Erroll Garner, music · Johnny Burke, lyrics · First recorded by the Erroll Garner Trio, Chicago, July 27, 1954
Misty
Erroll Garner wrote Misty as a piano ballad in 1954, and Johnny Burke later added words. Players like its wide-ranging melody and its quickly changing chords, a common base for improvising. You hear it on Johnny Mathis's 1959 hit and in the 1971 film Play Misty for Me.
▶ Plays the whole path in order, one recording after another.
- 1 Learn the song Erroll Garner Trio✓
- 2 Hear it sung Sarah Vaughan✓
- 3 Hear Garner live Erroll Garner✓
- 4 Hear a live singer's version Ella Fitzgerald✓
- 5 Hear a saxophone lead Dexter Gordon Quartet✓
- 6 Hear it on guitar Wes Montgomery with the Wynton Kelly Trio✓
- 7 Hear a piano trio stretch out Oscar Peterson Trio✓
- 8 Hear it on organ Richard "Groove" Holmes✓
How the tune works
Misty runs 32 bars in four eight-bar sections: A, A, B, A. Each A opens on E♭maj7, then moves briefly toward A♭ in bars 2 and 3 with B♭m7, E♭7 and A♭maj7. Bar 4 plays A♭m7 and D♭7, a backdoor ii-V that returns to E♭ without landing on G♭. Bars 5 and 6 run E♭maj7, Cm7, Fm7 and B♭7. The first A ends with a turnaround through Gm7, C7, Fm7 and B♭7, and the second and last A end on a held E♭6. The bridge spends four bars in A♭ with a ii-V-I, then leans toward G with Am7 and D7. A minor ii-V in F minor and a ii-V in E♭ lead back to the last A.
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 a short pickup before bar 1.
Source: a jazz guitar lesson that prints the Real Book changes (edition not named) for Misty in E♭, 32 bars. Bars 9 to 14 and 25 to 30 repeat bars 1 to 6, and the last two bars of the second and third A are E♭6, as the lesson's second ending. The lesson also writes a B♭13 pickup before bar 1, left out here. The lesson prints bar 22 as D7 F7; this chart follows JazzStandards.com, which reads Am7 and D7 as leading to C minor, and Learn Jazz Standards says the second half of the bridge can be played several ways, so bars 21 to 24 vary between editions. Jazz Guitar Be notes that some chords written as minor 7 are often played as dominant 7 chords. The first ending (bars 7 and 8) is a iii-VI7-ii-V turnaround, and only the first A has it.
Listen in this order
Play all 8 on YouTube ↗The first steps are short: Garner's 1954 trio record, Sarah Vaughan with an orchestra, a Garner concert from 1959 and Ella Fitzgerald live. The last four steps run from six to just over eight minutes: a tenor saxophone quartet, guitar with a piano trio, a live piano trio and an organ trio.
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Step 1 · Learn the song Now playing
Erroll Garner Trio 1954
“Misty (Instrumental)”, Contrasts
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- Listen for
- Piano, bass and drums only, in under three minutes. JazzStandards.com describes Garner's version as showing his lush and unique approach to ballads.
- Try this
- Play bars 1 to 8 of the chart in E♭, with the chords: E♭maj7, B♭m7 E♭7, A♭maj7, A♭m7 D♭7, E♭maj7 Cm7, Fm7 B♭7, Gm7 C7, Fm7 B♭7. The key of this record is not documented here, so check its pitch before playing along.
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Step 2 · Hear it sung Now playing
Sarah Vaughan (with Quincy Jones and His Orchestra) 1958
Vaughan and Violins
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- Listen for
- A voice with an orchestra conducted by Quincy Jones, in about three minutes.
- Try this
- Play bars 1 to 4 of the chart as a loop (E♭maj7, B♭m7 E♭7, A♭maj7, A♭m7 D♭7) and hum the tune over it. If you do not know the tune yet, play along with the record until you can follow the four-bar shape.
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Step 3 · Hear Garner live Now playing
Erroll Garner 1959
“Misty (Live)”, Symphony Hall Concert
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- Piano, bass and drums again, now in front of an audience, in about 4:20.
- Try this
- Play bars 9 to 16 of the chart. They match bars 1 to 8 except the last two bars, which stay on E♭6 instead of the turnaround.
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Step 4 · Hear a live singer's version Now playing
Ella Fitzgerald (with the Paul Smith Quartet) 1960
“Misty (Live at Deutschlandhalle, Berlin, 1960)”, Ella in Berlin: Mack the Knife
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- A live vocal with only piano, bass and drums behind it. The track runs 2:38.
- Try this
- Play the bridge, bars 17 to 24 of the chart: B♭m7, E♭7, A♭maj7, A♭maj7, then Am7, D7 F7, Gm7♭5 C7♭9, Fm7 B♭7. Go slowly and play each chord twice. A smaller version: play only the first four bars.
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Step 5 · Hear a saxophone lead Now playing
Dexter Gordon Quartet 1975
Stable Mable
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- A saxophone-led quartet with piano, bass and drums, running 8:18.
- Try this
- Play the eight-bar A section of the chart as a loop, one chord per bar or two where the chart shows two. A smaller version: play only the root of each chord. A harder version that needs improvising: hold the third of each chord for its bar.
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Step 6 · Hear it on guitar Now playing
Wes Montgomery with the Wynton Kelly Trio 1965
“Misty (Live at the Half Note, 1965)”, The Small Group Recordings
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- Listen for
- A guitar with piano, bass and drums, live, running just under seven minutes.
- Try this
- Play bars 1 to 8 of the chart on guitar or piano at a slow tempo, two chords in a bar where the chart shows two. A smaller version: play only the first chord of each bar.
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Step 7 · Hear a piano trio stretch out Now playing
Oscar Peterson Trio 1965
“Misty (Live at the Tivoli Gardens, May 29th 1965)”, Eloquence
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- Listen for
- Piano, bass and drums in concert, running 6:40.
- Try this
- Play the whole 32-bar chart straight through without stopping, then count how many times the form comes around while the record plays.
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Step 8 · Hear it on organ Now playing
Richard "Groove" Holmes 1965
Soul Message
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- An organ trio of organ, guitar and drums, about six minutes long.
- Try this
- Play the bridge, bars 17 to 24 of the chart, with the chord roots in your left hand or on a bass and the chords above. A smaller version: play only the roots, one per bar, with the record.
More great versions
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Erroll Garner with orchestra (Mitch Miller, conductor) 1956
Other Voices
Garner recorded Misty again with an orchestra conducted by Mitch Miller.
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Count Basie and His Orchestra 1959
Dance Along with Basie
Count Basie's big band recorded Misty in December 1959 for the album Dance Along with Basie.
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Johnny Mathis 1959
Heavenly
Johnny Mathis's recording made Misty a hit, reaching number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1959.
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Aretha Franklin 1965
Yeah!!!
Aretha Franklin sang Misty on her 1965 Columbia album Yeah!!!, with a small group that includes guitarist Kenny Burrell.
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Dexter Gordon Quartet 1967
Both Sides of Midnight
A nine-minute Misty from a July 1967 date at Jazzhus Montmartre in Copenhagen, with Dexter Gordon leading a quartet of Kenny Drew, Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen and Albert Heath.
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Samara Joy 2022
Linger Awhile
Samara Joy recorded Misty for her 2022 Verve album Linger Awhile, made at Sear Sound in New York City.