Duke Ellington, music · Bob Russell, lyrics · Never No Lament, 1940
Don't Get Around Much Anymore
Duke Ellington wrote it in 1940 as an instrumental called Never No Lament. Bob Russell added the words in 1942, and the song quickly became a hit. Singers, small groups and big bands have recorded it, from Louis Armstrong to Harry Connick Jr.
Listen in this order
The path starts with Ellington's own 1940 band, then moves through a vibraphone and saxophone quintet, a piano trio, Nat King Cole's singing and Mose Allison's trio. It ends with Louis Armstrong beside Ellington at the piano, a piano and alto saxophone duo, and Harry Connick Jr.'s film version.
Nat King Cole with Billy May's Orchestra1957 · Big band
Mose Allison Trio1958 · Bebop
1960sLouis Armstrong and Duke Ellington1961 · Swing
1970sDave Brubeck and Lee Konitz1974 · Cool jazz
1980sHarry Connick Jr.1989
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Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra · 1940
“Never No Lament”, Passion Flower 1940-46
Ellington's orchestra first recorded the tune on May 4, 1940, as an instrumental called Never No Lament. Bob Russell wrote words for it in 1942, and it was reissued as Don't Get Around Much Anymore.
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The whole band plays as one voice, with trumpets, trombones and saxophones together. Listen for the tune coming back to its opening idea after a contrasting middle part.
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Play the melody from a lead sheet. Then play only the of the first eight , one per bar: , C6, , A7, , , C6, G7.
Recorded in New York on April 7, 1952, by a quintet that paired Lou Donaldson's alto saxophone with Milt Jackson's vibraphone. Blue Note first put it out on a 78 rpm single credited to Donaldson.
C major · 4/4 · swing · 183 bpm (up)
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Two lead voices, an alto saxophone and a vibraphone, play over a piano, bass and drums. Listen for how each one handles the tune.
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Learn the by itself: , , , , F6, , , . A smaller version: play only the first note of each bar.
Recorded in Los Angeles in early December 1952 and issued on Oscar Peterson Plays Duke Ellington. Barney Kessel on guitar and Ray Brown on bass joined Peterson.
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Piano, guitar and bass play on their own, so the piano carries the tune. Listen for what the guitar and the bass do while it does.
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Play the melody with your right hand and one bass note per with your left: C, C, A, A, D, G, C, G. That covers the first eight .
Recorded on January 24, 1958, at Van Gelder Studio in Hackensack, New Jersey. Prestige put it out on a single and on Allison's album Young Man Mose.
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One person both sings and plays the piano, with bass and drums behind him. The record runs under three minutes, so each part of the tune goes by quickly.
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Play the tune with only the root in your left hand, then add a short fill when the melody rests. A smaller version: roots only.
Armstrong and Ellington met in the studio only once, on April 3 and 4, 1961, and recorded an all-Ellington program. This track came out on The Great Reunion, the second of the two Roulette albums from those sessions.
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Louis Armstrong sings and plays trumpet while Duke Ellington himself plays piano. Listen for the clarinet and the trombone from Armstrong's group joining in.
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Play the last two of the , then , and land on at the start of the final A. Hear how those bars lead home.
Connick recorded the soundtrack for the film When Harry Met Sally... in New York in June 1989. Marc Shaiman produced and orchestrated it.
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Connick sings and plays piano with guitar, bass and drums behind him. At just over four minutes, it runs longer than most of the older versions on this path.
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Play the whole chart with a steady four-beat bass in C. In the first A, 8 is and the tune repeats; in the second, bar 8 is and the follows.
Duke Ellington's orchestra records the tune as an instrumental, Never No Lament, in May 1940. Bob Russell adds words in 1942, and the Ink Spots' record reaches number 1 on the R&B chart in 1943.
1950s
Milt Jackson's quintet and Oscar Peterson's trio both record it in 1952. Nat King Cole sings it with Billy May's orchestra in July 1957.
1960s
Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington record it together in New York in April 1961, in the only studio meeting between them. Johnny Hodges follows in December with an orchestra.
1970s
Dave Brubeck and Lee Konitz record it as a piano and alto saxophone duo in New York in October 1974. Kenny Burrell follows in 1975 with an orchestra and a singer.
1980s
Harry Connick Jr. sings and plays it on the When Harry Met Sally... soundtrack, recorded in New York in June 1989.
More great versions
6 more, from 1942 to 1975. Tap a cover to play it here.
1940sThe Ink Spots1942
1950sBen Webster1953 · Swing
Ella Fitzgerald with Duke Ellington1957 · Big band
Stéphane Grappelli and Stuff Smith1957
1960sJohnny Hodges1961 · Big band
1970sKenny Burrell with Ernie Andrews1975 · Bebop
The Ink Spots
1942
78 rpm single
The Ink Spots' vocal version came out in 1942. According to Wikipedia, it reached number 1 on the R&B chart and number 2 on the pop chart in 1943.
“Don't Get Around Much Any More”, King of the Tenors
Webster played tenor saxophone in Ellington's 1940 band. He recorded this version in Los Angeles on December 8, 1953, with Benny Carter, Harry Edison and Oscar Peterson's rhythm players, for the album King of the Tenors.
Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Song Book
Verve released Fitzgerald's Duke Ellington Song Book in 1957, with Duke Ellington and his orchestra backing her on the first volume. Sessions ran from June to October 1957 in Hollywood.
Two violinists, Stéphane Grappelli and Stuff Smith, recorded this in Paris on May 4, 1957, with Oscar Peterson, Herb Ellis, Ray Brown and Jo Jones. It came out on Verve and was reissued on Pablo as Violins No End.
Johnny Hodges with Billy Strayhorn and the Orchestra
Recorded on December 11 and 12, 1961, at Van Gelder Studio in New Jersey, with Johnny Hodges out front and an orchestra arranged by Billy Strayhorn. Verve issued it in 1962.
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
C majorusual key
32 barsA · A · B · A form
C major → F major → C majorkey centers
A8 bars
A8 bars
B8 bars · bridge
A8 bars
C
F
C
The runs 32 in an shape. Each A lasts eight bars: for two bars, for two, then , and C6, and a last bar that is G7 the first time, which sends the tune back to the top. The second time that bar is , which leads into the . The bridge (B) moves to F: , , and C7, then F6 again, with , with , and with G7 to bring the music home. The last A repeats the first and closes on G7 in bar 8. The usual is .