Richard Rodgers, music · Lorenz Hart, lyrics · Introduced by Joyce Barbour and Busby Berkeley in Present Arms
You Took Advantage of Me
Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart wrote this song for the 1928 Broadway show Present Arms. Its 32 state the main idea twice, move to a contrasting middle, then come home. Paul Whiteman, Ella Fitzgerald, Gerry Mulligan and Keith Jarrett's trio all recorded it.
Listen in this order
The path opens with Paul Whiteman's 1928 dance-band record with Bing Crosby, then moves to Ella Fitzgerald and a Teddy Wilson piano trio. It continues with Oscar Peterson and an orchestra, Annie Ross with Zoot Sims and Gerry Mulligan's big band, and ends with Stanley Cowell's trio and Keith Jarrett's live trio.
Oscar Peterson Quartet with Buddy Bregman1957 · Easy listening
Annie Ross with Zoot Sims1959 · Vocal
1960sGerry Mulligan Concert Jazz Band1960
Stanley Cowell1969 · Post-bop
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000sKeith Jarrett, Gary Peacock, Jack DeJohnette2001 · Contemporary jazz
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Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra (Bing Crosby, vocal) · 1928
Victor 21398 single
Paul Whiteman's orchestra recorded it at Liederkranz Hall in New York on April 25, 1928, the year the song opened in Present Arms. Bing Crosby sings, and Bix Beiderbecke plays cornet in the band.
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A dance orchestra plays and Bing Crosby sings, with Bix Beiderbecke's cornet in the band. The whole record runs under three minutes.
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Play the first four of the , , , and Fm7 B♭7, with the tune on top. Smaller version: play only E♭6, Fm7 and B♭7 in those bars.
Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Rodgers and Hart Song Book
Ella Fitzgerald recorded it in August 1956 for her Rodgers and Hart Song Book, with a studio orchestra arranged and conducted by Buddy Bregman. Norman Granz produced the album for Verve.
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Ella Fitzgerald sings with a full studio orchestra behind her. The track runs 3:28 in the Apple Music stereo version.
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Play or sing the , 1 to 8: , , , Fm7 B♭7, , , Gm7 Fm7 B♭7 and E♭6 Fm7 B♭7. Smaller version: play only bars 1 to 4.
Teddy Wilson recorded it in New York on February 1, 1955 with Milt Hinton on bass and Jo Jones on drums. It first came out with that session on Norgran MGN-1019 and later on the Verve album For Quiet Lovers.
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Teddy Wilson's piano leads, with Milt Hinton's bass and Jo Jones's drums behind him. The track runs 4:18.
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Play the , 17 to 24: , , , , then Cm7 D7, G7 C7, F7 B♭7 and B♭7. Smaller version: play only bars 17 to 20.
Oscar Peterson Quartet with Buddy Bregman and His Orchestra · 1957 · Easy listening, Vocal
Soft Sands
Oscar Peterson recorded it at Radio Recorders in Los Angeles on July 31, 1957 with Herb Ellis, Ray Brown and Stan Levey. Buddy Bregman arranged and conducted the orchestra, and the track came out on Verve's Soft Sands.
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Oscar Peterson's piano takes the lead with Herb Ellis's guitar, Ray Brown's bass and Stan Levey's drums, while Buddy Bregman's orchestra plays behind them. The track runs just under two minutes, 1:58.
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Play the last four of the tune, bars 29 to 32: , , and Fm7 B♭7. Smaller version: play only bars 31 and 32.
Annie Ross recorded it with Zoot Sims's group at Sound Enterprises in Los Angeles on March 25, 1959. It is on her World Pacific album A Gasser!.
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Annie Ross sings with Zoot Sims on tenor saxophone, Russ Freeman on piano, Jim Hall on guitar, Monte Budwig on bass and Mel Lewis on drums. The track runs 3:53.
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Play 7 and 8, then bars 15 and 16. They differ only in the last bar: the first time and E♭6 the second. Smaller version: play only those two last bars.
Gerry Mulligan's Concert Jazz Band recorded it at Plaza Sound Studios in New York in July 1960, with Zoot Sims on tenor saxophone. It is on the band's Verve album The Concert Jazz Band.
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A full band of 13 players, with Gerry Mulligan on baritone saxophone and Zoot Sims on tenor saxophone. The track runs 4:39.
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Play the whole tune once through, 32 in the order A, A, B, A. Smaller version: play only the twice, bars 1 to 16.
Stanley Cowell recorded it with Steve Novosel and Jimmy Hopps at Polydor Studios in London in June 1969. The album came out as Blues for the Viet Cong and was later reissued on CD as Travellin' Man.
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Stanley Cowell leads a trio with Steve Novosel on bass and Jimmy Hopps on drums. The track runs 4:53 on the CD.
Try it on your instrument
Play 5 and 6 of the : and . Smaller version: play only the bass notes B♭, E♭, A♭ and D♭.
Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock, Jack DeJohnette · 2001 · Contemporary jazz
My Foolish Heart: Live at Montreux
Keith Jarrett's trio played it live at the Montreux Jazz Festival on July 22, 2001, and ECM released the concert in 2007. The same trio had recorded the tune in Tokyo that April, which came out as Yesterdays in 2009.
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A live trio of piano, bass and drums plays for 8:54 at the Montreux Jazz Festival, so the tune has room to stretch.
Try it on your instrument
Play the tune twice through, 32 each time, and change how you play the the second time, for example one chord per bar instead of two. Smaller version: do this with only the first .
Rodgers and Hart write it for the 1928 show Present Arms. Paul Whiteman's orchestra records it that April with Bing Crosby singing and Bix Beiderbecke on cornet.
1930s
Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli record the tune in 1937.
1950s
Teddy Wilson's trio records it in 1955 and Ella Fitzgerald in 1956 for her Rodgers and Hart Song Book. In 1959 Annie Ross sings it in Los Angeles with Zoot Sims's group.
1960s
Gerry Mulligan's Concert Jazz Band records it in New York in July 1960. In 1969 Stanley Cowell plays it with a trio in London.
2000s
Keith Jarrett's trio plays it live at the Montreux Jazz Festival in July 2001, in a version that runs 8:54.
For players
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
E♭ majorusual key
32 barsA · A · B · A form
E♭ majorkey centers
A8 bars
A8 bars
B8 bars · bridge
A8 bars
E♭
The tune is 32 in the order A, A, B, A and stays in . The , bars 1 to 8, plays , , , Fm7 B♭7, , , Gm7 Fm7 B♭7 and E♭6 Fm7 B♭7. The second A, bars 9 to 16, matches it except for the last bar, which is E♭6 and leads into the . The , bars 17 to 24, plays , C7, B♭7 and G7♭9, then Cm7 D7, G7 C7, F7 B♭7 and E♭6 Fm7 B♭7. The last A, bars 25 to 32, repeats the first A. These follow the iReal Pro chart; other lead sheets may spell some differently.