Billy Strayhorn, music · Joya Sherrill, lyrics for the Ellington band (1944) · Introduced by Duke Ellington's orchestra, 1941
Take the "A" Train
Take the "A" Train is a 32-bar tune in C that Billy Strayhorn wrote in 1939. Players like its plain chords and the bright D7♭5 in bar 3. Duke Ellington's band used it as its signature tune, and many singers and small groups have played it since.
▶ Plays the whole path in order, one recording after another.
- 1 Learn the song Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra✓
- 2 Hear a singer take the tune Ella Fitzgerald with Duke Ellington✓
- 3 Hear the band stretch out Duke Ellington✓
- 4 Hear a small group Oscar Peterson Trio✓
- 5 Hear a hard-bop quintet Clifford Brown and Max Roach Quintet✓
- 6 Hear guitar and vibraphone Milt Jackson Quartet✓
- 7 Hear a live quartet The Dave Brubeck Quartet✓
- 8 Hear a newer reading Joe Henderson✓
How the tune works
The tune runs 32 bars as A, A, bridge, A. Each A section holds Cmaj7 for two bars, then D7♭5 for two, then moves through Dm7 and G7 back to C. The bridge opens on Fmaj7 for four bars, touches D7 for two, and returns to C with Dm7 and G7 for the last A. Ellington's 1941 record adds a four-bar piano introduction and moves up to E♭ partway through.
The changes in C, 32 bars in four eight-bar sections (A, A, bridge, A), four bars to a line. Each A holds Cmaj7 for two bars and D7♭5 for two, then runs Dm7, G7 and back to C.
Taken from one online lead sheet (melody left out), marked Swing. Its bridge of Fmaj7 for four bars, D7 for two, then Dm7 and G7 agrees with a second chart at Jazz-Circle. The D7♭5 in bars 3 and 4 of each A agrees with the JazzStandards.com analysis, which also places temporary shifts to F and D in the bridge. Bar 8 varies: Jazz-Library writes G7 before the repeat and C7 before the bridge, while Jazz-Circle holds Cmaj7 in bars 7 and 8 of every A. Jazz-Circle and Anton Schwartz also write a plain D7 where Jazz-Library writes D7♭5. This chart has not been checked against the 1941 record, which adds a four-bar piano introduction and a key change, so compare it with the recording and with the chart you play from.
Source: Jazz-Library: Take the "A" Train lead sheet and chord changes
Listen in this order
Play all 8 on YouTube ↗You hear Ellington's 1941 record first, then Ella Fitzgerald with his band, a long studio version with Betty Roché, a piano trio, a hard-bop quintet, vibraphone and guitar, a live Brubeck quartet and a 1991 tenor quintet. Each step gives you one thing to listen for and one thing to try.
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Step 1 · Learn the song Now playing
Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra 1941
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- Ellington plays a four-bar piano introduction, then the saxophones state the tune. Ray Nance plays two trumpet choruses, first with a mute and then open, and the band moves to a higher key between them.
- Try this
- Play the chords of one A section from the chart on this page, one chord per bar, at a slow tempo. When you reach the D7♭5 in bar 3, hold it for two bars.
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Step 2 · Hear a singer take the tune Now playing
Ella Fitzgerald with Duke Ellington and His Orchestra 1957
Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Song Book
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- Ella Fitzgerald sings with Ellington's orchestra, and Ellington plays piano. Count the 32-bar choruses as the track goes by.
- Try this
- Play along with the first chorus using the chart on this page: A, A, bridge, A. Mark where the bridge starts, then find the same spot in the next chorus.
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Step 3 · Hear the band stretch out Now playing
Duke Ellington and His Orchestra 1952
“Take the 'A' Train”, Ellington Uptown
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- Betty Roché sings with the band, and the track runs about eight minutes. Count the 32-bar choruses and note how many times the form comes around.
- Try this
- Play the bridge from the chart on this page: Fmaj7 for four bars, D7 for two, then Dm7 and G7. Then play the whole 32-bar form once as A, A, bridge, A.
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Step 4 · Hear a small group Now playing
Oscar Peterson Trio 1952
Oscar Peterson Plays Duke Ellington
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- This trio has piano, guitar and bass and no drums. Listen for who keeps the time, and for how each chorus begins and ends.
- Try this
- Play the A section chords from the chart on this page along with the record, using one bass note and one chord for each bar.
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Step 5 · Hear a hard-bop quintet Now playing
Clifford Brown and Max Roach Quintet 1955
Study in Brown
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- Trumpet and tenor saxophone play over piano, bass and drums, and Max Roach is the drummer. The track runs about four minutes.
- Try this
- Soloing over these changes takes more practice. A smaller version: play only the root of each chord from the chart on this page, one note per bar, along with the record.
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Step 6 · Hear guitar and vibraphone Now playing
Milt Jackson Quartet 1980
Quadrant Toasts Duke Ellington "All Too Soon"
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- Vibraphone and guitar share the front of the sound. Listen for which of the two plays the tune at the start and which plays the chords behind it.
- Try this
- Play the A section chords from the chart on guitar or keyboard along with the record. If the tempo is too quick, play only the first four bars of each A section, then rest.
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Step 7 · Hear a live quartet Now playing
The Dave Brubeck Quartet 1967
Their Last Time Out: The Unreleased Live Concert, December 26, 1967
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- The quartet is alto saxophone, piano, bass and drums. Listen to what the saxophone does over bar 3 of each A section, where the chord is D7♭5.
- Try this
- Play the A section from the chart on this page once through. Then play it again and hold the D7♭5 for both of its bars while the record plays.
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Step 8 · Hear a newer reading Now playing
Joe Henderson 1991
Lush Life: The Music of Billy Strayhorn
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- A quintet with tenor saxophone, trumpet, piano, bass and drums plays for just over seven minutes. Count the choruses as they pass.
- Try this
- Play the bridge from the chart on this page, then play only the chord roots along with the record through one full chorus.
More great versions
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Anita O'Day with Marty Paich and His Orchestra 1958
“Take the 'A' Train”, Anita O'Day Sings the Winners
Anita O'Day sings the tune with an orchestra led by Marty Paich, on her 1958 Verve album Sings the Winners.
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Oscar Peterson Trio 1959
Oscar Peterson Plays the Duke Ellington Song Book
Peterson returned to the tune in 1959 with Ray Brown on bass and Ed Thigpen on drums.
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Charles Mingus 1960
Pre-Bird
Mingus's nonet plays Strayhorn's tune at the same time as Exactly Like You, one in each stereo channel.
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Duke Ellington and Count Basie 1961
First Time! The Count Meets the Duke
Ellington and Basie share the credit on this track from the album that put their two orchestras in one studio on July 6, 1961.
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Ella Fitzgerald 1961
“Take the "A" Train (Live at the Crescendo, 1961)”, Ella in Hollywood
Ella Fitzgerald scats on this live version with a quartet of piano, guitar, bass and drums.
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Michel Petrucciani 1993
Promenade with Duke
Petrucciani plays the tune alone at the piano on his 1993 Blue Note album of Ellington pieces.