Jimmy Van Heusen, music · Johnny Burke, lyrics · On record from 1940
Imagination
Jimmy Van Heusen wrote the music and Johnny Burke the words for this love song, published in 1940. Its tune stays within an octave and has no wide leaps. You can hear it from Glenn Miller, Frank Sinatra with Tommy Dorsey, Ella Fitzgerald, Art Pepper and Keith Jarrett's trio.
Listen in this order
Eight versions follow the song from two hit records of 1940, one by a dance band and one with Frank Sinatra, through small-group jazz in 1944, 1950 and 1953 to a voice-and-piano duet, a long alto saxophone ballad and a live piano trio. Each step gives one thing to listen for and one thing to try.
Glenn Miller and His Orchestra (vocal Ray Eberle) · 1940
Bluebird B-10622
Glenn Miller's orchestra recorded it with singer Ray Eberle in New York on February 19, 1940, and Bluebird issued it as B-10622. According to JazzStandards.com, Fred Waring and His Pennsylvanians introduced the song and it became a favorite of the Miller band.
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Listen for
Ray Eberle sings the song with a full dance band behind him. The record lasts 2:51, so you hear the song at its shortest and plainest.
Try it on your instrument
Play the melody of the first slowly with one per , taken from the first chord of each bar of the chart: , , E♭maj7, , Fm7, Fm7, , Fm7. Smaller version: play only the root of each chord on beat one.
Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra (vocal Frank Sinatra) · 1940
Victor 26581
Tommy Dorsey led the band and Frank Sinatra sang when they recorded it in New York on April 10, 1940, and Victor issued it as 26581. According to JazzStandards.com, it was one of four versions to make the popular-song chart in 1940.
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Listen for
Frank Sinatra takes the singing and Tommy Dorsey's band plays behind him. Play it straight after the Miller record and compare the two singers and the two bands.
Try it on your instrument
Play the of the (the ), one per from the chart: , , , , , , , . Smaller version: play only the root of each chord, then add the melody.
Coleman Hawkins recorded it in New York on February 17, 1944, with Teddy Wilson on piano, Israel Crosby on bass and Cozy Cole on drums. According to JazzStandards.com, Keynote's Harry Lim was one of the first to sign with the American Federation of Musicians to resume recording after the two-year ban.
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Listen for
Here the tune is played instead of sung. Coleman Hawkins plays it on tenor saxophone, with piano, bass and drums behind him, and the record lasts 2:47.
Try it on your instrument
Play the tag, the last six of the final (bars 31 to 36): , , , , , then Fm7 and B♭7 in the last bar. Smaller version: play only the roots D♭, C, F, B♭, E♭.
Stan Getz recorded it in New York on December 10, 1950, with Horace Silver on piano, Joe Calloway on bass and Walter Bolden on drums. Roost first issued it on The Stan Getz Quartet Vol. 1 (RLP 402) in 1951.
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Listen for
A tenor saxophone, piano, bass and drums play the tune in 2:24, the shortest jazz version in this path. Compare Stan Getz's tenor with Coleman Hawkins's six years earlier.
Try it on your instrument
Play the whole once from the chart at a slow pace, melody only, without stopping. Smaller version: play only the first and repeat it.
Chet Baker recorded it in Los Angeles on July 29 or 30, 1953, with Russ Freeman on piano, Carson Smith on bass and Larry Bunker on drums. Pacific Jazz issued it as a single, number 610, with Russ Job on the other side.
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Listen for
A trumpet takes the lead, with piano, bass and drums behind it, for 3:02. Compare its tone with the horn players before it.
Try it on your instrument
Find the two endings of the . The first ending (, , , ) goes back to the top. The second (, , ) goes on to the . Play the A section twice, taking the first ending, then the second. Smaller version: play the two endings on their own.
Ella Fitzgerald recorded it with pianist Ellis Larkins in New York in March 1954, for her Decca album Songs in a Mellow Mood (DL 8068). Milt Gabler produced it.
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Listen for
Only two musicians play, Ella Fitzgerald singing and Ellis Larkins at the piano, so you can follow each one on its own. The record lasts 2:35.
Try it on your instrument
Play the under someone who sings or plays the melody: one chord per , taken from the first chord of each bar of the . The record has only voice and piano, so keep your part simple. Smaller version: play only the first chord of bars 1 to 4.
Art Pepper recorded it in Los Angeles on January 19, 1957, with Red Garland on piano, Paul Chambers on bass and Philly Joe Jones on drums. Contemporary issued it that year on Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section (C3532).
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Listen for
At almost six minutes this is the longest version so far. Art Pepper plays alto saxophone out front, with piano, bass and drums behind him.
Try it on your instrument
Improvising over the 36 is a bigger job than the earlier steps. Smaller version: play the melody once, then play it again, changing the rhythm of a few notes and keeping the the same.
Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock and Jack DeJohnette played it live at the Blue Note in New York on June 4, 1994, in the second set of that night. ECM released it in 1995 in the box At The Blue Note: The Complete Recordings.
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Listen for
A trio plays live in a club for nearly nine minutes. Keith Jarrett's piano is at the front, with Gary Peacock on bass and Jack DeJohnette on drums.
Try it on your instrument
Play the chart through twice in a row without stopping, keeping the same slow pulse. Smaller version: loop only the last section, the 12 that end with the extra four-bar tag.
The song is published in 1940, and Glenn Miller's orchestra with Ray Eberle and Tommy Dorsey's with Frank Sinatra both record it that year. In 1944 Coleman Hawkins plays it with a quartet for Keynote Records.
1950s
Ella Fitzgerald sings it with only Ellis Larkins at the piano in 1954. Chet Baker's quartet issues it as a single in 1953, and Art Pepper plays it as a long alto saxophone ballad in 1957.
1960s
Johnny Griffin plays it with piano, bass and drums at the Tough Tenors session for Jazzland in November 1960, while Eddie Davis sits out that track.
1990s
Keith Jarrett's trio plays it live at the Blue Note in New York in June 1994, for nearly nine minutes, and ECM releases it in 1995.
More great versions
6 more, from 1940 to 1960. Tap a cover to play it here.
1940sElla Fitzgerald and Her Famous Orchestra1940
1950sSonny Stitt Quartet1950 · Bebop
Dave Brubeck1957
June Christy1957 · Vocal
Billy Eckstine with Pete Rugolo1958 · Easy listening
1960sThe Johnny Griffin and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis Quintet1960 · Hard bop
Ella Fitzgerald and Her Famous Orchestra
1940
Decca 3078B
Ella Fitzgerald recorded it with her orchestra on February 15, 1940, and Decca released it as 3078B. According to JazzStandards.com, her version charted for three weeks.
June Christy recorded it at Capitol Tower in Los Angeles on January 3, 1957, with Pete Rugolo arranging and conducting. It is on her album Fair and Warmer!, released that May.
Billy Eckstine recorded it in Los Angeles on January 2, 1958, with Pete Rugolo arranging and conducting. It gave its name to his album Billy Eckstine's Imagination.
On the Tough Tenors session of November 1960, Johnny Griffin plays this ballad with piano, bass and drums while Eddie Davis sits out, according to jazzdisco's track list. Jazzland issued it in 1961.
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
36 barsA · A · B · A form
E♭ → A♭ and G minor → B♭ → E♭key centers
A8 bars
A8 bars
B8 bars · bridge
A12 bars
E♭
A♭ and G m
B♭
E♭
The is 36 in four sections, 8 + 8 + 8 + 12. The first A (bars 1 to 8) opens on and , then runs and , E♭maj7 and , and , Fm7 and , Fm7 and B♭7. Bar 7 is and and bar 8 is Fm7 and B♭7, which send you back to the top. The second A (bars 9 to 16) repeats the first six bars, then bar 15 is E♭maj7 and bar 16 is and , which lead on to the . The bridge B (bars 17 to 24) starts on A♭maj7 and Fm7, goes to and , then Gm7, then C7 and . Bars 21 and 22 visit B♭ with , Gm7, and . Bars 23 and 24 return to E♭ with Fm7, B♭7 and . The last A (bars 25 to 36) plays the first six bars again, then and C7 in bars 31 and 32, Fm7 and B♭7 in bars 33 and 34, in bar 35, and Fm7 with B♭7 in bar 36.