Victor Schertzinger, music · Johnny Mercer, lyrics · Introduced in the film The Fleet's In, 1942
Tangerine
Victor Schertzinger wrote the music and Johnny Mercer the words for the 1942 film The Fleet's In. Its middle part lifts toward a brighter before the closing eight bring it home. Jimmy Dorsey's band had a number one hit with it, and Dexter Gordon and Oscar Peterson played it later.
Listen in this order
The path starts with the 1941 Jimmy Dorsey record that made the song a hit, with two singers and a dance band. It then follows Tangerine through a quintet led by Stan Getz, a big band, two tenor saxophone players, a live quartet, a sextet with a conga drum, a piano trio and a nine-minute 1972 version led by Dexter Gordon.
Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra recorded it on December 10, 1941, with Helen O'Connell and Bob Eberly singing, and Decca issued it as record 4123 in January 1942. According to JazzStandards.com, the record held first place on Billboard's chart for six of its 16 weeks.
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Listen for
Bob Eberly and Helen O'Connell sing it with the band behind them. At 3:12 the record is short, so use it to learn the tune before you hear it in longer versions.
Try it on your instrument
Play the melody of the first , 1 to 8, over its : , , , , Gm7 C7, Gm7 C7, , . Smaller version: play the melody of the first four bars only.
Stan Getz recorded it with his quintet in Los Angeles on August 22, 1953, with Bob Brookmeyer on valve trombone. Norgran issued it in 1954 on Interpretations by the Stan Getz Quintet #2.
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Listen for
Stan Getz's tenor saxophone and Bob Brookmeyer's valve trombone share the front, with piano, bass and drums behind them. The track runs 7:04, so there is room to follow each player.
Try it on your instrument
Play all 32 as A, B, A, C at a steady medium swing, one to a bar except where two share a bar. Smaller version: play only the , bars 9 to 16: , , , , , , , .
Dizzy Gillespie's big band recorded it in New York on April 7, 1957. Verve issued it that year on the album Birks' Works and on a single, Verve 89173.
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Five trumpets, three trombones and five saxophones play as sections, with Wynton Kelly's piano, Paul West's bass and Charlie Persip's drums underneath. At 3:43 it is the second shortest record on the path.
Try it on your instrument
Play the melody over the at a medium swing and stop at 16, then start again from the top. Smaller version: play only the last eight bars, the : , , , , Gm7, , , .
Coleman Hawkins and Ben Webster, two tenor saxophone players, recorded it at Capitol Tower in Los Angeles on October 16, 1957, with Oscar Peterson, Herb Ellis, Ray Brown and Alvin Stoller. Verve issued it in 1959 on Coleman Hawkins Encounters Ben Webster.
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Listen for
Two tenor saxophone players share one record. Try to tell Coleman Hawkins from Ben Webster, and listen for Herb Ellis's guitar and Oscar Peterson's piano behind them.
Try it on your instrument
Play the twice. The first time hold one for each . The second time change chords where two share a bar: , , . Smaller version: play only the first four bars both ways.
The Dave Brubeck Quartet played it live in Copenhagen on March 5, 1958, with Paul Desmond on alto saxophone. Columbia issued it that year on the album In Europe.
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At 10:15 this is the longest version on the path, played live. Listen for Paul Desmond's alto saxophone and Dave Brubeck's piano, with Gene Wright's bass and Joe Morello's drums keeping it moving.
Try it on your instrument
Play the form twice through without stopping, then A B A C again, counting the 8-bar sections out loud. Smaller version: play it once and stop at bar 32.
Lou Donaldson recorded it at Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, on October 31, 1959, with Blue Mitchell on trumpet and Ray Barretto on conga drum. Blue Note issued it in 1960 on The Time Is Right.
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Listen for
Lou Donaldson's alto saxophone and Blue Mitchell's trumpet lead a sextet that includes Ray Barretto on conga drum. Listen for the conga drum against the drum kit.
Try it on your instrument
Play the slowly and listen for where it lifts toward at 13: , , , , , , , . Smaller version: play only bars 13 to 16.
The Oscar Peterson Trio, with Ray Brown on bass and Ed Thigpen on drums, recorded it in Chicago on September 25, 1962. Verve issued it in 1963 on Affinity.
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Listen for
Only three players: piano, bass and drums. Follow Oscar Peterson's piano through the tune, then listen to how Ray Brown's bass and Ed Thigpen's drums keep it moving underneath.
Try it on your instrument
Play the of the on piano, root note in the left hand on each chord and the rest in the right. Smaller version: play only the roots, as F, as B♭, and so on, in time with the record.
Dexter Gordon recorded it at Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, on June 28, 1972, with Thad Jones, Hank Jones, Stanley Clarke and Louis Hayes. Prestige issued it in 1975 on the album Tangerine.
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Listen for
At 9:00 it is the second longest version on the path. Try to name each instrument as it comes forward: tenor saxophone, trumpet, piano, bass and drums.
Try it on your instrument
Play the form three times in a row without stopping, only, at a slow steady pace, and notice how far into the record you are by the end. Smaller version: play it twice.
Victor Schertzinger and Johnny Mercer write it for the film The Fleet's In. Jimmy Dorsey's orchestra records it in December 1941 with Bob Eberly and Helen O'Connell, and Decca issues it in January 1942.
1950s
Small groups and big bands both play it. Stan Getz's quintet records it in 1953, Dizzy Gillespie's big band in 1957, and Dave Brubeck's quartet plays it live in Copenhagen in 1958.
1960s
Gene Ammons records it with a conga drum in 1961, and the Oscar Peterson Trio records it in Chicago in 1962. In 1965 Lennie Tristano plays it alone at the piano in Copenhagen.
1970s
Dexter Gordon records it for Prestige in 1972 in a nine-minute version. In 1974 Chet Baker plays it on a CTI album with strings and Paul Desmond on alto saxophone.
2010s
Stacey Kent sings it on her 2015 album Tenderly, in a version that runs 2:14.
More great versions
5 more, from 1952 to 2015. Tap a cover to play it here.
1950sZoot Sims and Al Cohn1952
Ahmad Jamal1959
1960sGene Ammons1961 · Hard bop
1970sChet Baker1974 · Cool jazz
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010sStacey Kent2015 · Vocal
Zoot Sims and Al Cohn
1952
The Brothers
Zoot Sims and Al Cohn recorded it in New York on September 8, 1952, with Kai Winding on trombone. Prestige first issued it on an EP and later on the album The Brothers.
Ahmad Jamal's trio plays it with a 15-piece string section arranged and conducted by Joe Kennedy. Argo issued the album Jamal at the Penthouse in 1959.
Gene Ammons recorded it at Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, on January 27, 1961, with Richard Wyands, Doug Watkins and Ray Barretto on conga drum. Prestige issued it that year on the album Jug.
Chet Baker recorded it for CTI at Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, in 1974, with Paul Desmond on alto saxophone, Ron Carter on bass, Steve Gadd on drums and strings arranged by Don Sebesky. CTI issued it on She Was Too Good to Me.
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
32 barsA · B · A · C form
F major → A major → F majorkey centers
A8 bars
B8 bars
A8 bars
C8 bars
F
A
F
The first A, 1 to 8, is , , , , Gm7 C7, Gm7 C7, , . The , bars 9 to 16, starts the same way (Gm7, C7, F6), then goes , , , , D7♭9, which visits and returns. The second A, bars 17 to 24, repeats the first but ends with and in place of Fmaj7 and D7♭9. The last section, C, bars 25 to 32, is Gm7, , , , Gm7, C7, F6, D7♯9, which leads back to the top. These follow the iReal Pro chart; other lead sheets may spell some differently.