Gordon Jenkins, music and lyrics · Closing theme of the Benny Goodman orchestra, 1935
Goodbye
Goodbye is a song by Gordon Jenkins, published in 1935. Benny Goodman's orchestra used it to close its radio broadcasts. Frank Sinatra, Cannonball Adderley with Bill Evans, and Keith Jarrett with Charlie Haden all recorded it.
Listen in this order
The path starts with Benny Goodman's 1935 record, the band's closing theme, then moves through a tenor sax with strings, a jazz quartet with Bill Evans and two piano trios. It ends with a piano trio and orchestra, a 14-minute live set by Art Pepper and a piano and bass duo by Keith Jarrett and Charlie Haden. Singers, among them Frank Sinatra and Dinah Washington, are in the extra versions.
Cannonball Adderley with Bill Evans1961 · Hard bop
Bill Evans and Shelly Manne with Monty Budwig1962 · Hard bop
McCoy Tyner Trio1962 · Post-bop
Oscar Peterson Trio with Nelson Riddle's Orchestra1963 · Easy listening
1970sArt Pepper Quartet1977
1980s
1990s
2000sKeith Jarrett and Charlie Haden2007 · Contemporary jazz
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Hear the song as a band's goodnight
Benny Goodman and His Orchestra · 1935
“Good-Bye”, Good-Bye
Benny Goodman's orchestra recorded Good-Bye for Victor on September 27, 1935, and the record came out on January 8, 1936 as Victor 25215. The band used the tune to close its radio broadcasts, and Gordon Jenkins is credited as composer and arranger.
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Listen for
A full dance band plays it in 3:27, the length of one side of a 78 rpm record. Benny Goodman is credited on clarinet, with Jess Stacy on piano and Gene Krupa on drums.
Try it on your instrument
Play the first four of the in C, one per bar at a slow pulse: , A♭7♯11, then A♭7♯11, and G7♭13. Smaller version: play just an A♭ for two bars, then a G.
Stan Getz recorded this in Baden-Baden in March 1960 with a quintet and strings arranged by Russell Garcia. Verve issued it on Cool Velvet: Stan Getz and Strings (MGV-8379), released in November 1960.
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Listen for
Stan Getz plays tenor sax with a harp, vibes and strings around him. At 4:26 it is shorter than the Adderley and Evans versions that follow.
Try it on your instrument
Play the falling bass line in 5 to 8, one note per : C, B♭, A, A♭, G, G♭, F, E♭ (, , , , , , , ). Smaller version: play only the first note of each bar, C, A, G, F.
Cannonball Adderley with Bill Evans · 1961 · Hard bop
Know What I Mean?
Cannonball Adderley and Bill Evans recorded this at Bell Sound Studios in New York on January 27, 1961, with Percy Heath on bass and Connie Kay on drums. Riverside issued it in 1962 as part of RLP 433, produced by Orrin Keepnews.
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Listen for
Two instruments lead, Adderley's alto sax and Evans's piano, with Percy Heath on bass and Connie Kay on drums. At 6:14 it is the longest studio version in the path so far; follow the sax and the piano in turn.
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Compare the two endings. First ending, 10 to 12: , , . Second ending: G7♭13 D♭7♯11, Cmaj7, . Smaller version: play only the Cmaj7 and then the last of each ending.
Bill Evans and Shelly Manne with Monty Budwig · 1962 · Hard bop, Post-bop
Empathy
Bill Evans, bassist Monty Budwig and drummer Shelly Manne recorded this at Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, on August 14, 1962. Verve released it on Empathy that November, produced by Creed Taylor.
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Listen for
Piano, bass and drums play it with no horn in front. Listen to how Bill Evans, Monty Budwig and Shelly Manne share the track over 5:10.
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Play the as one per : , , , C6, , , , then . Smaller version: play only the roots, D, G, C, C, F, B♭, E♭, D and G.
McCoy Tyner's trio recorded this at Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, on November 14, 1962, with Henry Grimes on bass and Roy Haynes on drums. Impulse! released it in 1963 on Reaching Fourth, produced by Bob Thiele.
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Listen for
McCoy Tyner on piano, Henry Grimes on bass and Roy Haynes on drums. At 5:46 it runs a little over half a minute longer than the Evans trio.
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Play 1 to 4 and then bars 5 to 8 of the in order. The first four hover on and , and the walk-down arrives in bar 5. Smaller version: play A♭ and for four bars, then a for four bars.
Oscar Peterson's trio, with Ray Brown on bass and Ed Thigpen on drums, recorded this with Nelson Riddle's orchestra at Radio Recorders in Los Angeles on November 10, 1963. Verve released it in 1964 on Oscar Peterson & Nelson Riddle.
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Listen for
Oscar Peterson's trio plays with an orchestra led by Nelson Riddle, who also arranged it. Listen for how the piano and the orchestra share the tune over 4:06.
Try it on your instrument
Play all twelve of the first with its first ending. It uses such as and , so a smaller version is to play just the root of each chord as a bass line.
Art Pepper's quartet, with Elvin Jones on drums, played this at the Village Vanguard in New York on July 29, 1977. Contemporary released it in 1995 in the box The Complete Village Vanguard Sessions.
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Listen for
A live quartet set that runs 14:40, the longest version in the path. Elvin Jones is on drums, with George Cables on piano and George Mraz on bass.
Try it on your instrument
Play the whole form once: A with the first ending, A with the second ending, then B, 32 in all. It is a long form to hold in your head, so a smaller version is to play only B: , , , C6, , , , .
Keith Jarrett and Charlie Haden recorded this duo at Cavelight Studio in Oxford, New Jersey, in March 2007. ECM released it on Jasmine in 2010, produced by Jarrett.
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Listen for
Piano and bass alone for 8:01, with Keith Jarrett and Charlie Haden. Two instruments carry everything.
Try it on your instrument
Try a duo of your own on the : one player takes the bass notes, the other plays the . Playing alone, take the bass note in the left hand and the chord in the right.
Gordon Jenkins publishes the song in 1935. Benny Goodman's orchestra records it on September 27 of that year and uses it to close its radio broadcasts.
1950s
Chet Baker's ensemble records it in Los Angeles in December 1953, and Dinah Washington sings it on her album Dinah!, recorded in 1955. Frank Sinatra's 1958 version, arranged by Nelson Riddle, is on an album of torch songs.
1960s
Stan Getz plays it with strings in March 1960. Cannonball Adderley records it with pianist Bill Evans in January 1961, and Evans records it again in August 1962 with drummer Shelly Manne.
1970s
Art Pepper's quartet plays a 14-minute Goodbye live at the Village Vanguard on July 29, 1977, with Elvin Jones on drums.
1980s
Ella Fitzgerald sings it at the February 1982 sessions for The Best Is Yet to Come, with an arrangement by Nelson Riddle.
2000s
Lizz Wright sings it on her 2003 album Salt, recorded in 2002. Keith Jarrett and Charlie Haden record a duo version in March 2007, which ECM releases on Jasmine in 2010.
More great versions
5 more, from 1955 to 2002. Tap a cover to play it here.
1950sDinah Washington1955 · Vocal
Frank Sinatra1958 · Vocal
Chet Baker with Fifty Italian Strings1959 · Cool jazz
Dinah Washington sang Goodbye on her EmArcy album Dinah!, produced by Bob Shad with an arrangement by Hal Mooney. The album was recorded on January 11 and November 11, 1955, in Los Angeles and New York City.
“Good-Bye”, Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely
Frank Sinatra recorded Good-Bye for Sings for Only the Lonely, an album of torch songs with arrangements by Nelson Riddle. The album was recorded at Capitol Studio A in Hollywood on May 29 and June 24 and 26, 1958, and released on September 8, 1958.
Chet Baker recorded this in Milan with a string orchestra, as track 5 of Chet Baker With Fifty Italian Strings. The sessions were on September 28 and October 5, 1959, and Jazzland released the album in 1960.
Ella Fitzgerald recorded Good-bye for The Best Is Yet to Come, a Pablo Today album produced by Norman Granz and recorded on February 4 and 5, 1982. Nelson Riddle arranged it.
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 form
C minor → C major → C minor → C major → E♭ major → C majorkey centers
A12 bars
A12 bars
B8 bars
C m
C
C m
C
C
E♭
C
The chart has three parts: A (12 ), A again (12 bars) and B (8 bars), 32 bars in all. Each A is nine bars of main material followed by a three-bar ending. The nine bars open on for two bars, then beside A♭7♯11, then G7♭13. arrives in bar 5, and the bass then walks down one step per : C, B♭, A, A♭, G, G♭, F, E♭ (Cm7, , , A♭7♯11, , , , ), before A♭7♯11. The first ending is G7♭13 , , Dm7♭5 , and the chart marks Fine there. The second ending is G7♭13 D♭7♯11, Cmaj7, , and it leads into B. B moves to with , , , C6, visits with , B♭7, , and returns with Dm7♭5 G7♭9. The chart then goes back to the top (D.C.) and plays A with the first ending to finish. This follows the iReal Pro chart; other lead sheets may spell some chords differently.