Joseph Kosma, music · Jacques Prévert, French lyrics · Johnny Mercer, English lyrics · 1945
Autumn Leaves
A French song from 1945, "Les feuilles mortes", that became the first standard many jazz students learn. Its chords are built almost entirely from ii–V–I progressions, first in a major key and then in its relative minor. Learn it and you have the moves behind hundreds of other tunes.
▶ Plays the whole path: 8 recordings in order. Use the player's next button to skip ahead.
Each block is a key, and each thin line is one bar. Every phrase is a ii–V–I: four bars landing in B♭ major, then four landing in its relative minor, G minor. The B section swaps the order, and the last section takes a short detour to E♭ before ending in G minor.
The changes as most fake books give them, in G minor. Many players start in E minor instead. Almost every bar is part of a ii–V–I.
KeyG minor
Abars 1–8
B♭ majorCm7
F7
B♭maj7
E♭maj7
G minorAm7♭5
D7
Gm6
Gm6
A²bars 9–16
B♭ majorCm7
F7
B♭maj7
E♭maj7
G minorAm7♭5
D7
Gm6
Gm6
Bbars 17–24
G minorAm7♭5
D7
Gm6
Gm6
B♭ majorCm7
F7
B♭maj7
E♭maj7
Cbars 25–32
G minorAm7♭5
D7
Gm7C7
Fm7B♭7
E♭E♭maj7
Am7♭5D7
home: G minorGm6
Gm6
Common fake-book changes; recordings vary, especially in the last eight bars.
You hear the song first, then the arrangement that made it a jazz standard, then trios, a two-horn studio date, an organ trio and a recent live set. Each step gives you one thing to listen for and one thing to try.
1
Step 1 · Learn the song
Nat King Cole (Nelson Riddle and his orchestra) 1955
Nat King Cole Sings for Two in Love
Listen for
Count the four eight-bar sections as they go by: two that match, a third that reverses the order of the two keys, and a last one that adds a short detour. A singer makes each phrase easy to hear.
Try this
Hum along for one chorus. Then play only the chord roots, one per bar, and say each chord name out loud as you play it.
Notice how long the band takes before the melody arrives. Then follow how Miles Davis, Cannonball Adderley and Hank Jones each solo over the same changes.
Try this
Sing along with one solo for a full chorus. Then play the third of each chord from the chart under it.
Step 5 · Hear two cool-school voices in a studio setting
Chet Baker (with Paul Desmond) 1974
She Was Too Good to Me
Listen for
Hear trumpet and alto saxophone share the melody and solos over electric piano and strings. Compare that sound with the acoustic groups earlier on the path.
Try this
Play the melody softly and play fewer notes than you want to. Leave a gap at the end of each phrase, the way a singer breathes.
Compare this trio with the Evans and Jarrett trios. Pick one chorus and listen to what the bass and drums do in each bar.
Try this
Record yourself playing four choruses: the melody, then chord tones only, then two choruses of your own lines. Listen back and mark where the chords stay clear.