Bernice Petkere, music and lyrics · Published 1933 and recorded that year by Freddy Martin, Ray Noble and Eddy Duchin
Close Your Eyes
Bernice Petkere wrote both the words and the music, and the song was published in 1933. It stays mostly in a minor and brightens to major at the end of the second section. Hear it from Ella Fitzgerald, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, Gene Ammons, Keith Jarrett and Stacey Kent.
Listen in this order
The path opens with Eddy Duchin's 1933 orchestra record and Ella Fitzgerald's 1957 version, then follows the song through a tenor sax and vibes pairing, a live Jazz Messengers set, a tenor sax quintet and a guitar quartet. It ends with a live piano trio and a 1996 vocal record.
Eddy Duchin and His Orchestra (vocal Lew Sherwood) · 1933
Victor single
Eddy Duchin's orchestra recorded it for Victor in New York on August 8, 1933, with Lew Sherwood singing. According to Wikipedia, Freddy Martin's orchestra made the first recording that same year.
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Listen for
Lew Sherwood sings the song with Eddy Duchin's orchestra behind him, and the whole record runs 2:57. Keep this short, plain version in mind when the jazz versions stretch it out later on the path.
Try it on your instrument
Play the first four of the , one per bar: , , Fm7♭5, B♭7♭9. A smaller version: play just the low notes F, B♭, F, B♭ and hum the tune over them.
Ella Fitzgerald with Frank DeVol and His Orchestra · 1957 · Vocal
Like Someone in Love
Ella Fitzgerald recorded it in Hollywood on October 15, 1957, with an orchestra arranged and conducted by Frank DeVol. It is the fifth song on the Verve album Like Someone in Love.
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Listen for
Ella Fitzgerald sings it with an orchestra that Frank DeVol arranged and conducted, in 2:57. Follow her voice first, then listen to what the orchestra does behind her.
Try it on your instrument
Play 5 to 8 of the : , , E♭m6, E♭m6. A smaller version: play only E♭m6 and B♭7♭9, one bar each, while you hum the tune.
Coleman Hawkins on tenor sax and Milt Jackson on vibes recorded it in New York on September 12, 1958, with Tommy Flanagan, Kenny Burrell, Eddie Jones and Connie Kay. Atlantic released it on the album Bean Bags.
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Listen for
Two lead instruments share this track: Coleman Hawkins on tenor sax and Milt Jackson on vibes. At 6:49 there is room to compare their sounds, and Kenny Burrell's guitar is part of the band behind them.
Try it on your instrument
Play the , one per bar: , , B♭m7, E♭7, , A♭7, , . A smaller version: play only the bass note of each bar, B♭, E♭, B♭, E♭, A♭, A♭, B, B♭.
Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers · 1959 · Hard bop
At the Jazz Corner of the World
Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers recorded it live at Birdland in New York on April 15, 1959. Blue Note put it on At the Jazz Corner of the World and also issued it as a two-part single.
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Listen for
A club recording that runs nearly eleven minutes (10:58). Lee Morgan on trumpet and Hank Mobley on tenor sax take solos, and Art Blakey's drums are underneath them.
Try it on your instrument
Playing a solo over all 32 takes more skill. A smaller version: loop the eight-bar and play one long bass note per bar, taking the first of each bar: F, B♭, F, B♭, E♭, F, E♭, E♭.
Gene Ammons recorded it at Van Gelder Studio on June 16, 1960. It was the first title cut at the session that produced the Prestige album Boss Tenor.
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Listen for
Gene Ammons plays tenor sax out front with a quintet, and the record is short at 3:46. The band includes a conga drum, so listen for it under the piano and bass.
Try it on your instrument
Play the two endings of the one after the other. The first time, 7 and 8 are and E♭m6. The second time, they are and E♭maj7. Hear how the second ending brightens the sound.
Pat Martino recorded it on January 8, 1968, for the Prestige album East!, with Eddie Green on piano, Ben Tucker on bass and Lenny McBrowne on drums. Don Schlitten produced the album.
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Listen for
Guitar takes the lead in this quartet for 6:08. Follow Pat Martino's guitar first, then notice what Eddie Green's piano does around it.
Try it on your instrument
Play the whole 32 from the chart and feel the shape: A, A, B, A. A smaller version: play only the last four bars of the , , A♭7, , , and land on .
Keith Jarrett's trio with Gary Peacock and Jack DeJohnette played it at the Blue Note in New York on June 4, 1994. ECM issued the whole engagement in 1995 as At the Blue Note: The Complete Recordings.
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Listen for
A live piano trio stretches the song to 9:28. Follow the piano first, then listen for what Gary Peacock's bass and Jack DeJohnette's drums do underneath.
Try it on your instrument
Play the , then the , then the last A, one chord per , to feel the full 32 bars. A smaller version: play only the first chord of every second bar and hum the tune.
Stacey Kent sang it as the title song of her first album, recorded on November 18 and 19, 1996, and released by Candid in 1997. Her husband, Jim Tomlinson, plays tenor sax in the band.
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Listen for
A small band backs Stacey Kent for 5:25. Listen for the tenor sax, the piano and the guitar each stepping forward between the vocal lines.
Try it on your instrument
Hum or play the tune against the chart in the shape A, A, B, A, eight each. A smaller version: do only the first A, and stop on .
Bernice Petkere writes both the words and the music, and the song is published in 1933. Eddy Duchin's orchestra records it in New York that year with singer Lew Sherwood.
1950s
Ella Fitzgerald sings it with Frank DeVol's orchestra in 1957. Coleman Hawkins and Milt Jackson record it in 1958, and Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers play it live at Birdland in 1959.
1960s
Gene Ammons records it with a quintet in 1960 for the Prestige album Boss Tenor. Pat Martino leads a guitar quartet through it in 1968 on the album East!.
1990s
Keith Jarrett's trio plays it live at the Blue Note in 1994, and Kurt Elling records it that year for his first album. Stacey Kent sings it in 1996 on her first album.
More great versions
5 more, from 1958 to 1994. Tap a cover to play it here.
The Jazz Messengers cut a studio take at Van Gelder Studio on March 8, 1959, five weeks before their Birdland night. Blue Note issued it in 2020 on Just Coolin'.
The Oscar Peterson Trio, with Ray Brown on bass and Ed Thigpen on drums, cut it in Chicago during sessions that ran from July 14 to August 9, 1959. Apple and YouTube place it on The Jazz Soul of Oscar Peterson.
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
E♭ minorusual key
32 barsA · A · B · A form
E♭ minor → E♭ major → A♭ → E♭ minorkey centers
A8 bars
A8 bars
B8 bars · bridge
A8 bars
E♭ m
E♭
A♭
E♭ m
The iReal Pro chart runs 32 in as , eight bars each. Each A opens with and , played twice, then , Fm7♭5 B♭7♭9 and a bar of E♭m6. The first A closes with a second bar of E♭m6 and goes back to the top. The repeat closes with two bars of , the one place the chart turns major. The plays twice, then for two bars, and B♭7♭9, which lead into the last A. That A matches the first and closes on E♭m6.