Billy Strayhorn and Duke Ellington, music · John Latouche, lyrics · First recorded by Johnny Hodges, 1940
Day Dream
Billy Strayhorn wrote it for Johnny Hodges, and Hodges recorded it first with a small Ellington group in 1940. It is a slow ballad, and the unhurried pace gives a soloist or singer room to linger. Hear Hodges in 1940, Ella Fitzgerald in 1957, Strayhorn himself in 1961 and Betty Carter in 1993.
Listen in this order
The path starts with Johnny Hodges' 1940 record, then hears Ella Fitzgerald sing it and Steve Lacy play it on soprano saxophone. Billy Strayhorn plays it himself, Hodges returns with Strayhorn's orchestra arrangements, and Tommy Flanagan's piano trio, Archie Shepp's quartet and Betty Carter's live set take it further.
Strayhorn wrote the song for Johnny Hodges, and Hodges led a small group from the Ellington band to record it in Chicago on November 2, 1940. Bluebird issued it on a 78 rpm record with Junior Hop on the other side.
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Listen for
Listen for Johnny Hodges' saxophone as the lead voice, with the small group behind him. The whole record runs under three minutes.
Try it on your instrument
Play the first four as the iReal Pro chart has them, in F: , , , , and hum the tune on top. Smaller version: play just Fmaj7, , Dm7 and B♭m6, one per bar.
Ella Fitzgerald with Duke Ellington and His Orchestra · 1957 · Big band, Swing
Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Song Book
Ella Fitzgerald recorded it in June 1957 for the first volume of her Duke Ellington Song Book on Verve, and Duke Ellington is credited as a performer on the set. According to JazzStandards.com, Strayhorn supervised the sessions and wrote a new arrangement of the song for them.
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Listen for
Fitzgerald sings the tune with the Ellington orchestra behind her. The track lasts about four minutes.
Try it on your instrument
Play the root of each in 1 to 8 as slow whole notes (F, B♭, D, B♭, F, D♭, C, G) and hum the tune over them. Smaller version: do bars 1 to 4 only.
Steve Lacy recorded it on November 1, 1957, at Van Gelder's studio in Hackensack for Soprano Sax, his first album as a leader. Prestige issued it in 1958 with Wynton Kelly, Buell Neidlinger and Dennis Charles.
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Listen for
Lacy leads on soprano saxophone, with Wynton Kelly on piano, Buell Neidlinger on bass and Dennis Charles on drums. The track lasts 4:23.
Try it on your instrument
Play the 's first four : , , , (three in each of the first three bars, one in the fourth). Smaller version: play only the first chord of each bar: B♭maj7, Amaj7, A♭maj7, Gmaj7.
Strayhorn recorded The Peaceful Side in Paris in May 1961, in two midnight sessions with the producer Alan Douglas. A vocal group, the Paris Blue Notes, joins his piano on Day Dream.
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Listen for
Strayhorn plays piano, with the Paris Blue Notes, a group of voices, around him. The track lasts about four minutes.
Try it on your instrument
Play the last four of the : , , , Gm7 , which lead back to the final A. Smaller version: play only Gm7, C7♭9 and Fmaj7.
Johnny Hodges with Billy Strayhorn and the Orchestra · 1961 · Big band, Swing
Johnny Hodges with Billy Strayhorn and the Orchestra
Hodges recorded it again on December 11 and 12, 1961, at Van Gelder Studio, on an album of orchestra arrangements by Strayhorn. Verve issued the album in 1962.
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Listen for
Hodges plays saxophone in front of an orchestra that plays Strayhorn's arrangement. The track lasts just under four minutes.
Try it on your instrument
Mark the form on paper while you listen: , eight each, and tap the bar lines at the track's slow pace. Smaller version: count only the first eight bars.
Tommy Flanagan's trio played it live in Tokyo on February 15, 1975, with Keter Betts on bass and Bobby Durham on drums. Pablo issued the concert as The Tokyo Recital.
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Listen for
Flanagan leads on piano, with Keter Betts on bass and Bobby Durham on drums. The track lasts a little over four and a half minutes.
Try it on your instrument
Play the first A as a piano solo, with the root of each in your left hand and the full chord in your right. Smaller version: play only the first chord of each in your right hand.
Archie Shepp's quartet recorded it on June 3, 1977, at A&R Studios in New York, with Walter Davis, Earl May and Philly Joe Jones. The Japanese label Denon Jazz issued the session as the album Day Dream.
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Listen for
Shepp's saxophone leads a quartet with Walter Davis on piano, Earl May on bass and Philly Joe Jones on drums. The track lasts 5:46.
Try it on your instrument
Play 7 and 8 of the second A (, then ) and the first bar of the ( ), so you hear how the music turns toward the bridge. Smaller version: play only Fmaj7, then B♭maj7.
Betty Carter sang it live at London's Royal Festival Hall on October 30, 1993, with Geri Allen, Dave Holland and Jack DeJohnette. The track runs 12:08 on the Verve album Feed the Fire.
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Listen for
Carter sings with Geri Allen on piano, Dave Holland on bass and Jack DeJohnette on drums. At over twelve minutes, the track runs far longer than the 1940 record.
Try it on your instrument
Playing along here needs some practice at improvising over . A smaller version is to loop 1 to 8 as a slow backing ( , , , , , , , ) and hum along.
Strayhorn wrote it for Johnny Hodges, and a small group from Duke Ellington's band recorded it in Chicago on November 2, 1940.
1950s
Ella Fitzgerald sings it in June 1957 on her Duke Ellington Song Book, with a new arrangement by Strayhorn. Steve Lacy plays it on soprano saxophone in November 1957, on his first album as a leader.
1960s
Billy Strayhorn plays it himself in Paris in May 1961. Johnny Hodges records it again that December with Strayhorn's orchestra arrangements, and Ellington's orchestra plays it in 1967, the year Strayhorn dies.
1970s
Tommy Flanagan's trio plays it live in Tokyo on February 15, 1975. Archie Shepp records it with a quartet in New York on June 3, 1977, for the Japanese label Denon Jazz.
1990s
Betty Carter sings it live in London on October 30, 1993, in a track just over twelve minutes long. Tony Bennett records it for an Ellington album in 1999.
2000s
Dianne Reeves sings it on the Blue Note soundtrack to the 2007 PBS film Billy Strayhorn: Lush Life.
More great versions
6 more, from 1956 to 2007. Tap a cover to play it here.
1950sJune Christy1956 · Vocal
Chico Hamilton Quintet with Eric Dolphy1958 · Swing
1960sDuke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra1967 · Big band
Chico Hamilton's quintet with Eric Dolphy recorded an Ellington album on August 22, 1958. The tapes stayed unreleased until Pacific Jazz issued the album in 2000.
Ellington's orchestra recorded an album of Strayhorn's music after Strayhorn's death in May 1967. Johnny Hodges, the player Strayhorn wrote Day Dream for, is the featured soloist on this track.
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
F majorusual key
32 barsA · A · B · A form
F major → B♭ major → A major → A♭ major → G major → F majorkey centers
A8 bars
A8 bars
B8 bars · bridge
A8 bars
F
B♭
A
A♭
G
F
F
Thirty-two in four sections of eight, , in F. Each A opens with , , and , then and in bars 5 and 6. The first A ends with and . The second A ends with Fmaj7 and , which leads into the . The last A ends on Fmaj7 for two bars. The bridge changes one bar at a time: , , and . It comes back to F with , Fmaj7 , G7 and Gm7 . These follow the iReal Pro chart; other lead sheets may spell some chords differently.