Johnny Green, music · Edward Heyman, Robert Sour and Frank Eyton, lyrics · 1930
Body and Soul
A 1930 torch song by Johnny Green that became the tenor saxophone's great test piece. Its bridge jumps up a half step to a far-off key and finds its way back, which makes it a workout for improvisers. Coleman Hawkins's 1939 record turned it into a jazz standard, and almost every tenor player since has recorded it.
▶ Plays the whole path: 8 recordings in order. Use the player's next button to skip ahead.
60–142 bpmhow fast players take it, across 14 transcribed solos (Weimar Jazz Database)
A8 bars
A8 bars
B8 bars · bridge
A8 bars
D♭
D
C
D♭
Each block is a key, and each thin line is one bar. Both A sections stay in D♭. The bridge jumps up a half step to D, then steps down to C, and the last bar of the bridge slides back to D♭ for the final A.
These are the changes as Coleman Hawkins's band played them in 1939, transcribed in the Weimar Jazz Database. Fake books simplify several bars, and many players reharmonize the bridge.
KeyD♭ major
Abars 1–8
D♭ majorE♭mD7♯5
E♭m7D7
D♭maj7E♭m7
Fm7E°
E♭m7
Cm7♭5B7
B♭m7E♭m7A♭7
D♭maj7Fm7♭5B♭7♭9
A²bars 9–16
E♭mD7♯5
E♭m7D7
D♭m7E♭m7
Fm7E°
E♭m7
Cm7♭5B7
B♭m7E♭m7A♭7
D♭Em7A7
Bbars 17–24 · bridge
D majorDmaj7Em7
Bm7F♯Gm7C7
F♯m7Bm7Em7A7
Dmaj7F♯m7Em7
C majorDm7G7
Cmaj7E♭°
Dm7G7
C7B7B♭7susB♭7
A³bars 25–32
home: D♭E♭mB7♯5
E♭m7A♭7
D♭maj7G♭7
Fm7E°
E♭m7
A♭7A°
A°E♭m7A♭7♯5
A♭7♯5Fm7♭5B♭7
Fake books simplify several of these bars, and many players reharmonize the bridge.
Start with Billie Holiday's 1940 record to learn the song, then hear Coleman Hawkins improvise on its changes with the melody almost gone. The rest of the path shows other ways in: early jazz, a clarinet trio, a slow tenor ballad, Coltrane's reharmonized A sections, Monk alone at the piano and a closing duet.
1
Step 1 · Learn the song
Billie Holiday and Her Orchestra 1940
Vocalion single 5481
Listen for
Hear the song sung straight, with Eldridge's trumpet answering from the band. Her phrases sit behind the beat, but the AABA shape stays easy to follow.
Try this
Sing or hum along with the record and count 32 bars as AABA. Mark the bar where the bridge starts and notice how the last A comes home.
D♭ major · 4/4 · swing · 95 bpm (medium slow) · Melody only hinted at
Listen for
Follow the harmony instead of the tune. Hawkins mostly leaves the written melody behind and builds new lines on each chord, including the jump up a half step at the bridge.
Try this
Play the chart's chords on piano or guitar and improvise one chorus that never states the melody. Start with long notes on the 3rd and 7th of each chord.
With only three players the harmony is implied. Listen to how Wilson's left hand and Goodman's lines outline the chords, and how lightly Krupa keeps time.
Try this
Play it as a duo with no bass. The pianist plays bass notes and chords with the left hand while the other player takes the tune.
D♭ major · 4/4 · swing · 142 bpm (medium up) · Reharmonized A sections
Listen for
The transcribed A sections spend long stretches over an A♭ bass note instead of the usual chord-a-bar movement. The bridge moves through new keys more quickly, at a medium-up pace.
Try this
Hold an A♭ in the bass and improvise over the first eight bars with the notes of E♭ minor and A♭7. Then play the same bars over the usual changes and compare.