Doc Daugherty and Ellis Reynolds, music · Al J. Neiburg, lyrics · Louis Armstrong's 1930 record helped make it popular
I'm Confessin'
Doc Daugherty and Ellis Reynolds wrote the music in 1930, and Al J. Neiburg wrote the words. Louis Armstrong helped make it popular, and Lester Young recorded it several times. Hear it from Armstrong, Django Reinhardt, Lester Young, Thelonious Monk and Diana Krall.
Listen in this order
The path starts with Louis Armstrong's 1930 record, then follows the song through a Paris small group, a Hollywood swing band, a tenor saxophone with a piano trio, a session, Thelonious Monk alone at the piano, a cornet and piano duo and a modern piano trio.
1930sLouis Armstrong and His Sebastian New Cotton Club Orchestra1930
Django Reinhardt and the Quintette du Hot Club de France1935 · Gypsy jazz
Lionel Hampton1937
1940s
1950sLester Young with the Oscar Peterson Trio1952 · Cool jazz
1960sDoug Watkins Quintet featuring Yusef Lateef1960 · Hard bop
Thelonious Monk1964 · Bebop
1970sRuby Braff and Ellis Larkins1972 · Swing
1980s
1990sKenny Barron Trio1991 · Bebop
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Louis Armstrong and His Sebastian New Cotton Club Orchestra · 1930
“I'm Confessin' (That I Love You)”, I'm Confessin'
Louis Armstrong recorded the song in Los Angeles on August 19, 1930, for OKeh, with Leon Elkins's New Sebastian Cotton Club orchestra behind him. According to JazzStandards.com, his record helped popularize the song, although it did not reach the top twenty.
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Armstrong sings and plays trumpet on the same record, with saxophones, trombone, banjo and tuba behind him. The record runs 3:23.
Try it on your instrument
Play the first six of the as : , Gmaj7 D7♯5, Gmaj7, , , . A smaller version: hum the tune and play only a G chord and a D7 chord, two beats each, over the first two bars.
Django Reinhardt and the Quintette du Hot Club de France · 1935 · Gypsy jazz
“Confessin'”, Quintette du Hot Club de France
Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli's quintet recorded the song in Paris in March 1935, three months after the group's first records in December 1934.
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Stéphane Grappelli plays violin and Django Reinhardt plays guitar, with rhythm guitars and a bass behind them. The record runs 2:54.
Try it on your instrument
Strum the with four even beats to the : , , , , , , , Am7 D7. A smaller version: strum only the first four bars of the bridge.
“I'm Confessin' (That I Love You)”, I'm Confessin'
Lionel Hampton recorded the song for Victor in Hollywood on August 16, 1937, leading a band with Jonah Jones on trumpet and Eddie Barefield on clarinet. According to JazzStandards.com, it reached number 14 on the chart and was one of his early hits.
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Hampton plays vibraphone and sings, with Jonah Jones on trumpet and Eddie Barefield on clarinet. The record runs 3:28.
Try it on your instrument
Play the last as , with its ending: , Gmaj7 D7♯5, Gmaj7, , , , , Am7 D7. A smaller version: play only the last two bars, G6 then Am7 D7, which turn the tune back to the top.
Lester Young with the Oscar Peterson Trio · 1952 · Cool jazz
The President Plays with the Oscar Peterson Trio
Lester Young recorded the song in New York on August 4, 1952, with Oscar Peterson's trio, and Clef issued it as a single in 1954. According to JazzStandards.com, Young was a fan of the tune and recorded it several times.
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Lester Young leads on tenor saxophone, with Oscar Peterson on piano, Barney Kessel on guitar, Ray Brown on bass and J.C. Heard on drums. The record runs 3:40.
Try it on your instrument
Play one root note for each in the first , on a bass or with your left hand: G D, G D, G, B E, E A, A D. A smaller version: play only the first note of each and hum the tune over it.
Doug Watkins led this session on May 17, 1960, at Van Gelder Studio in New Jersey, with Esmond Edwards producing for New Jazz. Watkins is credited on cello, and Yusef Lateef is credited on tenor saxophone, flute and oboe.
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Yusef Lateef is credited on tenor saxophone, flute and oboe on the album, so listen for which of the three leads. The record runs 6:49.
Try it on your instrument
Tap the beat and say A, A, B, A as the sections change, and count how many times the form comes around in 6:49. A smaller version: just tap along to the first .
Thelonious Monk recorded the song alone at the piano in Los Angeles on November 2, 1964, for Columbia's Solo Monk. He cut two takes that day, and the second went on the LP.
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Monk plays the whole song by himself, with no band, so every note and every pause comes from one pair of hands. The issued take runs 2:37.
Try it on your instrument
Play the on a piano, one to a , and stop for one beat before the last A: , , , , , , , Am7 D7. A smaller version: play only the first four bars of the bridge.
“I'm Confessin' That I Love You”, The Grand Reunion
Cornetist Ruby Braff and pianist Ellis Larkins recorded it as a duo in New York on October 14, 1972. It stayed unreleased until Chiaroscuro put it on The Grand Reunion in 1999.
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Ruby Braff plays cornet and Ellis Larkins plays piano, just the two of them. The record runs 3:40.
Try it on your instrument
Play it with a partner: one of you plays the melody, the other plays the of the , then swap on the next time through. A smaller version: play the chords alone and hum the tune.
Pianist Kenny Barron recorded it with bassist Rufus Reid and drummer Victor Lewis at Van Gelder Studio in New Jersey on August 22, 1991. Reservoir released it on the album The Moment.
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The trio takes the song at length. Kenny Barron plays piano, Rufus Reid plays bass and Victor Lewis plays drums, and the record runs 7:42.
Try it on your instrument
Find the second ending of the , then G6, which leads into the , and play it on its own. A smaller version: play just the Cm6 and listen for how it sounds after G6.
Doc Daugherty, Ellis Reynolds and Al J. Neiburg write the song in 1930. Louis Armstrong records it in Los Angeles that August, and Guy Lombardo's record charts. Django Reinhardt's quintet records it in 1935 and Lionel Hampton's band in 1937.
1950s
Lester Young plays it on tenor saxophone with Oscar Peterson's trio in 1952. The same year, Les Paul and Mary Ford's version spends 11 weeks on the chart.
1960s
Doug Watkins leads a session with Yusef Lateef in 1960. Frank Ifield's 1963 cover reaches number one in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and Thelonious Monk plays it alone at the piano in 1964.
1970s
Cornetist Ruby Braff and pianist Ellis Larkins record it as a duo in New York in 1972. The recording stays unreleased until Chiaroscuro issues it in 1999.
1990s
Kenny Barron records it with Rufus Reid and Victor Lewis at Van Gelder Studio in 1991, in a version that runs 7:42.
2010s
Diana Krall records it in fall 2016 at Capitol Studios, with Tony Garnier, Karriem Riggins, Marc Ribot and Stuart Duncan. It comes out on Turn Up the Quiet in 2017.
2020s
Samara Joy sings it on Linger Awhile, which was recorded at Sear Sound in New York City and released by Verve in 2022.
More great versions
3 more, from 1952 to 2022. Tap a cover to play it here.
“I'm Confessin' (That I Love You)”, Les Paul's New Sound, Vol. 2
Les Paul and Mary Ford's record charted in 1952 for 11 weeks and peaked at number 13, according to JazzStandards.com. It features Paul's multi-tracked guitar.
“I'm Confessin' (That I Love You)”, Turn Up the Quiet
Diana Krall recorded it in fall 2016 at Capitol Studios in Hollywood, with Tony Garnier on bass, Karriem Riggins on drums, Marc Ribot on guitar and Stuart Duncan on fiddle. It came out on Turn Up the Quiet in 2017.
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
G majorusual key
32 barsA · A · B · A form
G major → C major → D major → G majorkey centers
A8 bars
A8 bars
B8 bars · bridge
A8 bars
G
C
D
G
The iReal Pro chart runs 32 in : A (8 bars), A (8), B (8, the ) and A (8). Each A opens with , Gmaj7 D7♯5 and Gmaj7, then , and . The first A closes with and Am7 D7, which lead back to the top. The second A closes with G6 and G6, which lead into the bridge. The bridge starts in with , , and , then Em7, A7 and Am7 D7 (twice) lead back to G. The last A repeats the first six bars and closes on G6 and Am7 D7, which turn back to the top for another .