Richard Rodgers, music · Lorenz Hart, lyrics · Introduced by Joy Hodges and Austin Marshall in the Broadway musical I'd Rather Be Right, 1937
Have You Met Miss Jones
Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart wrote this ballad for the 1937 Broadway show I'd Rather Be Right. The bridge moves through three keys a major third apart, a plan some writers link to Giant Steps. Ella Fitzgerald, Art Tatum, Stan Getz, Oscar Peterson, Joe Pass and McCoy Tyner all recorded it.
▶ Plays the whole path in order, one recording after another.
- 1 Learn the song Ella Fitzgerald✓
- 2 Hear the first jazz version George Shearing✓
- 3 Hear it without piano or drums Red Norvo Trio✓
- 4 Hear one pianist play it all Art Tatum✓
- 5 Follow a horn through the form Stan Getz Quintet✓
- 6 Hear a trio keep the form The Oscar Peterson Trio✓
- 7 Hear the whole form on one guitar Joe Pass✓
- 8 Hear a post-bop trio take it on McCoy Tyner Trio✓
How the tune works
The tune runs 32 bars as A A B A in F major. Each A opens on Fmaj7, F♯°7, Gm7 and C7, then bars 5 to 8 run Am7, Dm7, Gm7 and C7. The second A changes its last two bars to Cm7 and F7, a ii–V that points to B♭ and leads into the bridge. The bridge sits on B♭maj7, then drops a major third to G♭ and another major third to D, each with its own ii–V. It returns to G♭ for two bars before Gm7 and C7 bring the last A home. The last A repeats the opening four bars, then runs Am7 Dm7, Gm7 C7, Fmaj7 and a Gm7 C7 turnaround. SaxTeacher UK and JazzStandards.com link the bridge's plan of keys a major third apart to John Coltrane's Giant Steps.
Read each line as four bars. Two chords in one bar share it equally. A key tag marks the first bar where a new key area arrives. The tune starts on bar 1 with Fmaj7.
The source is one published chord chart for C instruments in F major, 32 bars, with no lyrics or melody; it writes F♯dim, shown here as F♯°7. The chart follows it bar by bar. SaxTeacher UK agrees with the first four bars and with the B♭, G♭ and D areas of the bridge, and it and the University of Vermont blog both name A♭m7 and Em7 in the bridge. SaxTeacher UK writes F6, B♭6 and D6 where the chart has major sevenths. Bars 22 to 24 (A♭m7 D♭7, G♭maj7, Gm7 C7) come from the chart alone; SaxTeacher UK describes only a ii–V back to F there. The University of Vermont blog says the bridge in the original sheet music has fewer chords, without A♭m7 and Em7, and that bop-influenced players added them. Fake-book charts differ in detail, so compare it with the chart you play from.
Listen in this order
Play all 8 on YouTube ↗The path starts with Ella Fitzgerald's vocal and George Shearing's 1947 trio, the version Wikipedia says renewed interest in the song. It then adds a vibes, guitar and bass trio, solo piano, a tenor saxophone quintet, a piano trio, solo guitar and a post-bop piano trio.
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Step 1 · Learn the song Now playing
Ella Fitzgerald 1956
“Have You Met Miss Jones?”, Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Rodgers and Hart Song Book
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- Listen for
- One voice with an orchestra. The bridge, the eight bars in the middle, moves through three keys.
- Try this
- Play the first four bars of the chart in F, one chord per bar: Fmaj7, F♯°7, Gm7, C7. Sing or play the tune over them.
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Step 2 · Hear the first jazz version Now playing
George Shearing 1947
Have You Met Miss Jones / Buccaneer's Bounce
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- Listen for
- A trio of piano, bass and drums, with no horns or guitar. The bridge in the middle moves through three keys a major third apart.
- Try this
- Loop the A section chords slowly: Fmaj7, F♯°7, Gm7, C7, then Am7, Dm7, Gm7, C7. Play the root of each chord first, then add the full chord.
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Step 3 · Hear it without piano or drums Now playing
Red Norvo Trio 1950
Songs by Rodgers and Hart
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- Listen for
- Vibraphone, guitar and bass only. Listen to which instrument plays the tune and which one fills in the chords.
- Try this
- Play only the root of each bridge chord on bass or with the left hand: B♭, A♭ D♭, G♭, E A, D, A♭ D♭, G♭, G C.
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Step 4 · Hear one pianist play it all Now playing
Art Tatum 1953
“Have You Met Miss Jones?”, The Genius of Art Tatum
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- Listen for
- Piano alone, with no bass or drums. The bridge in the middle moves through three keys, so listen for the harmony changing there.
- Try this
- Play the A section chords once through at a slow tempo: Fmaj7, F♯°7, Gm7, C7, Am7, Dm7, Gm7, C7.
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Step 5 · Follow a horn through the form Now playing
Stan Getz Quintet 1953
The Artistry of Stan Getz
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- Tenor saxophone and valve trombone with piano, bass and drums, at a medium swing tempo. Count the eight-bar bridge in the middle.
- Try this
- Play the bridge chords one bar each at a medium tempo: B♭maj7, A♭m7 D♭7, G♭maj7, Em7 A7, Dmaj7, A♭m7 D♭7, G♭maj7, Gm7 C7. Soloing over them is the harder version; the smaller version is to play only the root of each chord.
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Step 6 · Hear a trio keep the form Now playing
The Oscar Peterson Trio 1964
“Have You Met Miss Jones?”, We Get Requests
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- Listen for
- Piano, bass and drums only. Follow Ray Brown's bass through the eight-bar bridge, where the chords move through three keys.
- Try this
- Play the bridge changes one bar each at a slow tempo: B♭maj7, A♭m7 D♭7, G♭maj7, Em7 A7, Dmaj7, A♭m7 D♭7, G♭maj7, Gm7 C7.
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Step 7 · Hear the whole form on one guitar Now playing
Joe Pass 1973
“Have You Met Miss Jones?”, Virtuoso
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- Listen for
- One guitar and no other players, so every chord change in the bridge comes from the guitar alone.
- Try this
- Play the A section chords on guitar or keyboard, one chord per bar: Fmaj7, F♯°7, Gm7, C7, Am7, Dm7, Gm7, C7. Try each chord in a second position.
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Step 8 · Hear a post-bop trio take it on Now playing
McCoy Tyner Trio 1962
Reaching Fourth
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- A piano trio with Henry Grimes on bass and Roy Haynes on drums. Listen to the bass and drums as the piano moves through the three keys of the bridge.
- Try this
- Play the bridge's three ii–V–I cadences one at a time: Cm7 F7 B♭maj7, then A♭m7 D♭7 G♭maj7, then Em7 A7 Dmaj7. Chain them only after each one is steady.
More great versions
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Tal Farlow 1954
“Have You Met Miss Jones?”, The Artistry of Tal Farlow
Tal Farlow's quartet with Gerry Wiggins, Ray Brown and Chico Hamilton recorded it in Los Angeles in November 1954, produced by Norman Granz.
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The Oscar Peterson Trio 1955
“Have You Met Miss Jones? (Live)”, The Oscar Peterson Trio at Zardi's
A live set from Zardi's in Hollywood in November 1955, with Herb Ellis on guitar and Ray Brown on bass in place of a drummer.
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Herb Ellis Septet 1956
Ellis in Wonderland
Herb Ellis led this Los Angeles session in January 1956 with Harry Edison, Jimmy Giuffre and Oscar Peterson.
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The Art Tatum - Ben Webster Quartet 1956
“Have You Met Miss Jones?”, The Art Tatum - Ben Webster Quartet
Art Tatum and Ben Webster recorded it in Los Angeles on September 11, 1956, among Tatum's last recordings.
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Tony Bennett with the Stan Getz Quartet 1964
Singin' Till the Girls Come Home
Tony Bennett sings it with a Stan Getz quartet of Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Elvin Jones, recorded in New York on October 15, 1964 and first released in 1983.
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Steve Davis with Hank Jones 2009
Eloquence
Trombonist Steve Davis plays it with pianist Hank Jones, bassist Nat Reeves, drummer Joe Farnsworth and vibraphonist Steve Nelson on the 2009 album Eloquence.