Henry Mancini, music · Johnny Mercer, lyrics · From the film Days of Wine and Roses (1962)
Days of Wine and Roses
Henry Mancini wrote the music and Johnny Mercer the words for the 1962 film Days of Wine and Roses. It won the Oscar for Best Original Song, and players like its chain of ii–V chords. Wes Montgomery's 1963 record and Oscar Peterson's 1964 trio take are the jazz versions cited most often.
▶ Plays the whole path in order, one recording after another.
- 1 Learn the song Andy Williams✓
- 2 Hear a jazz guitar trio Wes Montgomery Trio✓
- 3 Hear a great singer's reading Frank Sinatra✓
- 4 Hear a swinging piano trio Oscar Peterson Trio✓
- 5 Hear a live trio stretch the form Bill Evans Trio✓
- 6 Hear a tenor saxophone solo over the changes Joe Henderson with the Wynton Kelly Trio✓
- 7 Hear guitar and piano in one band Vince Guaraldi and Bola Sete✓
- 8 Hear a long modern trio take Keith Jarrett Trio✓
How the tune works
The tune runs 32 bars in four eight-bar sections, A B A C, and stays in F throughout. Each A opens on F, then slides down through E♭7 to two bars of D7, and settles on B♭ major 7 for two bars and B♭ minor 7 for two. B is a run of ii–V moves: two bars of F, Gm7 to C7, Em7♭5 to A7, Dm7 to G7, then Gm7 and C7 into the second A, which repeats the first. C, the last eight bars, holds F for two bars, moves to E7 for two, and closes with Gm7, C7 and F. The A section shares its outline with East of the Sun. Charts differ in the small details, so check the note under the chart.
The changes soloists usually play, in F, as one published chord chart writes them: 32 bars in four sections of eight. Two chords in one bar are shown together.
Taken from the Jazz-Library chord chart for the tune, which writes the F chords as F△6, so F6 is used here. Its form (32 bars in F, A B A C) agrees with JazzStandards.com, Pianogroove and AllSolos. The JazzStandards.com analysis fits the outline: the A section passes through an E♭ chord and a D7 with a flat 9 and flat 5 in its third measure, and the B section is a run of V7 to I moves with a half-diminished ii chord in front of one of them, here Em7♭5 to A7. Other sources differ in detail. A Real Book transcription on Guitar Composer's Toolbox opens with Fmaj7, E♭9♯11, D7♭9♭5 and D7♭9, and lists Bm7♭5 and B♭9♯11 near the end. A jazzguitar.be lesson treats bars 8, 10 and 32 as dominant-chord bars, where this chart holds B♭m7, F6 and F6. The E7 in bars 27 and 28 appears in no other source read. A printed lead sheet was not checked, so compare the chart with the one you play from and with the recording.
Source: Jazz-Library: Days of Wine and Roses, lead sheet and chord changes
Listen in this order
Play all 8 on YouTube ↗The first four steps run under four minutes each: two sung records, a guitar trio and a piano trio. The last four run from five to eleven minutes and leave more room for solos: a live piano trio, a tenor saxophone with a trio, a guitar and piano quartet, and a long live trio take from 1994.
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Step 1 · Learn the song Now playing
Andy Williams 1963
Days of Wine and Roses and Other TV Requests
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- Williams sings the melody with Johnny Mercer's lyric in under three minutes, with Robert Mersey conducting. Hear the length of each phrase here before any jazz player stretches it.
- Try this
- Hum the melody along with Williams, then play it on your instrument from memory. Smaller version: pick out only the first four bars.
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Step 2 · Hear a jazz guitar trio Now playing
Wes Montgomery Trio 1963
Boss Guitar
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- A guitar, organ and drums trio in a relaxed Latin feel. A lesson on this record hears E♭maj7 in bar 2 of the form where the chart shows E♭7, so check bar 2 against what Montgomery plays.
- Try this
- Play the first eight bars of the chart with the record, one chord per bar. If you hear E♭maj7 in bar 2, try it in place of E♭7.
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Step 3 · Hear a great singer's reading Now playing
Frank Sinatra 1964
Sinatra Sings Days of Wine and Roses, Moon River, and Other Academy Award Winners
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- Riddle's orchestra backs Sinatra on a record of 2:16, the shortest track on this path. Notice how much of the song fits into so little time.
- Try this
- Sing the melody along with Sinatra, then play only the F chord on the first beat of bars 1, 9, 17 and 25 while he sings. Smaller version: sing along and tap the first beat of each bar.
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Step 4 · Hear a swinging piano trio Now playing
Oscar Peterson Trio 1964
“The Days of Wine and Roses”, We Get Requests
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- Ray Brown's bass line and Ed Thigpen's drums under Peterson's piano, at a relaxed medium tempo. Follow the bass through one full 32-bar chorus.
- Try this
- Play the root of each chord from the chart on the first beat of every bar while the record plays, and stay with Brown's bass. Smaller version: play only the roots of bars 1 to 8.
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Step 5 · Hear a live trio stretch the form Now playing
Bill Evans Trio 1980
Turn Out the Stars: The Final Village Vanguard Recordings, June 1980
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- The take runs about seven and a half minutes. Keep the chart in front of you and mark where each chorus starts.
- Try this
- Follow the first chorus on the chart, one chord per bar. Smaller version: count to 32 with the record and play only the F chord on bar 1 each time the form restarts.
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Step 6 · Hear a tenor saxophone solo over the changes Now playing
Joe Henderson with the Wynton Kelly Trio 1968
Straight, No Chaser
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- A tenor saxophone with a piano, bass and drum trio for more than eight minutes. Follow Paul Chambers's bass through the chorus changes while Henderson plays.
- Try this
- Playing a solo over these changes needs some practice. Try it only if you can play chord tones over a chart: play the notes of each chord, one per beat, through bars 9 to 16. Smaller version: play the root of each chord on beat 1 through those eight bars.
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Step 7 · Hear guitar and piano in one band Now playing
Vince Guaraldi and Bola Sete 1963
Vince Guaraldi, Bola Sete and Friends
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- A guitar and a piano share the front line over bass and drums for more than five minutes. Notice which instrument plays the melody first and which solos next.
- Try this
- Play the first eight bars of the chart on guitar or piano with the record, one chord per bar. Smaller version: play only the first four bars.
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Step 8 · Hear a long modern trio take Now playing
Keith Jarrett Trio 1994
“Days of Wine and Roses (Live)”, At the Blue Note: The Complete Recordings
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- Piano, bass and drums for eleven and a half minutes. Follow the chart for as long as you can and note where you lose the form.
- Try this
- Pick one section of the chart, such as bars 9 to 16, and listen for the same chord pattern each time the form comes around. Smaller version: count bars with the record for one chorus.
More great versions
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Henry Mancini and His Orchestra and Chorus 1962
Our Man in Hollywood
The composer's own recording, with his orchestra and chorus.
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Dizzy Gillespie 1963
Dizzy Goes Hollywood
Dizzy Gillespie's quintet, with James Moody on saxophone and Kenny Barron on piano, plays the song in 2:20 on the album Dizzy Goes Hollywood.
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Eddie Harris 1964
Cool Sax from Hollywood to Broadway
Eddie Harris plays tenor saxophone with Cedar Walton, Bob Cranshaw and Billy Brooks on the 1964 Columbia album Cool Sax from Hollywood to Broadway.
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Tony Bennett and Bill Evans 1975
The Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Album
A voice and piano duet recorded in four June days in 1975, from the first of two Bennett and Evans albums.
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Bill Evans with Toots Thielemans 1978
“The Days of Wine and Roses”, Affinity
Bill Evans plays with harmonica player Toots Thielemans.
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Ella Fitzgerald and Joe Pass 1986
“The Days of Wine and Roses”, Easy Living
A voice and guitar duo: Ella Fitzgerald sings, accompanied by guitarist Joe Pass.