Dizzy Gillespie, music · First recorded by Gillespie's sextet in New York, February 1945
Groovin' High
Dizzy Gillespie wrote this tune and first recorded it with a small band in New York in 1945. Its come from "Whispering", a 1920 song first recorded by Paul Whiteman. Since then Charlie Parker, a vocal group, a big band and Keith Jarrett's trio have all played it.
Listen in this order
The path starts with Dizzy Gillespie's 1945 record and his 1947 concert with Charlie Parker at Carnegie Hall. It then moves through a big band, a 1950s sextet, saxophone and vibes, and Art Pepper with eleven players, and ends with a vocal group and Keith Jarrett's trio in 1999.
Cannonball Adderley with Milt Jackson1958 · Hard bop
Art Pepper + Eleven1959
1960sDizzy Gillespie and the Double Six of Paris1963 · Bebop
1970s
1980s
1990sKeith Jarrett Trio1999
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Hear the original record
Dizzy Gillespie Sextet · 1945
Guild 1001 and Musicraft 485 78 rpm singles
Dizzy Gillespie recorded this in New York on 28 February 1945 with Charlie Parker, Clyde Hart, Remo Palmieri, Slam Stewart and Cozy Cole. He had first tried the tune on 9 February with a different group, then reworked the arrangement to leave room for a guitar solo by Palmieri.
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Listen for
The record runs under three minutes, with trumpet, alto saxophone, guitar, piano, bass and drums. Listen for the introduction, the band shifting to new between solos, the guitar solo, and the slowed-down ending.
Try it on your instrument
On any instrument, play 1 to 8: in bars 1 and 2, in bar 3, in bar 4, E♭maj7 in bars 5 and 6, in bar 7 and in bar 8. A smaller version: play only E♭ for bars 1 and 2 and again for bars 5 and 6, and hum the melody over it.
“Groovin' High (Live At Carnegie Hall, 1947)”, Diz 'N' Bird in Concert
Gillespie and Charlie Parker played the tune together again at Carnegie Hall on 29 September 1947, with John Lewis, Al McKibbon and Joe Harris behind them.
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Listen for
The same two leaders as on the 1945 record, now in concert with piano, bass and drums. This version runs 5:13, nearly twice as long as the studio record.
Try it on your instrument
On any instrument, play 9 to 16: in bars 9 and 10, in bar 11, in bar 12, in bar 13, in bar 14, Fm7 in bar 15 and B♭7 in bar 16. A smaller version: play one bass note per bar: F, F, F, B♭, G, F♯, F, B♭.
Gillespie recorded this big-band version in New York on 8 April 1957, with Lee Morgan, Al Grey, Melba Liston, Benny Golson and Wynton Kelly in the band. Verve issued it that year on Dizzy in Greece.
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Listen for
Trumpets, trombones and saxophones play the tune together, with piano, bass and drums underneath. The record runs 3:53, over a minute longer than the 1945 original.
Try it on your instrument
On any instrument, or by tapping, count the form while the record plays: tap once at the start of each section and call them A, B, A and C. A smaller version: tap only on bar 1 of each 32-bar pass.
Lou Donaldson recorded this at the Van Gelder studio in Hackensack, New Jersey, on 15 December 1957, with Donald Byrd, Curtis Fuller and Sonny Clark. Blue Note released it in 1958 on Lou Takes Off.
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Listen for
A trumpet, a trombone and an alto saxophone share the , with piano, bass and drums behind them. At 6:22, the record runs more than twice as long as the 1945 original.
Try it on your instrument
On any instrument, play one bass note per for bars 1 to 8: E♭, E♭, A, D, E♭, E♭, G, C. A smaller version: play only E♭ in bars 1, 2, 5 and 6.
Cannonball Adderley with Milt Jackson · 1958 · Hard bop
Things Are Getting Better
Cannonball Adderley and Milt Jackson recorded this in New York on 28 October 1958, with Wynton Kelly, Percy Heath and Art Blakey. Riverside released it in February 1959 on Things Are Getting Better.
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Listen for
Two lead voices, Adderley's alto saxophone and Jackson's vibes, with piano, bass and drums behind them. The record runs 5:22.
Try it on your instrument
On any instrument, loop the first four : , E♭maj7, and , one chord per bar, and hum the melody over them. A smaller version: play only the bass notes E♭, E♭, A and D.
Art Pepper recorded this in Los Angeles on 28 March 1959 with eleven other players, Marty Paich conducting. Contemporary released it in 1959 on Art Pepper + Eleven: Modern Jazz Classics.
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Listen for
Marty Paich conducted a written arrangement for trumpets, trombone, French horn, saxophones, piano, bass and drums, so the horns play planned parts around Pepper's saxophone. The record runs 3:23.
Try it on your instrument
On any instrument, play the last four of the tune, bars 29 to 32: in bar 29, and in bar 30, in bar 31, then Fm7 and in bar 32. A smaller version: play only E♭6, then Fm7, then B♭7.
Dizzy Gillespie and the Double Six of Paris · 1963 · Bebop, Vocal
Dizzy Gillespie and the Double Six of Paris
Gillespie recorded this in Paris on 8 July 1963 with the vocal group the Double Six of Paris, Bud Powell on piano, Pierre Michelot on bass and Kenny Clarke on drums. Philips released the album that year.
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Listen for
Seven singers join Gillespie's trumpet, with Bud Powell's piano, bass and drums behind them. At 2:28, it is the shortest record on the path.
Try it on your instrument
Sing or hum one bass note per for bars 9 to 16: F, F, F, B♭, G, F♯, F, B♭. A smaller version: sing F for bars 9 to 11 and B♭ for bar 12.
Keith Jarrett's trio played this live at the Palais des Congres in Paris on 5 July 1999, with Gary Peacock on bass and Jack DeJohnette on drums. ECM released it in 2000 on Whisper Not.
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Listen for
Only piano, bass and drums play. At 8:30, it is the longest record on the path, more than three times the length of the 1945 original.
Try it on your instrument
On any instrument, play all 32 slowly with a metronome, one chord per bar and two chords in bars 30 and 32, using the chart on this page. Soloing over the chords is a bigger step; a smaller version is to play bars 1 to 8 twice and stop.
Dizzy Gillespie records it with Charlie Parker in New York in February 1945. The two play it again at Carnegie Hall in September 1947.
1950s
Gillespie's big band records it in April 1957 and Lou Donaldson's sextet that December. Cannonball Adderley with Milt Jackson follows in 1958, and Art Pepper plays it with eleven others in 1959.
1960s
Gillespie records it in Paris in July 1963 with the vocal group the Double Six of Paris and Bud Powell on piano.
1970s
Zoot Sims and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis play it with Oscar Peterson's group in 1975, and Tommy Flanagan's trio records it in Berkeley in 1978.
1980s
Archie Shepp's quartet, with Horace Parlan on piano, records it in Holland in May 1987.
1990s
Keith Jarrett's trio plays it live in Paris on 5 July 1999, with Gary Peacock and Jack DeJohnette, for 8 minutes 30 seconds.
2000s
Al Jarreau sings words he wrote himself for the tune on his 2004 Verve album Accentuate the Positive.
More great versions
6 more, from 1956 to 2004. Tap a cover to play it here.
1950sThe Hampton Hawes Quartet1956
Mose Allison Trio1959 · Post-bop
1960s
1970sZoot Sims and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis with Oscar Peterson1975
Tommy Flanagan Trio1978 · Bebop
1980sArchie Shepp Quartet1987
1990s
2000sAl Jarreau2004 · Soul jazz
The Hampton Hawes Quartet
1956
All Night Session! Vol. 1
Hampton Hawes recorded this in Los Angeles on 12 November 1956 with Jim Hall, Red Mitchell and Bruz Freeman. Contemporary issued it in 1958 on All Night Session! Vol. 1.
Mose Allison recorded this trio version at the Van Gelder studio in Hackensack, New Jersey, on 13 February 1959. Prestige issued it in 1960 on Autumn Song.
Zoot Sims and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis with Oscar Peterson
1975
“Groovin' High (Live In Paris, FR / October 19, 1975)”, The Tenor Giants Featuring Oscar Peterson
Two tenor saxophonists, Zoot Sims and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, played this with Oscar Peterson's group in Paris on 19 October 1975. Pablo issued the tour recordings in 2000 as The Tenor Giants Featuring Oscar Peterson.
Tommy Flanagan recorded this trio version at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley on 30 January 1978, with Keter Betts and Jimmie Smith. Galaxy released it that year on Something Borrowed, Something Blue.
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♭ majorusual key
32 barsA · B · A · C form
E♭ majorkey centers
A8 bars
B8 bars
A8 bars
C8 bars
E♭
The tune has four sections of 8 each: A, B, A and C, 32 bars in all. The first A runs for two bars, then and in bars 3 and 4, E♭maj7 for two bars, then and . The starts on for two bars, then and , then Gm7, , Fm7 and B♭7. The second A repeats the first. The starts like B, with F7, F7, Fm7 and B♭7, and then ends differently: Fm7, and sharing one bar, , and Fm7 and B♭7 sharing the last bar, which leads back to the top. The whole stays in . These follow the iReal Pro chart; JazzStandards.com also gives the form as , and other lead sheets may spell some differently.