Philip Braham, music · Douglas Furber, lyrics · From the London revue A to Z
Limehouse Blues
Philip Braham and Douglas Furber wrote it for a London revue called A to Z. Its 32 fall into two halves that start the same way, which makes the tune easy to follow. Fletcher Henderson's band, Django Reinhardt's quintet and Cannonball Adderley with John Coltrane all recorded it.
Listen in this order
The path starts with Fletcher Henderson's big band in 1934 and the Hot Club of France quintet in 1936. It then follows two 1954 sessions, Sonny Rollins live in 1958, Cannonball Adderley and John Coltrane in 1959, Joe Pass in 1964 and Oscar Peterson with Milt Jackson in 1983.
1980sOscar Peterson and Milt Jackson1983 · Post-bop
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Learn the song from a big band
Fletcher Henderson and His Orchestra · 1934 · Big band
Limehouse Blues / Wrappin' It Up
Fletcher Henderson's band recorded this in New York on September 11, 1934, in an arrangement by Benny Carter. Decca issued it on a 78 that also carried Wrappin' It Up.
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Listen for
The whole band plays the tune together, and then the solos arrive. According to JazzStandards.com, trumpeter Red Allen, clarinetist Buster Bailey and tenor saxophonist Ben Webster take them.
Try it on your instrument
Play the first eight of the form with four steady beats to each bar: for four bars, then for four. Hum the melody over them. Smaller version: play only the root of each on beat one.
Quintette du Hot Club de France (Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli) · 1936
I Can't Give You Anything but Love, Baby / Limehouse Blues
The Quintette du Hot Club de France recorded this in Paris on May 4, 1936. Three guitars, a violin and a bass play it, with Django Reinhardt on guitar and Stéphane Grappelli on violin.
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Listen for
Strings only: the violin and the lead guitar are the voices out front, and the strummed guitars and the bass keep the beat underneath.
Try it on your instrument
Play the same first eight ( for four bars, then for four) and let your strumming carry the beat, with a short, even stroke on every beat. Smaller version: strum only on beats two and four.
Roy Eldridge and Dizzy Gillespie recorded this in New York on October 29, 1954, with Oscar Peterson, Herb Ellis, Ray Brown and Louis Bellson behind them. Clef issued it in 1955 on Roy And Diz #2.
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Listen for
Two trumpets lead, with piano, guitar, bass and drums behind them. The track runs 9:55, almost four times the length of the 1934 record, so the tune goes round many times.
Try it on your instrument
Follow the iReal Pro chart through the whole form once, then listen for the opening eight bars coming back and count how many times they return. Smaller version: just count the returns.
Lee Konitz recorded this on August 6, 1954, in New York with a piano, bass and drums . George Wein recorded the session, and the track appears on the Black Lion album Konitz.
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Listen for
A quartet with one horn: Konitz's alto saxophone leads over piano, bass and drums. The track is short, 3:05, so the tune goes round only a few times.
Try it on your instrument
Play the first eight quietly ( for four bars, then for four), with the melody on top. Smaller version: play just the bass notes D♭ and B♭ and hum the melody. Four players can sound complete without being loud.
Sonny Rollins played this live at the Music Inn in Lenox, Massachusetts, on August 3, 1958, in a trio with Percy Heath on bass and Connie Kay on drums.
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Listen for
Rollins plays tenor saxophone with only bass and drums behind him, so nothing fills the space around him. The track runs 6:33, long enough for the tune to go round many times.
Try it on your instrument
Play only the root of each , D♭ for four and then B♭ for four, and sing or play the melody above it. Smaller version: play one note per bar. With only bass and drums on this track, the bass and saxophone carry the chords between them.
Cannonball Adderley Quintet (with John Coltrane) · 1959 · Hard bop, Soul jazz
Cannonball Adderley Quintet in Chicago
Cannonball Adderley and John Coltrane recorded this in Chicago on February 3, 1959, with Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers and Jimmy Cobb. Mercury issued it that year on Cannonball Adderley Quintet in Chicago.
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Listen for
Two saxophones share the front: Adderley's alto is higher and lighter, and Coltrane's tenor is deeper. Piano, bass and drums stay behind them through the 4:40.
Try it on your instrument
Follow the iReal Pro chart while the track plays, one at a time. Smaller version: tap the beat and say "one" each time the opening eight bars return.
Joe Pass recorded this in October 1964 for For Django, an album of tunes tied to Django Reinhardt. John Pisano plays guitar, Jim Hughart bass and Colin Bailey drums.
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Listen for
Joe Pass leads on guitar with bass and drums behind him, and the track is over in 2:14, the shortest on this path. Compare it with Django Reinhardt's 1936 record.
Try it on your instrument
Play the first eight ( for four bars, then for four) on your own instrument and fit the melody over them in under two and a half minutes. Smaller version: play just the first four bars and stop.
Oscar Peterson and Milt Jackson recorded this as a duo at RCA Studios in New York on January 20, 1983. Pablo issued it on Two of the Few.
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Listen for
Only two players: a piano and a vibraphone. Listen for how each one keeps the pulse going while the other takes the lead.
Try it on your instrument
Play the form on piano alone: left hand on D♭ for four and B♭ for four, right hand on the melody. Smaller version: left hand on D♭ and B♭ only, singing the tune.
Philip Braham and Douglas Furber wrote it for a London revue. Gertrude Lawrence sang it in Andre Charlot's Revue on Broadway in 1924, and Paul Whiteman's orchestra recorded it for Victor that January.
1930s
Fletcher Henderson's band recorded it in 1934 in an arrangement by Benny Carter. In Paris, Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli recorded it with the Quintette du Hot Club de France in 1935 and again in 1936.
1950s
In 1954 Roy Eldridge and Dizzy Gillespie recorded a version that runs almost ten minutes. In 1958 Sonny Rollins played it live at the Music Inn with only bass and drums behind him.
1960s
Joe Pass included it on a 1964 album of tunes tied to Django Reinhardt. In 1968 Joe Henderson played it live in Baltimore with the Wynton Kelly Trio.
1980s
Oscar Peterson and Milt Jackson recorded it as a piano and vibraphone duo in New York in 1983.
More great versions
3 more, from 1924 to 1968. Tap a cover to play it here.
1920sPaul Whiteman1924
1930s
1940s
1950sBill Perkins and Richie Kamuca1956 · Cool jazz
1960sJoe Henderson with the Wynton Kelly Trio1968 · Hard bop
Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra
1924
Limehouse Blues / If You'll Come Back
Paul Whiteman's orchestra recorded this for Victor in Camden, New Jersey, on January 22, 1924. Victor issued it as number 19264, the year Gertrude Lawrence brought the tune to Broadway.
Bill Perkins and Richie Kamuca recorded this two-tenor version in Los Angeles on October 29, 1956, with Hampton Hawes, Red Mitchell and Mel Lewis. It sits on the album Just Friends.
Joe Henderson played this live with the Wynton Kelly Trio for the Left Bank Jazz Society at the Famous Ballroom in Baltimore on April 21, 1968. Verve issued the set on CD in 1996 as Straight, No Chaser.
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
A♭ majorusual key
32 barsA · B form
A♭ majorkey centers
A16 bars
B16 bars
A♭
Both halves open with the same eight : for four bars, then for four. The A half, bars 1 to 16, goes on with for two bars, , , B♭7 for two bars, , and in the last bar. The B half, bars 17 to 32, repeats those first eight bars and then plays A♭6, , B♭m7, , , B♭m7 E♭7, and A♭6 for two bars. The whole tune stays in . These follow the iReal Pro chart; other charts may spell some differently.