Sweet Lorraine

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Hear the 1928 jazz version

Jimmie Noone's Apex Club Orchestra · 1928

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Listen for

The front line is Noone's clarinet and Poston's alto saxophone, with piano, banjo, tuba and drums behind them. Count the choruses against the 32-bar chart.

Try this

Play the last four bars of the chart (E7 A7, Am7 D7, G6 C7 C♯°, G6/D D7), the stretch that brings the song home. Smaller version: play only the root of each chord.

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Hear a swing band

Teddy Wilson and His Orchestra · 1935

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Listen for

Trumpet, clarinet, alto saxophone and tenor saxophone play over a rhythm section of piano, guitar, bass and drums. Listen for which horn takes each chorus.

Try this

Play bars 5 to 8 of the first A section as a loop (E7 A7, Am7 D7, Bm7 E7, Am7 D7♯5) at a medium swing tempo and hum the melody over it. Smaller version: play only the first chord of each bar.

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Hear the changes on solo piano

Art Tatum · 1949 · Swing

The Complete Capitol Recordings of Art Tatum

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Listen for

One pianist covers every chord of the chart with no band. Follow the chart bar by bar and notice how much of the 32-bar form you can still hear.

Try this

Play the second A section's last four bars in your own voicings (E7 A7, Am7 D7, G6 C7 C♯°, G6/D Dm7 G7), using two or three notes of each chord. Smaller version: play a root and a seventh for each chord.

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Follow a tenor saxophone improvisation

Wardell Gray Quartet · 1949

Wardell Gray Memorial, Vol. 1

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Listen for

Gray plays tenor saxophone over a piano, bass and drums rhythm section. At 4:05, the track holds several choruses, so follow the chart and count them.

Try this

Play the bridge from the chart (C6 E7, Am7 A♭7 Gm7 C7, Fmaj7 E7, Am7 A♭7 Gm7 C7, Fmaj7 E7, E♭7♯11 D7, Fmaj7 E7, E♭7♯11 D7). Smaller version: play only the first chord of each bar.

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Hear a short horn-led version

The Dizzy Gillespie Jazz Ensemble · 1952

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Listen for

Trumpet, trombone, alto saxophone and tenor saxophone share the front line over a piano, bass and drums rhythm section. At 2:33 the track is short, so follow the chart once through, then again.

Try this

Play the move from the second A into the bridge (G6 C7 C♯°, G6/D Dm7 G7, then C6 E7, Am7 A♭7 Gm7 C7). Smaller version: play only the root of each chord.

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Hear a piano trio with guitar

The Oscar Peterson Trio · 1954

Pastel Moods

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Listen for

The trio has no drummer, so piano, guitar and bass keep the time between them. Follow the chart and listen for how the three instruments divide the chords.

Try this

Play the whole first A section as a loop of eight bars, ending on the first ending (Bm7 E7, Am7 D7♯5). Smaller version: play only bars 1 to 4.

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Follow a long improvisation over the form

Larry Young · 1962 · Bebop

Groove Street

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Listen for

At 9:26 the track holds many choruses. Larry Young plays organ and Thornel Schwartz plays guitar; follow the chart to find where each chorus begins.

Try this

Play the 32-bar chart once through at a slow swing tempo and count the choruses on the record as you go. Soloing version: take one chorus of the A section using chord tones of each chord. Smaller version: play only the root of each chord.