Duke Ellington, music · Irving Mills, lyrics · Introduced by Ivie Anderson with Ellington's orchestra, 1932
It Don't Mean a Thing
Duke Ellington wrote this song in 1931, and Irving Mills added the words. In many circles it became a test of how fast a band can play. Ivie Anderson introduced it in 1932, and its title is credited with naming the swing era.
Listen in this order
Eight versions in teaching order: Ellington's 1932 record with Ivie Anderson, a trumpet and tenor saxophone sextet, a piano trio, a very fast quintet, Armstrong with Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald live with Ellington's band, a guitar lead and a drummer's sextet. Each step gives one thing to listen for and one thing to try.
1930sDuke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra, vocal by Ivie Anderson1932
1940s
1950sThe Dizzy Gillespie - Stan Getz Sextet1953 · Bebop
Thelonious Monk Trio1955
Max Roach Quintet1957
1960sLouis Armstrong and Duke Ellington1961 · Big band
Ella Fitzgerald with Duke Ellington1966 · Big band
1970sKenny Burrell1975 · Bebop
1980s
1990sElvin Jones1993 · Hard bop
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Learn the song
Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra, vocal by Ivie Anderson · 1932
“It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)”, Brunswick 78 rpm single
Duke Ellington's orchestra recorded the song for Brunswick in New York on 2 February 1932, with Ivie Anderson singing. According to JazzStandards.com, the record charted for six weeks and peaked at number six.
The original, sung by Ivie Anderson
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Listen for
The record opens with a swinging bass under Ivie Anderson's wordless singing, and then a muted trombone leads in. Anderson sings the words, and Johnny Hodges plays an alto saxophone solo.
Try it on your instrument
Play 1 to 4 on piano or guitar: , , , , then , and Gm. The bass note steps down from G to D, and that falling line is the sound of the opening. Smaller version: play only the bass notes G, F♯, F, E, E♭, D, G.
Hear a trumpet and a tenor saxophone lead a small group
The Dizzy Gillespie - Stan Getz Sextet · 1953 · Bebop
“It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)”, Diz and Getz
Dizzy Gillespie and Stan Getz recorded it in Los Angeles on 9 December 1953 with Oscar Peterson, Herb Ellis, Ray Brown and Max Roach. It came out on the 1955 Norgran LP Diz and Getz.
Trumpet and tenor saxophone
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Listen for
Gillespie's trumpet and Getz's tenor saxophone lead, with piano, guitar, bass and drums behind them. At 6:41 the track runs more than twice as long as the 1932 record, so there is room for long solos.
Try it on your instrument
Play the , one per : , , , E♭6, , , , . Smaller version: play only Fm7, B♭7 and E♭6.
“It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)”, Thelonious Monk Plays the Music of Duke Ellington
Thelonious Monk recorded it with bassist Oscar Pettiford and drummer Kenny Clarke at Van Gelder Studio in Hackensack, New Jersey, in July 1955. It is on his Riverside album of Ellington songs.
Piano trio
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Listen for
Only piano, bass and drums play, so each part is easy to follow. Follow the piano all the way through and listen for the main tune each time it comes back.
Try it on your instrument
Play the two endings of the first 8 . Ending one is , , , , which sends you back to the top. Ending two is C7, , , B♭6, which closes the section in B♭.
“It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)”, Max Roach + 4
Max Roach's quintet recorded it in Los Angeles on 18 March 1957, with Kenny Dorham on trumpet and Sonny Rollins on tenor saxophone. According to JazzStandards.com, players treat the tune as a test of very fast tempos, and it names this version as the example.
very fast tempo · Very fast tempo
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Listen for
Listen for the very fast pace, with Kenny Dorham on trumpet, Sonny Rollins on tenor saxophone and Max Roach on drums.
Try it on your instrument
Play the chart at a slow tempo and raise the speed a little each time through, until the start to slip. Smaller version: loop only 1 to 4 (, , , , , , Gm) and speed that up.
Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington · 1961 · Big band
“It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)”, The Great Summit
Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington made the album on 3 and 4 April 1961 in New York, with Trummy Young on trombone, Barney Bigard on clarinet, Mort Herbert on bass and Danny Barcelona on drums.
Ellington at the piano
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Listen for
Armstrong sings and plays trumpet, with Ellington at the piano. The small band adds clarinet and trombone, which sounds different from Ellington's big band on the first record.
Try it on your instrument
Play a simple bass line under the chart: one root note per , two beats on each. Start with , , , , , , Gm. Smaller version: play only the roots G, F♯, F, E, E♭, D, G once each.
Ella Fitzgerald with Duke Ellington and His Orchestra · 1966 · Big band, Swing
“It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)”, Ella and Duke at the Côte d'Azur
Ella Fitzgerald sang it with Duke Ellington and his orchestra at the Jazz à Juan festival in Juan-les-Pins, on the French Riviera, in July 1966. It came out in 1967 on the Verve album Ella and Duke at the Côte d'Azur.
Live with Ellington's band
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Listen for
Ella Fitzgerald sings with Ellington's full band in front of a festival crowd. At more than seven minutes, the track is much longer than the 1932 record, so listen for how long the singer and band keep the song going.
Try it on your instrument
Sing or hum the title line while you play the first four of (, , , , , , Gm), and try to land the end of the line on the Gm in bar 4. Smaller version: clap four beats per bar while you hum.
“It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)”, Ellington Is Forever
Kenny Burrell recorded it at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, California, on 4 and 5 February 1975 for Ellington Is Forever, an album of Ellington tunes. It is the first track on the album.
Guitar lead
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Listen for
Burrell's guitar leads. At nearly ten minutes, this is the longest track on the path, so there is plenty of room for the guitar to stretch out.
Try it on your instrument
Play the first as guitar shapes, one chord per or two per bar as marked: , , , , , , Gm. Smaller version: play only Gm and D7, four beats each.
“It Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing...”, It Don't Mean a Thing...
Drummer Elvin Jones led a sextet through the song in Brooklyn on 18 and 19 October 1993, and it gave the 1994 Enja album its title.
Led by a drummer
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Listen for
Elvin Jones leads from the drums, with Nicholas Payton on trumpet, Delfeayo Marsalis on trombone and Sonny Fortune on saxophone and flute. Listen for the drums moving under the horns all the way through.
Try it on your instrument
Play the whole chart with a steady two-and-four clap: , , , , , , Gm for 1 to 4, then , , , for bars 5 to 8. Smaller version: clap two and four over bars 1 to 4 only.
Duke Ellington writes the song in 1931, and his orchestra records it in February 1932 with Ivie Anderson singing. According to JazzStandards.com, the record charted for six weeks and the Mills Brothers charted with it that September.
1950s
Small groups record it. Dizzy Gillespie and Stan Getz lead a sextet in 1953, Thelonious Monk plays it with a trio in 1955, and Max Roach's quintet takes it very fast in 1957.
1960s
Louis Armstrong sings it with Duke Ellington at the piano in 1961. In 1966 Ella Fitzgerald sings it live with Ellington's orchestra at a festival on the French Riviera.
1970s
Kenny Burrell leads a nearly ten-minute guitar version in 1975. Pianist Earl Hines plays it alone in a series of solo Ellington records made between 1971 and 1975.
1990s
Drummer Elvin Jones leads a sextet through the song in 1993 and names his Enja album after it.
2000s
Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra record it in 2002.
2010s
Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga sing it on their 2014 album Cheek to Cheek.
More great versions
5 more, from 1957 to 2002. Tap a cover to play it here.
1950sElla Fitzgerald1957 · Big band
1960sWild Bill Davis and Johnny Hodges1966 · Soul jazz
1970sEarl Hines1972
Sarah Vaughan1979 · Big band
1980s
1990s
2000sJazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis2002
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
B♭ majorusual key
32 barsA · A · B · A form
G m → B♭ → E♭ → B♭ → G m → B♭key centers
A8 bars
A8 bars
B8 bars · bridge
A8 bars
G m
B♭
E♭
B♭
G m
B♭
The is 32 in . Each A opens in with a bass line that steps down: , , , , , and Gm. The first A turns back to the top on , , and . The second A ends differently, on C7, , and B♭6, which lands in . The (B) moves to E♭: , and for two bars, then , C7, F7 and D7, which leads back into G minor. The last A repeats the opening and closes on C7, C♯°7 and B♭6 for two bars.