
Play the roots of the C part (bars 25–32 of the chart) along with the record, then add the melody. Smaller version: roots for the last four bars only.
Jazzdisco lists Coltrane on soprano and tenor saxophone, with Tyner on piano, Davis on bass and Jones on drums. The track runs 9:37, so count the 32-bar choruses to see how long each solo lasts.
Try this
Play along with the first minute, chord roots only, and mark any bar where your note and the bass disagree. This takes good ears, since the quartet may not follow the chart exactly. Smaller version: roots for the first eight bars.
A reviewer describes this version as slow and thoughtful, with a slow stride piano introduction. Green's piano solo then runs to the end of the 9:33 track.
Try this
Play the chart at a slow tempo, one chord per bar, until the 32 bars feel easy. Then play the first minute along with the record. Smaller version: chords for the A part only.
Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt with John Houston, Buster Williams and George Brown, recorded in Chicago on August 26, 1961 and first issued on Argo LP-697, Dig Him!
The chorus is 32 bars in four 8-bar parts: A, B, A and C, all in E♭ major. A opens with dominant chords that fall by fifths: F7 to B♭7, then E♭maj7 with A♭7, then Gm7 C7 into F7 again. F7 and B♭7 return, E♭maj7 holds for a bar, and B♭m7 E♭7 leads to the B part. B starts on A♭maj7 and D♭7, comes home to E♭maj7 and Cm7, then sits on Fm7 for three bars before B♭7 turns back to the top. The second A repeats the first. C opens like B, with A♭maj7 and D♭7, then E♭maj7 A♭7 and Gm7 C7 echo the first A. Fm7 and B♭7 lead to E♭6 for the last two bars. This reading follows the iReal Pro chart on the page, and recordings often change the chords.