Jerome Kern, music · Oscar Hammerstein II, lyrics · Introduced by Tullio Carminati in the musical Music in the Air, 1932
The Song Is You
Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II wrote it for the 1932 Broadway musical Music in the Air. Its middle section moves to a different before the opening melody returns. Frank Sinatra sang it in 1942, and Keith Jarrett's trio stretched it past seventeen minutes in 1986.
Listen in this order
The path begins with Frank Sinatra's 1942 vocal, then follows Stan Getz, Charlie Parker and Clifford Brown, with Dave Brubeck's live quartet and Sonny Rollins next. It ends with Art Blakey's quartet in 1963 and Keith Jarrett's live trio in 1986.
1940sFrank Sinatra with Axel Stordahl1942 · Big band
1950sStan Getz Quintet1951
Charlie Parker Quartet1952 · Bebop
Clifford Brown Quartet1953 · Bebop
The Dave Brubeck Quartet1954 · Bebop
Sonny Rollins1958 · Bebop
1960sArt Blakey Quartet1963 · Hard bop
1970s
1980sKeith Jarrett Trio1986 · Post-bop
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Frank Sinatra with Axel Stordahl and his orchestra · 1942 · Big band, Vocal
The Song Is You
Frank Sinatra recorded this in January 1942, in a session of four songs that Axel Stordahl arranged. They were Sinatra's first solo records, made while he was still the singer with Tommy Dorsey's band.
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Listen for
Sinatra sings with violins and an oboe behind him, and the record runs 3:25. Fix the tune in your head here, because every later version on this page starts from it.
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Play the first four of the , one per bar: , , , . Hum the melody over them. Smaller version: play just Cmaj7 and G7 and hum along.
Stan Getz recorded this in New York on August 15, 1951, with Horace Silver on piano and Jimmy Raney on guitar. Roost issued it on the single Roost 550, paired with It Might As Well Be Spring.
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Stan Getz leads on tenor saxophone, with Horace Silver on piano and Jimmy Raney on guitar. The record fits the whole tune into 2:50.
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Play 9 to 12 of the : , , , . These also close each A section. Smaller version: play just Dm7 and G7 and listen for how they lead back to C.
Charlie Parker recorded this in New York on December 30, 1952, with Hank Jones, Teddy Kotick and Max Roach. The same session produced Laird Baird and Kim, and Clef issued the three on the LP Charlie Parker.
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Listen for
Charlie Parker plays alto saxophone, with Hank Jones on piano, Teddy Kotick on bass and Max Roach on drums. The record lasts 2:57, so listen for how the keeps the beat moving under him.
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Play along with the opening of this record, using the of the first four : , , , . Smaller version: play only the first two bars, Cmaj7 and E♭°7, then stop and listen.
Clifford Brown recorded this in Paris on October 15, 1953, with Henri Renaud on piano, Pierre Michelot on bass and Benny Bennett on drums. Vogue issued the session, and Prestige later gathered it on The Clifford Brown Quartet in Paris.
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Clifford Brown plays trumpet, with piano, bass and drums behind him. The take lasts 2:50, so the whole tune is over quickly.
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Play the , 33 to 48, which moves to . Start with two bars of , then and . Smaller version: play Emaj7, then B7, and hear how far from C they sound.
Dave Brubeck's quartet played this live at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor in May 1954. Columbia issued it that year on the concert album Jazz Goes to College.
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Paul Desmond plays alto saxophone and Dave Brubeck plays piano, with Bob Bates on bass and Joe Dodge on drums. At 5:38 it runs nearly twice as long as Parker's studio take.
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Play the whole slowly. For the last four bars use , , , with two in the third and fourth bars. Smaller version: play only those last four bars.
Sonny Rollins recorded this in Los Angeles during October 1958 with Hampton Hawes, Barney Kessel, Leroy Vinnegar and Shelly Manne. Contemporary issued it in 1959 on Sonny Rollins and the Contemporary Leaders.
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Sonny Rollins plays tenor saxophone, with piano, guitar, bass and drums behind him. The take runs 5:41, nearly three minutes longer than Parker's.
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Play the roots of the first four , C, E♭, D, G, as a bass line, then play the same four bars with full . Smaller version: play the roots only.
Art Blakey led this quartet at Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs on July 16, 1963, with Sonny Stitt, McCoy Tyner and Art Davis. Impulse! issued it in 1964 on the album A Jazz Message.
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Sonny Stitt plays saxophone and McCoy Tyner plays piano, with Art Davis on bass and Art Blakey leading from the drums. The record runs 5:07.
Try it on your instrument
Play the last four of the final as a loop: , , , . Smaller version: play the loop with just the roots, C, A, D, G.
Keith Jarrett's trio played this live at the Klaviersommer in Munich's Philharmonic Hall on July 13, 1986. ECM issued it in 1988 on the double album Still Live.
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Jarrett plays piano, with Gary Peacock on bass and Jack DeJohnette on drums. At 17:33 it is the longest track on the path, nearly six times the length of Parker's.
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Play the full form once from the iReal Pro chart, then play it again changing only how loud you play. Smaller version: play just the 16-bar .
Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II write the song for the 1932 musical Music in the Air, where Tullio Carminati sings it. Jack Denny's Waldorf-Astoria Orchestra, with Paul Small singing, records it in November 1932.
1940s
In January 1942 Frank Sinatra, still singing with Tommy Dorsey's band, records it for Bluebird in a session of four songs arranged by Axel Stordahl.
1950s
Jazz players take it up. Charlie Parker records it with a quartet in 1952, and Dave Brubeck's quartet plays it live at the University of Michigan in 1954. Frank Sinatra sings it again in 1958 with Billy May.
1960s
Grant Green's quartet cuts a long version in 1962, first issued in 1980. Art Blakey leads a quartet with Sonny Stitt on saxophone in 1963 for Impulse!.
1980s
Chet Baker records it with David Friedman on vibraphone in 1982, Jimmy Raney with a quartet in the Netherlands in 1983, and Keith Jarrett's trio plays a 17-minute version in Munich in 1986.
1990s
Fred Hersch plays it in a live recital at Maybeck Recital Hall in Berkeley in October 1993.
More great versions
6 more, from 1958 to 1993. Tap a cover to play it here.
1950sFrank Sinatra with Billy May1958 · Big band
Oscar Peterson Trio1959
1960sGrant Green Quartet1962 · Hard bop
1970s
1980sChet Baker Quartet1982 · Cool jazz
Jimmy Raney Quartet featuring Kirk Lightsey1983 · Hard bop
Frank Sinatra sang it again in December 1958 with Billy May's orchestra at Capitol Studio A in Hollywood. Capitol released it in January 1959 on Come Dance with Me!.
Oscar Peterson's trio with Ray Brown and Ed Thigpen recorded this in Chicago in the summer of 1959, in a run of sessions that ran from July 14 to August 9. It is on Oscar Peterson Plays the Jerome Kern Song Book.
Grant Green's quartet with Sonny Clark, Sam Jones and Art Blakey recorded this on January 13, 1962 at Van Gelder Studio. Blue Note first issued it in 1980 on Nigeria.
Chet Baker's quartet recorded this at Vanguard Studios in New York on February 2, 1982, with David Friedman on vibraphone and marimba. Enja issued it on the album Peace.
Jimmy Raney, who played guitar on Stan Getz's 1951 version, recorded this with Kirk Lightsey, Jesper Lundgaard and Eddie Gladden in Monster, Holland on February 16, 1983. It is on The Master from Criss Cross.
Fred Hersch played this live at Maybeck Recital Hall in Berkeley on October 24, 1993. Concord Jazz issued it in 1994 on The Maybeck Recital Series, Volume 31.
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
C majorusual key
64 barsA · A · B · A form
C major → E major → C majorkey centers
A16 bars
A16 bars
B16 bars
A16 bars
C
E
C
The first A, 1 to 16, is , , , , Cmaj7, , Dm7, G7, , A7, Dm7, G7, then , , Em7 A7, Dm7 G7. The second A, bars 17 to 32, repeats the first twelve bars and ends , C6, C6, , which leads into the . The B section, bars 33 to 48, moves to : two bars of , , B7, two more bars of Emaj7, , , then for two bars, for two, for two and B7 for two. The last A, bars 49 to 64, opens like the first, continues , , , B♭7, Em7, A7, Dm7, G7, and ends C6, A7, Dm7, G7. These follow the iReal Pro chart; other lead sheets may spell some differently.