George Gershwin, music · Ira Gershwin, lyrics · Introduced in the musical Girl Crazy, 1930
Embraceable You
Embraceable You is a ballad by George and Ira Gershwin, first sung in the 1930 musical Girl Crazy. Its ii–V chords pass through E minor, B minor and D major, then return home to G. You will hear it from Billie Holiday and Charlie Parker to Sarah Vaughan, Bill Evans and Joe Pass.
▶ Plays the whole path in order, one recording after another.
- 1 Learn the song Billie Holiday and Eddie Heywood✓
- 2 Hear a ballad chorus over the changes Charlie Parker Quintet✓
- 3 Hear voice and horns together Sarah Vaughan with Clifford Brown Sextet✓
- 4 Hear a swing quintet Zoot Sims✓
- 5 Listen to a piano trio Bill Evans Trio✓
- 6 Hear the tune without a band Joe Pass✓
- 7 Hear the tune with no chord instrument Ornette Coleman Quartet✓
- 8 Hear a recent version Fred Hersch, Drew Gress and Joey Baron✓
How the tune works
The chorus is 32 bars in four 8-bar parts: A, B, A and C. A opens on Gmaj7 with a B♭°7 passing chord, then Am7 and D7. Am7, Cm6 and Gmaj7 follow, and a ii–V (F♯m7♭5, B7♭9) turns toward E minor. B starts in E minor with Em over a D bass, runs a ii–V into B minor (C♯m7♭5, F♯7♯5, Bm7) and a ii–V into D major (Em7 A7, Dmaj7 Bm7), then Em7 A7, Am7 and D7 bring it back to G. The second A repeats the first through bar 7 and ends differently: Dm7 G7 points to C. C is a chain of ii–Vs. It starts on Cmaj7, turns toward E minor again with F♯m7♭5 and B7♭9, then walks the bass down through Em7, Em7/D, C♯m7♭5 and Cm6, Bm7 E7, and Am7♭5 D7♭9. It lands on Gmaj7, and Am7 D7 leads back to the top.
The changes as printed on the standardrepertoire.com chord chart, in G with key labels added. The 32 bars run in four 8-bar parts: A, B, A and C. Slash chords name the bass note after the slash.
Bar 9 holds Em and Em/D. Bar 27 holds Em7 and Em7/D; the chart image prints the second chord as Emaj7/D, read here as Em7/D because the bass walks E, D, C♯, C through bars 27 and 28. The two A parts match except for bar 8 (F♯m7♭5 B7♭9, toward E minor) and bar 24 (Dm7 G7, toward C). Published sheets and players vary, as the Parker transcription shows. No intro or tag is written here.
Source: Jazz Standard Repertoire: Embraceable You (chord chart in G)
Listen in this order
Play all 8 on YouTube ↗The path starts with Billie Holiday's 1944 record, then moves through Charlie Parker's ballad chorus, a vocal with trumpet, a tenor-led quintet, a piano trio, solo guitar, Ornette Coleman's quartet and a 2024 piano trio. Each step gives you one thing to hear and one thing to try.
-
Step 1 · Learn the song Now playing
Billie Holiday and Eddie Heywood and His Orchestra 1944
Embraceable You / As Time Goes By
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- Count the four 8-bar parts, A B A C, as Holiday sings. The band is Doc Cheatham on trumpet, Vic Dickenson on trombone, Lem Davis on alto sax, Eddie Heywood on piano, John Simmons on bass and Big Sid Catlett on drums.
- Try this
- Play the A part (bars 1–8) of the chart on piano or guitar, one chord per bar and both chords in the split bar, while you sing or hum the tune. Holiday's key is not confirmed, so play it in your own key first, then listen. Smaller version: play only the root of each chord.
-
Step 2 · Hear a ballad chorus over the changes Now playing
Charlie Parker Quintet 1947
Bongo Bop / Embraceable You
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- Duke Jordan plays the piano introduction. Parker then plays one 32-bar chorus, from about 0:10 to 1:58, and Miles Davis follows with three-quarters of a chorus.
- Try this
- The record is in F, so use the key buttons to move the chart to F. Play bars 1–8 along with the first 25 seconds of Parker's chorus, one chord per bar. Parker's own changes differ from the chart in places, so listen for where. Smaller version: play only the root of each chord.
-
Step 3 · Hear voice and horns together Now playing
Sarah Vaughan with Clifford Brown Sextet 1954
Sarah Vaughan
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- Vaughan sings with a sextet: Clifford Brown on trumpet, Herbie Mann on flute, Paul Quinichette on tenor sax, Jimmy Jones on piano, Joe Benjamin on bass and Roy Haynes on drums.
- Try this
- Play the B part (bars 9–16) of the chart slowly, one chord per bar and both chords in the split bars. It leaves G major for E minor, B minor and D major before it comes back. Smaller version: play only the root of each chord.
-
Step 4 · Hear a swing quintet Now playing
Zoot Sims 1975
Zoot Sims and the Gershwin Brothers
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- Zoot Sims plays tenor sax, with Oscar Peterson on piano, Joe Pass on guitar, George Mraz on bass and Grady Tate on drums. The track runs 4 minutes 52 seconds.
- Try this
- Play a bass line for bars 1–8 of the chart: the root of each chord, one per bar, with both roots in the split bar. Then add the full chord on top. Key is not confirmed for this take, so use your own key.
-
Step 5 · Listen to a piano trio Now playing
Bill Evans Trio 1968
“Embraceable You (Live at the Montreux Jazz Festival, 1968)”, Bill Evans at the Montreux Jazz Festival
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- Three players and no horns: Bill Evans on piano, Eddie Gomez on bass and Jack DeJohnette on drums, live at Montreux. The track runs about 6 minutes 45 seconds.
- Try this
- Play the C part (bars 25–32) of the chart, which has two chords in most bars. Take it slowly, with the first chord of a split bar on beat 1 and the second on beat 3. Smaller version: play only the first chord of each bar.
-
Step 6 · Hear the tune without a band Now playing
Joe Pass 1981
Ira, George and Joe
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- Joe Pass plays alone on this track, with no bass or drums.
- Try this
- Play the A part (bars 1–8) of the chart as a solo: the bass note of each chord on beat 1 and the melody above it. If that is too much, play the chords only and sing the tune. Key is not confirmed for this take, so use your own key.
-
Step 7 · Hear the tune with no chord instrument Now playing
Ornette Coleman Quartet 1960
This Is Our Music
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- The lineup is alto sax, cornet, bass and drums, with no piano or guitar to play chords. Listen for what carries the tune's harmony.
- Try this
- Sing or play the melody, with only a bass note under each bar: the root of the chart's chord. Smaller version: do bars 1–8 only.
-
Step 8 · Hear a recent version Now playing
Fred Hersch, Drew Gress and Joey Baron 2024
The Surrounding Green
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- Piano, double bass and drums: Fred Hersch, Drew Gress and Joey Baron, recorded in Lugano in May 2024. The track runs 6 minutes 32 seconds.
- Try this
- Play the C part (bars 25–32) of the chart, then play bars 31 and 32 (Gmaj7, then Am7 D7) once more as a turnaround. Smaller version: play only Am7 and D7, one bar each.
More great versions
-
Clifford Brown - Max Roach Quintet with Neal Hefti Orchestra 1955
Clifford Brown with Strings
Clifford Brown with a string section arranged and conducted by Neal Hefti, recorded January 20, 1955.
-
Ella Fitzgerald 1959
Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Song Book
Ella Fitzgerald with Nelson Riddle's arrangements, from her Gershwin Song Book sessions of 1959 at Capitol Studio A in Hollywood.
-
Art Farmer Quartet 1963
Interaction
Art Farmer on flugelhorn with Jim Hall, Steve Swallow and Walter Perkins, from the 1963 Atlantic album Interaction.
-
Jim Hall and Ron Carter 1982
“Embraceable You (Live at Village West, New York, NY / November, 1982)”, Live at Village West
A live duo for guitar and bass, recorded at Village West in New York in November 1982 and released in 1984 on Live at Village West.
-
Fred Hersch 1993
“Embraceable You (Live at Maybeck Recital Hall, Berkeley, CA / October 24, 1993)”, The Maybeck Recital Series, Vol. 31
Fred Hersch live at Maybeck Recital Hall in Berkeley on October 24, 1993, released on Concord Jazz in 1994.