Jazz Changes

Gene de Paul, music · Don Raye, lyrics · Sung by Carol Bruce in the film Behind the Eight Ball

You Don't Know What Love Is

You Don't Know What Love Is is a 1941 ballad by Gene de Paul and Don Raye. Its 32-bar AABA form stays in F minor, then opens into major keys on the bridge. Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, Billie Holiday and John Coltrane all recorded it.

F minor · 32 bars · A A B A form · how it works

Listen in this order

Start with Ella Fitzgerald's 1941 vocal, then follow the song through a trumpet quartet, a tenor sax quartet and Billie Holiday's version with an orchestra. Next come a live piano trio, a Coltrane quartet, a guitar and organ trio and a long piano trio performance from 1992.

8 recordings, 1941 to 1992 · Play all 8 on YouTube ↗

  1. Ella Fitzgerald1941
  2. Miles Davis All Stars1954 · Hard bop
  3. Sonny Rollins1956 · Cool jazz
  4. Billie Holiday with Ray Ellis1958 · Big band
  5. Ahmad Jamal Trio1958 · Post-bop
  6. John Coltrane Quartet1962 · Modal jazz
  7. Grant Green1964 · Soul jazz
  8. Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock, Paul Motian1992 · Contemporary jazz

Step 1 of 8 Now playing✓ Heard

Learn the song

Ella Fitzgerald · 1941

Decca single 4082

Listen for
Follow Fitzgerald's vocal through the song, then hear Barefield's alto sax in the group behind her.
Try this
Play the first four bars of the iReal Pro chart (Fm7, D♭7 C7♭9, Fm7 C7♭9, D♭7) while the recording plays.
Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

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Hear it as an instrumental

Miles Davis All Stars · 1954 · Hard bop

Walkin'

Listen for
This is a quartet of trumpet, piano, bass and drums. Listen to how the trumpet carries the song without a singer.
Try this
Play the melody on your instrument over the first four chart bars (Fm7, D♭7 C7♭9, Fm7 C7♭9, D♭7), then stop and listen to how Davis opens.
Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

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Follow a solo over the form

Sonny Rollins · 1956 · Cool jazz

Saxophone Colossus

Listen for
Rollins is the only horn. Listen to how piano, bass and drums keep the form moving under the tenor sax.
Try this
Count the 32 bars of AABA while the track plays, and note where the bridge begins. A smaller version is to tap your foot and name each A and B as it passes.
Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

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Hear it as a vocal ballad

Billie Holiday with Ray Ellis and His Orchestra · 1958 · Big band

Lady in Satin

Listen for
Listen to how Holiday places the words against the orchestra, and how the arrangement supports a single voice.
Try this
Sing or hum the melody along with her once, and then play it on your instrument at your own pace.
Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

Step 5 of 8 Now playing✓ Heard

Hear a piano trio

Ahmad Jamal Trio · 1958 · Post-bop, Cool jazz

“You Don't Know What Love Is (Live at the Spotlite Club)”, Portfolio of Ahmad Jamal

Listen for
This is a live trio with piano and bass. Listen to how the piano shapes the form from the first chord.
Try this
Play the chart's eight-bar A section on piano with your left hand on roots only, then add the right-hand chord tones.
Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

Step 6 of 8 Now playing✓ Heard

Hear a saxophone ballad

John Coltrane Quartet · 1962 · Modal jazz, Cool jazz

Ballads

Listen for
Listen to how the tenor sax, piano, bass and drums share the melody and the form.
Try this
Play the melody once at your own pace, then find the first bar of the bridge (B♭m7 to E♭7) while the track plays.
Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

Step 7 of 8 Now playing✓ Heard

Hear a guitar trio

Grant Green · 1964 · Soul jazz, Hard bop

Talkin' About!

Listen for
With no bass player listed, listen to how the organ and drums cover the low end while the guitar plays the melody.
Try this
If you play guitar, play the A-section chords as shell voicings. If you do not, pick one chord a bar and listen for the organ doing the same.
Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

Step 8 of 8 Now playing✓ Heard

Follow a long performance

Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock, Paul Motian · 1992 · Contemporary jazz, Post-bop

At the Deer Head Inn

Listen for
Listen for the bridge in each chorus, and for how piano, bass and drums trade the lead over many choruses.
Try this
Count the choruses by listening for the bridge each time. A smaller version is to count only the first three.
Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

More great versions

6 more, from 1954 to 1990. Tap a cover to play it here.

  1. Chet Baker1954 · Bebop
  2. Dinah Washington1955 · Vocal
  3. Tal Farlow Trio1956
  4. Jimmy Raney1957
  5. Tal Farlow Trio1976 · Bebop
  6. Kenny Barron Quartet1990 · Post-bop

How the tune works

F minorusual key
32 barsA · A · B · A form
F minor → A♭ major → C major → F minorkey centers

Each eight-bar A section stays in F minor and opens on Fm7. The chords move between D♭7 and C7♭9, a Gm7♭5 to C7♭9 pair leads toward F minor, and E7, E♭m7 and D7 pass through in bar 6. The bridge opens on B♭m7 to E♭7 and A♭maj7 for four bars, which puts it in A♭ major. Dm7 to G7 and Cmaj7 then give two bars of C major, and D♭7 to C7♭9 lead back to F minor for the last A, which ends on Fm6. These key areas follow the iReal Pro chart and leave out passing chords.

Play the changes

F minor
Open in iReal Pro ↗
A10 bars
Fm7
D♭7C7♭9
Fm7C7♭9
D♭7
Gm7♭5C7♭9
Fm7E7E♭m7D7
1.D♭7
Gm7♭5C7♭9
2.D♭7C7♭9
Fm6
B8 bars
B♭m7E♭7
A♭maj7
B♭m7E♭7
A♭maj7
Dm7G7
Cmaj7
D♭7
C7♭9
A8 bars
Fm7
D♭7C7♭9
Fm7C7♭9
D♭7
Gm7♭5C7♭9
Fm7E7E♭m7D7
D♭7C7♭9
Fm6

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