Cole Porter, music and lyrics · Introduced by Janet Blair and Don Ameche in the film Something to Shout About, 1943
You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To
Cole Porter wrote it for the 1943 film Something to Shout About. Most of it sits in a minor , and the last eight lift into a major one. Dinah Shore had a hit with it when it came out, and Art Pepper and Keith Jarrett played it.
Listen in this order
The path begins with Dinah Shore's 1942 hit, then follows Helen Merrill's 1954 vocal with Clifford Brown and Frank Sinatra's swinging version. It continues with Art Pepper's alto saxophone and Chet Baker's trumpet, then a piano trio, Jim Hall's guitar group with two horns, and a live Keith Jarrett trio from 1994.
You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To / Manhattan Serenade
Dinah Shore recorded the song for Victor on July 30, 1942, and Victor 20-1519 came out on November 20, 1942. Cole Porter wrote it for the film Something to Shout About, released in 1943, and Shore had a hit with it.
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Listen for
Dinah Shore is the only named performer on this 2:53 record, so listen to how the singer carries the song before any jazz player takes it over.
Try it on your instrument
Play the first eight at a steady pace along with the record: , , Am7, Am7, , , , Fmaj7. Smaller version: play only the first two bars, Am7 and Bm7♭5 E7♭9, then repeat them.
Helen Merrill recorded it in New York on December 22, 1954, with Clifford Brown on trumpet and Quincy Jones arranging and conducting. It came out in 1955 on her EmArcy LP Helen Merrill, from a session that also produced Don't Explain, Born to Be Blue and 'S Wonderful.
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Listen for
Helen Merrill sings, and Clifford Brown plays trumpet in the band behind her. The record runs 4:21, so listen for where the voice stops and the trumpet is heard.
Try it on your instrument
Play the , 9 to 16, at a slow pace: , , , Am7, , , Bm7♭5, E7♭9. Smaller version: play only the first four bars of the bridge, then go back to the opening eight bars.
Frank Sinatra recorded it at Capitol Studio A in Hollywood during the sessions of November 15 to 28, 1956, with Nelson Riddle conducting. Capitol issued it on A Swingin' Affair! in May 1957.
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Listen for
This is the shortest record on the path at 2:04. Sinatra sings with Nelson Riddle's band behind him, so listen for how much happens in two minutes.
Try it on your instrument
Play all 32 once through at a steady beat, only, then check how long it took you against the 2:04 of this record. The chords are A: , , Am7, Am7, , , , Fmaj7. Smaller version: play only the first and stop.
Art Pepper recorded it in Los Angeles on January 19, 1957, with Red Garland, Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones. It opens the LP Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section (Contemporary C3532).
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Listen for
Art Pepper plays alto saxophone, and the piano, bass and drums of Red Garland, Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones play behind him. At 5:28 it is the first record on the path that is longer than five minutes.
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Play the last eight , the closing section, slowly: , , , , , , , . This is where the music lifts into a major . Smaller version: play only the first four of those bars.
Chet Baker recorded it in New York on December 30, 1958, with Pepper Adams, Bill Evans, Paul Chambers and Connie Kay. Riverside released it in 1959 on Chet, an album with no vocals.
C major · 4/4 · swing · 89 bpm (medium slow)
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Listen for
Chet Baker plays trumpet only on this record; there is no singing on the album. Bill Evans plays piano, and Pepper Adams adds baritone saxophone.
Try it on your instrument
Play the first , 1 to 8, at a slow ballad pace: , , Am7, Am7, , , , Fmaj7. If you play melody, add it over the . Smaller version: play only bars 1 to 4.
Bobby Timmons recorded it with Sam Jones and Roy McCurdy in New York on June 18 and 19, 1962. Riverside issued it on the soul-jazz LP Sweet and Soulful Sounds.
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Listen for
Bobby Timmons plays piano with only bass and drums beside him, so every part is easy to pick out. Over its 4:37, listen for how Sam Jones's bass and Roy McCurdy's drums sit beside the piano.
Try it on your instrument
Play 5 to 8 of the over a steady beat: , , , Fmaj7. Then add bars 1 to 4 in front: , , Am7, Am7. Smaller version: play only Gm7 and C7, then Fmaj7.
Jim Hall recorded it in April 1975 at Van Gelder Studio in New Jersey, with Chet Baker on trumpet, Paul Desmond on alto saxophone and an arrangement by Don Sebesky. CTI issued it as the first track of the LP Concierto.
G minor · 4/4 · swing · 225 bpm (up)
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Listen for
Jim Hall plays guitar, with Chet Baker's trumpet and Paul Desmond's alto saxophone alongside. At 7:06 it is longer than any earlier record on the path, so listen for the guitar, the trumpet and the saxophone in turn.
Try it on your instrument
Play the 's last four slowly: , , , , then go back to . Soloing over the whole tune is a bigger step; the smaller version is to play only those four and then the first .
Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock and Jack DeJohnette played it at the Blue Note in New York in the first set of June 5, 1994. ECM released it in 1995 in At the Blue Note: The Complete Recordings.
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Listen for
This is a live recording, so listen for the room around the three players. Keith Jarrett's piano leads, with Gary Peacock on bass and Jack DeJohnette on drums for 6:59.
Try it on your instrument
Play the whole 32 once through at a steady beat, only: A: , , Am7, Am7, , , , Fmaj7. B: Bm7♭5, E7♭9, Am7, Am7, , , Bm7♭5, E7♭9. Then A again and the closing eight. Smaller version: play A and B only.
Cole Porter writes it for the 1943 film Something to Shout About, where Janet Blair and Don Ameche introduce it. Dinah Shore records it for Victor in July 1942 and has a hit with it.
1950s
Helen Merrill sings it with Clifford Brown on trumpet in 1954, and Frank Sinatra records it with Nelson Riddle in 1956. Art Pepper plays it with a quartet in 1957, and Chet Baker records it with Bill Evans in 1958.
1960s
Bobby Timmons plays it with his piano trio in 1962, and Milt Jackson records it that year with a large band arranged by Ernie Wilkins.
1970s
In April 1975 guitarist Jim Hall records it in New Jersey with Chet Baker on trumpet and Paul Desmond on alto saxophone, in an arrangement by Don Sebesky.
1980s
Red Garland, the pianist on Art Pepper's 1957 record, leads his own trio on it in Los Angeles in April 1982.
1990s
Keith Jarrett's trio plays it live at the Blue Note in New York in June 1994, and ECM issues the Blue Note sets in 1995.
More great versions
6 more, from 1956 to 1982. Tap a cover to play it here.
Cecil Taylor recorded it in Boston on September 14, 1956, for his first album, Jazz Advance. jazzdisco's listing shows only the piano on this track, and it runs 9:18, much longer than the other versions here.
Coleman Hawkins and Ben Webster, both on tenor saxophone, recorded it in Los Angeles on October 16, 1957, with Oscar Peterson, Herb Ellis, Ray Brown and Alvin Stoller. Verve released the album in November 1959.
Sonny Stitt recorded it in New York on May 12, 1957, with Bobby Timmons on piano, and Verve released it on the LP Personal Appearance. Timmons returned to the tune in 1962 with his own trio.
Anita O'Day recorded it with Billy May arranging, in Los Angeles in April 1959, for the Verve album Anita O'Day Swings Cole Porter with Billy May. At 1:51 it is the shortest linked version.
Milt Jackson recorded it with a large band arranged and conducted by Ernie Wilkins at Plaza Sound Studios in New York in June or July 1962. Riverside issued it on the LP Big Bags.
Red Garland recorded it with Jamil Nasser and Frank Gant in Los Angeles on April 13 and 14, 1982. Garland is also the pianist on Art Pepper's 1957 version.
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
A minorusual key
32 barsA · B · A · D form
A minor → C majorkey centers
A8 bars
B8 bars
A8 bars
D8 bars
A m
C
The first A, 1 to 8, is , , Am7, Am7, , , , Fmaj7. The , bars 9 to 16, is Bm7♭5, E7♭9, Am7, Am7, , , Bm7♭5, E7♭9. The second A, bars 17 to 24, repeats the first. The last section, bars 25 to 32, moves to : , , , Am7, , , , then Bm7♭5 E7♭9 to lead back to the top. These follow the iReal Pro chart; other lead sheets may spell some differently.