Kurt Weill, music · Ira Gershwin, lyrics · Introduced by Gertrude Lawrence in the 1941 Broadway musical Lady in the Dark
My Ship
Kurt Weill wrote the music and Ira Gershwin the words for the 1941 Broadway show Lady in the Dark. In the show, the heroine keeps hearing a tune she cannot name until the last scene. Miles Davis recorded it with Gil Evans's orchestra in 1957, and this page follows it from 1941 to 2007.
Listen in this order
The path begins with Gertrude Lawrence, who sang the song in the 1941 show, then hears Sarah Vaughan, Miles Davis with Gil Evans's orchestra and Tony Bennett. It then turns to a tenor saxophone, a piano trio and a live quartet with no piano, and ends with a piano and bass duo recorded in 2007.
1940sGertrude Lawrence with Leonard Joy's orchestra1941
1950sSarah Vaughan with Hal Mooney1956
Miles Davis with the Gil Evans Orchestra1957 · Hard bop
1960sTony Bennett1961 · Swing
Stanley Turrentine1962 · Hard bop
The Wynton Kelly Trio1965 · Cool jazz
1970sElvin Jones Quartet1972 · Hard bop
1980s
1990s
2000sKeith Jarrett and Charlie Haden2007 · Contemporary jazz
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Hear the song as the show first sang it
Gertrude Lawrence with Leonard Joy's orchestra · 1941
Glamorous Music from The Lady in the Dark
Gertrude Lawrence, who played the lead in the Broadway show Lady in the Dark, recorded it for Victor in New York on February 23, 1941, with Leonard Joy directing the orchestra. The disc came out as Victor 27330 and also in the album Glamorous Music from The Lady in the Dark.
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Listen for
Lawrence sings the whole tune with its words, backed by an orchestra. It runs under three minutes, so you can hear the melody once through before the jazz versions.
Try it on your instrument
Play the of 1 to 4 slowly, two to a bar: , , Fmaj7 D7, . Hum the melody over them as Lawrence sings it. If humming and playing together is too much, play the chords alone first.
Sarah Vaughan with Hal Mooney and his orchestra · 1956
Sarah Vaughan Sings Broadway: Great Songs from Hit Shows
Sarah Vaughan recorded it in New York on October 31, 1956, with an orchestra led by Hal Mooney. Mercury released it in 1958 on the album Sarah Vaughan Sings Broadway: Great Songs from Hit Shows.
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Listen for
Vaughan sings it with an orchestra behind her, in under three minutes. Compare how she shapes the tune with Gertrude Lawrence's version.
Try it on your instrument
Play the of 5 to 8 slowly, two to a bar: , , , Gm7 . Then play them under the melody. If both together is too much, loop the four bars of chords alone.
Miles Davis with the Gil Evans Orchestra · 1957 · Hard bop
Miles Ahead
Miles Davis recorded it in New York on May 10, 1957, playing flugelhorn with an orchestra that Gil Evans arranged and conducted. Columbia issued it on the album Miles Ahead the same year.
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Listen for
Davis plays flugelhorn in front of a large orchestra that includes flutes, French horns and a tuba. Follow his horn first, then listen again for the layers of the orchestra under it.
Try it on your instrument
Play the end of the second time through A, 7 and 8: , then to . Let the C7sus ring for a full beat before you land on Fmaj7.
Tony Bennett recorded it in New York on April 6, 1961, with Ralph Burns arranging and conducting. Columbia released it on the album My Heart Sings on September 1, 1961.
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Listen for
Bennett sings with a band of saxophones, trumpets and trombones, plus piano, bass, drums and vibraphone. Listen for the ringing sound of the vibraphone behind his voice.
Try it on your instrument
Play 17 to 20, the start of the middle section: , Gm7 C7, Gm7 , then . Listen for how the B♭m6 darkens the mood before the F brightens it again.
Stanley Turrentine recorded it at the Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, on October 18, 1962, for Blue Note. The session sat unreleased until the 1978 double LP Jubilee Shouts, and the album Jubilee Shout!!! followed in 1986.
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Listen for
Turrentine's tenor saxophone leads, and the track runs nearly six minutes, the longest so far on this path.
Try it on your instrument
Play the tag that closes the song, 33 to 38: , , , , , then Gm7 C7. Play it slowly and stop on the F6 in bar 37.
The Wynton Kelly Trio recorded it on February 5, 1965, at the Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, with Paul Chambers on bass and Jimmy Cobb on drums. Verve issued it on the album Undiluted the same year.
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Listen for
Kelly plays piano with bass and drums, and nobody else stands in front of them. Listen to how the three players share the tune between them.
Try it on your instrument
Play 21 to 24: , Am7 Dm7, Am7 , . These lead the middle section back to the F chord at bar 25.
“My Ship (Live at the Lighthouse Café)”, Live at the Lighthouse
Drummer Elvin Jones led this quartet at the Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach, California, on September 9, 1972, with Steve Grossman and Dave Liebman on saxophones and Gene Perla on bass. Blue Note issued the live set in 1973.
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Listen for
Elvin Jones leads this live quartet from the drums, with two saxophonists and a bassist. At nearly nine minutes, it is the longest version so far.
Try it on your instrument
Play only the bass notes of 1 to 8, two to a bar: F D, G C, F D, B B♭, A D, G A, D G, G C. Keep a steady beat as you play. Improvising over all 38 bars is a bigger step, so wait until this bass line feels easy.
Pianist Keith Jarrett and bassist Charlie Haden recorded it as a duo in March 2007 at Cavelight Studio. ECM released it in 2014 on the album Last Dance.
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Listen for
Only a piano and a double bass play, so every note of the tune is easy to follow. At nearly ten minutes, it is the longest version on the path.
Try it on your instrument
Play 1 to 4 as a duo. One player takes the bass notes (F, D, G, C, F, D, B, B♭) and the other plays the . Alone, put the bass note in your left hand and the chord in your right.
Kurt Weill and Ira Gershwin write it for the Broadway show Lady in the Dark, which opens in January 1941. Gertrude Lawrence, the show's lead, records it for Victor in February with Leonard Joy directing the orchestra.
1950s
Sarah Vaughan sings it with Hal Mooney's orchestra in 1956, and Miles Davis plays it on flugelhorn with Gil Evans's orchestra in 1957. June Christy sings it on Ballads for Night People in 1959.
1960s
Tony Bennett sings it with a jazz band in 1961. Oscar Peterson's trio records it with an orchestra in 1963, and the Wynton Kelly Trio plays it as a piano trio in 1965.
1970s
Elvin Jones leads a live quartet at the Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach, California, in September 1972. Steve Grossman and Dave Liebman play saxophones, there is no piano, and Blue Note issues the set in 1973.
1980s
Kenny Drew's trio records it in Copenhagen in August 1988, with Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen on bass and Alvin Queen on drums. Alfa Jazz issues the album Impressions in Japan.
1990s
Miles Davis plays it again in 1991 at the Montreux Jazz Festival, with Quincy Jones conducting an orchestra that plays Gil Evans's arrangements. Warner Bros. issues the concert in 1993.
2000s
Keith Jarrett and Charlie Haden record it as a duo in March 2007, with only piano and double bass. ECM releases the track in 2014 on the album Last Dance.
More great versions
6 more, from 1959 to 1991. Tap a cover to play it here.
1950sJune Christy1959 · Vocal
1960sOscar Peterson Trio with Nelson Riddle's orchestra1963 · Easy listening
Roland Kirk1964 · Post-bop
Cal Tjader1966 · Latin jazz
1970s
1980sKenny Drew Trio1988 · Contemporary jazz
1990sMiles Davis and Quincy Jones with the Gil Evans Orchestra and the George Gruntz Concert Jazz Band1991
June Christy recorded the album Ballads for Night People in Los Angeles in 1959, in sessions on August 27 and September 10, with Bob Cooper arranging and conducting. Capitol released it that year.
Oscar Peterson's trio recorded it with Nelson Riddle's orchestra at Radio Recorders in Los Angeles on November 8, 1963. Verve released the album Oscar Peterson & Nelson Riddle in 1964.
Vibraphonist Cal Tjader recorded it with Chick Corea on piano at the Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, on February 11, 1966. Verve released it on the album Soul Burst the same year.
The Kenny Drew Trio recorded it in Copenhagen between August 1 and 3, 1988, with Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen on bass and Alvin Queen on drums. Alfa Jazz issued the album Impressions in Japan.
Miles Davis and Quincy Jones with the Gil Evans Orchestra and the George Gruntz Concert Jazz Band
1991
“My Ship (Live)”, Miles & Quincy Live at Montreux
Miles Davis played Gil Evans's arrangements at the Montreux Jazz Festival on July 8, 1991, with Quincy Jones conducting. Warner Bros. issued the concert in 1993 as Miles & Quincy Live at Montreux.
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
F majorusual key
38 barsA · A · B · A form
F majorkey centers
A8 bars
A8 bars
B8 bars · bridge
A14 bars
F
The song runs 38 in : an 8-bar A played twice, an 8-bar B, and a last A that stretches to 14 bars. A moves in two-chord bars: , , Fmaj7 D7, then (bars 1 to 4), followed by D7 and (bars 5 and 6). Bars 7 and 8 are G7 and Gm7 C7 the first time, which sends the tune back to the top, and Dm7 G7 and to Fmaj7 the second time, which leads on to B. B (bars 17 to 24) opens with Gm7 C7 twice, then Gm7 and Fmaj7 Bm7♭5 . It then moves through Am7 Dm7 twice, Am7 D7 and Gm7 C7. The last A repeats the first six bars of A, then plays Dm7 C7 and Fmaj7 Gm7 C7 (bars 31 and 32). A six-bar tag closes the song: Fmaj7 Dm7, , Am7 , Gm7 C7, , and a last Gm7 C7.