Jazz Changes

Ben Bernie and Maceo Pinkard, music · Kenneth Casey, lyrics · First recorded by Ben Bernie's orchestra in New York

Sweet Georgia Brown

Sweet Georgia Brown is a 1925 song by Ben Bernie and Maceo Pinkard, with words by Kenneth Casey. Its chords step down by fifths, four bars at a time, so a solo has a clear path. Crosby, Powell, Fitzgerald and Peterson recorded it, and the Harlem Globetrotters adopted it as their theme.

A♭ major · 32 bars · A A form · how it works

Listen in this order

Start with the 1925 dance-band recording and Crosby's vocal, then hear two piano trios from 1950, an alto saxophone quintet, a live trio with guitar, a guitar-led septet and Ella Fitzgerald with an orchestra. Each step plays the same 32 bars in a different setting.

8 recordings, 1925 to 1966 · Play all 8 on YouTube ↗

  1. Ben Bernie and His Hotel Roosevelt Orchestra1925
  2. Bing Crosby with Isham Jones1932
  3. Bud Powell Trio1950 · Bebop
  4. The Dave Brubeck Trio1950 · Cool jazz
  5. Sonny Criss Quintet1956
  6. The Oscar Peterson Trio1958 · Hard bop
  7. Barney Kessel1959 · Cool jazz
  8. Ella Fitzgerald with Marty Paich1966 · Swing

Step 1 of 8 Now playing✓ Heard

Hear the first recording

Ben Bernie and His Hotel Roosevelt Orchestra · 1925

Sweet Georgia Brown

Listen for
The track runs 2:57 and features Jack Pettis. Count the bars in groups of 16 and listen for where each half ends.
Try this
Play the melody and the chart's chords at a slow tempo, with each chord held for four bars. Then play along with the first 16 bars of the recording.
Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

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Hear it as a vocal feature

Bing Crosby with Isham Jones and His Orchestra · 1932

1932 Hits

Listen for
Crosby sings with Isham Jones's orchestra on a 3:07 track. Follow how the voice and the band share the form.
Try this
Sing or play the melody along with the recording and call out when each 16-bar half begins.
Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

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Hear a bebop piano trio

Bud Powell Trio · 1950 · Bebop

Jazz Giant

Listen for
Powell plays with Curly Russell on bass and Max Roach on drums, and the track runs about 2:51. Listen to how the bass and drums keep time under the piano.
Try this
Play only the root of each chord, four bars per chord, in any key, while the recording plays. If that is easy, add the melody on top.
Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

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Compare a second piano trio

The Dave Brubeck Trio · 1950 · Cool jazz

Distinctive Rhythm Instrumentals

Listen for
Brubeck plays with Ron Crotty on bass and Cal Tjader on drums, and the track runs 2:42. Compare the trio sound with Powell's earlier in the path.
Try this
Play the melody once through at a slow tempo, then stop at the end of each 16-bar half and name the chord you land on.
Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

Step 5 of 8 Now playing✓ Heard

Hear a saxophone lead

Sonny Criss Quintet · 1956

Jazz U.S.A.

Listen for
Sonny Criss plays alto saxophone with piano, guitar, bass and drums on a 2:53 track. The guitarist is Barney Kessel.
Try this
Play the melody on your own instrument, then try playing along with the saxophone for one 16-bar half.
Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

Step 6 of 8 Now playing✓ Heard

Follow a long live trio take

The Oscar Peterson Trio · 1958 · Hard bop

“Sweet Georgia Brown (Live at Town Tavern, Toronto)”, On the Town

Listen for
This live take runs about 7:47 with piano, guitar and bass, and no drums. Keep a count of how many times the form starts over.
Try this
Tap a mark each time the 32-bar form begins again and keep a running tally until the track ends.
Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

Step 7 of 8 Now playing✓ Heard

Hear a guitar-led septet

Barney Kessel · 1959 · Cool jazz

Some Like It Hot

Listen for
Two guitars, trumpet, Art Pepper, piano, bass and drums play on a 3:42 track. Pick one instrument and follow it through a full chorus.
Try this
If you play guitar, strum one chord per bar from the chart under the recording. Otherwise tap the beat and count to 32 for each chorus.
Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

Step 8 of 8 Now playing✓ Heard

Hear it with a singer and orchestra

Ella Fitzgerald with Marty Paich and His Orchestra · 1966 · Swing

Whisper Not

Listen for
Fitzgerald sings with an orchestra arranged by Marty Paich on a 3:35 track. Compare how the band supports the singer here and in Crosby's version.
Try this
Sing the melody along with the recording from the top. Then try to keep your place in the form until the last chorus ends.
Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

More great versions

4 more, from 1925 to 1957. Tap a cover to play it here.

  1. Ethel Waters1925
  2. Eddie South with Django Reinhardt1937
  3. Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker and Oscar Pettiford1943
  4. The Teddy Wilson Trio with Gerry Mulligan1957 · Swing

How the tune works

A♭ majorusual key
32 barsA · A form
A♭ major → F minor → A♭ majorkey centers

The tune runs 32 bars in two 16-bar halves. Both halves start the same way: in the iReal Pro chart in A♭, F7 holds for four bars and B♭7 for four, each a dominant chord that falls by a fifth to the next. The first half then holds E♭7 for four bars and lands on A♭ major, with B♭m7 to E♭7 and Gm7♭5 to C7♭9 closing it. The second half repeats the first eight bars, then turns to F minor for three bars (Fm, Gm7♭5 to C7♭9, Fm). B♭m7 to E♭7 brings it back to A♭, and a slide of A♭7 G7, G♭7 F7 and B♭7 E♭7 ends on A♭6. Wikipedia describes the same shape, with a falling fifths pattern in a 16-bar first section and a second 16-bar section that repeats the pattern before a different ending. Many players take the tune in other keys, so the page chart is one common choice.

Play the changes

A♭ major
Open in iReal Pro ↗
A24 bars
F7
F7
F7
F7
B♭7
B♭7
B♭7
B♭7
1.E♭7
E♭7
E♭7
E♭7
A♭maj7
B♭m7E♭7
A♭maj7
Gm7♭5C7♭9
2.Fm
Gm7♭5C7♭9
Fm
B♭m7E♭7
A♭7G7
G♭7F7
B♭7E♭7
A♭6

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