Jazz Changes

Cole Porter, music and lyrics · Written for the 1935 Broadway musical Jubilee

Just One of Those Things

Cole Porter wrote this unsentimental farewell to a love affair for the 1935 Broadway musical Jubilee. Its 64-bar chorus is twice the usual length, so improvisers get extra room at up-tempo. Expect to hear it from singers like Sinatra and Ella and at any fast swinging jam session.

F major · 64 bars · A A B A form · how it works

Listen in this order

The path opens with two vocal versions to fix the melody and the lyric, moves through piano and alto saxophone treatments of growing intensity, and ends with a 1975 large-band remake that shows how far the arrangement can travel.

8 recordings, 1951 to 1975 · Play all 8 on YouTube ↗

  1. Bud Powell1951 · Bebop
  2. Oscar Peterson Quartet1952 · Bebop
  3. The Dave Brubeck Quartet1952 · Bebop
  4. Frank Sinatra1954 · Big band
  5. Ella Fitzgerald1956 · Vocal
  6. Sonny Criss Quintet1956 · Bebop
  7. Cannonball Adderley Quintet with Milt Jackson1958 · Hard bop
  8. Stan Getz featuring João Gilberto1975 · Bossa nova

Step 1 of 8 Now playing✓ Heard

Learn the song: the melody and the words.

Frank Sinatra · 1954 · Big band, Swing

Swing Easy!

Listen for
The arrangement keeps the vocal in front of the studio orchestra, so the melody and the lyric stay clear all the way through.
Try this
Play the melody in F along with the record. At the bridge, notice how the harmony moves up a half step into E-flat before it comes home.
Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

Step 2 of 8 Now playing✓ Heard

Hear the lyric at a swinging tempo.

Ella Fitzgerald · 1956 · Vocal

Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Song Book

Listen for
Buddy Bregman's orchestra accompanies Fitzgerald, and the track runs about three and a half minutes.
Try this
Play the whole 64-bar form without stopping: A, A, bridge, A. Count the sixteen-bar sections so the long form does not blur together.
Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

Step 3 of 8 Now playing✓ Heard

Hear the song as an instrumental and follow the chords.

Oscar Peterson Quartet · 1952 · Bebop

Oscar Peterson Plays Cole Porter

Listen for
Peterson's quartet with Barney Kessel on guitar and Ray Brown on bass plays the tune with no singer, so the harmony is easy to follow.
Try this
Comp the first four bars of the A section (Dm6, Em7 flat 5, A7, F major) along with the record until the changes sit under your fingers.
Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

Step 4 of 8 Now playing✓ Heard

Hear the bebop language on this tune.

Bud Powell · 1951 · Bebop

“Just One Of Those Things”, The Genius of Bud Powell

Listen for
Powell plays alone, with no bass or drums to lean on, so every substitution and accent is exposed.
Try this
Play the melody while your left hand shells the root and seventh of each chord. If that is too much at this speed, slow it down and keep the 64-bar form intact.
Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

Step 5 of 8 Now playing✓ Heard

Hear the tune as a cool jazz vehicle.

The Dave Brubeck Quartet · 1952 · Bebop, Cool jazz

Dave Brubeck Quartet

Listen for
Paul Desmond's alto saxophone leads this club recording, with Brubeck comping behind him.
Try this
Play the melody in unison with Desmond's alto. If you read by ear and want more, transcribe his first eight solo bars and compare his phrasing with the written melody.
Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

Step 6 of 8 Now playing✓ Heard

Hear an alto saxophone stretch out on the changes.

Sonny Criss Quintet · 1956 · Bebop

“Just One Of Those Things”, Sonny Criss Plays Cole Porter

Listen for
Criss fronts a quintet with vibraphone and piano, and the whole performance runs under three minutes.
Try this
Play the bridge changes (E-flat major moving through C major and back to F) along with the record until you can hear the half-step lift coming.
Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

Step 7 of 8 Now playing✓ Heard

Hear a hard bop group take the tune long.

Cannonball Adderley Quintet with Milt Jackson · 1958 · Hard bop

Things Are Getting Better

Listen for
Cannonball and Milt Jackson stretch out with the rhythm section for almost seven minutes, much longer than the earlier versions on this path.
Try this
Follow the form through the solos: tap the downbeat of each new 16-bar section so you always know when the bridge lands.
Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

Step 8 of 8 Now playing✓ Heard

Hear how far the arrangement can travel from the swing versions.

Stan Getz featuring João Gilberto · 1975 · Bossa nova, Latin jazz

The Best of Two Worlds

Listen for
Stan Getz plays tenor saxophone over João Gilberto's guitar and vocal, backed by a studio group with extra percussion.
Try this
Clap or play the melody rhythm along with this recording, then along with the Ella Fitzgerald track, and notice how differently the two treatments sit against the beat.
Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

More great versions

6 more, from 1942 to 2013. Tap a cover to play it here.

  1. Eddy Duchin1942 · Easy listening
  2. Nat "King" Cole1955 · Vocal
  3. Anita O'Day with Billy May1959 · Bebop
  4. Dee Dee Bridgewater1993 · Contemporary jazz
  5. Jamie Cullum2009 · Contemporary jazz
  6. George Benson2013

How the tune works

F majorusual key
64 barsA · A · B · A form
F → E♭ → C → Fkey centers

Just One of Those Things runs 64 bars, twice the length of a typical standard, in an AABA form of four 16-bar sections. The A sections sit in F major but keep leaning on D minor, the relative minor, and the published sheet music is in D minor. The bridge moves up a half step into E-flat major for eight bars, passes through C major, and works back to F for the final A. The three A sections are nearly identical, with only the penultimate phrases changing.

Play the changes

F major
Open in iReal Pro ↗
A20 bars
Dm6
Dm6
Em7♭5
A7♭9
F7
F7
Bm7♭5
B♭m6
Am7
A♭7
Gm7
C7
1.F6
D7
Gm7Gm7/F
Em7♭5A7♭9
2.F6
F6
Fm7
B♭7
B20 bars
E♭6
E°7
Fm7
B♭7
E♭6
E♭6
Dm7
G7
C6
Am7
F♯m7♭5
Fm6
Em7
E♭7
D.C. al 3rd endingGm7C7
Em7♭5A7♭9
3.F6
F6
Em7♭5
A7♭9

Chart from iReal Pro's Jazz 1460 playlist, contributed by its users.