Cole Porter, music and lyrics · Introduced in the revue Wake Up and Dream, London, 1929
What Is This Thing Called Love
A 1929 Cole Porter song from a London revue, in 32 bars that move between major and minor. One of Porter's most-played songs, and the changes behind Tadd Dameron's bebop tune Hot House. It is usually played fast, as on the 1956 Clifford Brown and Max Roach recording with Sonny Rollins.
▶ Plays the whole path in order, one recording after another.
- 1 Learn the song Billie Holiday✓
- 2 Hear the song in 1930 James P. Johnson✓
- 3 Hear it fast Clifford Brown and Max Roach Quintet✓
- 4 Hear a piano trio Bill Evans Trio✓
- 5 Hear a contrafact Dizzy Gillespie✓
- 6 Hear a long jam-session version Art Tatum, Lionel Hampton and Buddy Rich✓
- 7 Hear it on guitars Jimmy Raney Quartet featuring Doug Raney✓
- 8 Hear a modern trio Keith Jarrett Trio✓
How the tune works
Four eight-bar sections, A, A, B, A. Each A starts with a ii–V in F minor (G half-diminished, C7♭9) that lands on Fm6 for bars 3 and 4. Bars 5 and 6 are a ii–V in C (D half-diminished, G7♯5), and bars 7 and 8 land on Cmaj7, a major chord where a minor one might be expected. The bridge opens in B♭ with Cm7, F7 and B♭maj7 for bars 17 to 20, moves to A♭7 for bars 21 and 22, then returns to C with D half-diminished and G7 in bars 23 and 24.
Read each line as four bars. A key tag marks the first bar where a new key area arrives. The A section plays twice, then the bridge, then A once more. Where lead sheets write a chord for two bars with a repeat sign, the chord is written out for each bar here.
Source is the chord chart for the tune on Jazz Standard Repertoire, written in C and marked up-tempo swing. It matches the harmonic notes on JazzStandards.com by K. J. McElrath, who reads each A section as tonic, minor subdominant, dominant, tonic, and says the bridge begins in B♭ (set up by F7) and then drops to A♭ and G7. The JazzGuitarLessons tune page describes bars 5 to 7 as D half-diminished to altered G7 resolving to a C major chord where C minor might be expected, which is what the chart shows. Spelling: the chart writes the opening chord as G half-diminished 7 (Gm7♭5) and the dominant in bar 6 as G7♯5; players also play G7alt there. This is the usual changes in C, not a transcription of any one recording, and recordings change chords here and there. Hot House uses the same changes.
Source: Jazz Standard Repertoire: What Is This Thing Called Love? chord chart (David Miller)
Listen in this order
Play all 8 on YouTube ↗The path starts with a voice and the 1930 piano version with its verse, then hears the tune played fast in 1956 and as a piano trio in 1959. Hot House shows the same changes under a new bebop melody. The last three steps add Art Tatum's trio, two guitars and a modern live trio.
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Step 1 · Learn the song Now playing
Billie Holiday (with Bob Haggart and His Orchestra) 1945
78 rpm single on Decca, reissued on The Decca Singles, Vol. 1: 1945-1949
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- Listen for
- One singer, a small band and a strings sextet. Follow her through a 32-bar chorus and hear the eight-bar sections go A, A, B, A.
- Try this
- Hum the melody with the record. If you play chords, play the A section from the chart on this page one chord per bar, or just the root of each chord.
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Step 2 · Hear the song in 1930 Now playing
James P. Johnson 1930
“What Is This Thing Called Love?”, 78 rpm single, with Crying for the Carolines
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- One pianist at a medium tempo. Listen for the verse, which players seldom include, and for the stride style Johnson was known for.
- Try this
- Play the melody with your right hand and one chord root per bar with your left, using the chart on this page at a slow tempo. A smaller version is to play only the roots of the first eight bars.
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Step 3 · Hear it fast Now playing
Clifford Brown and Max Roach Quintet (with Sonny Rollins) 1956
Clifford Brown and Max Roach at Basin Street
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- A trumpet and a tenor saxophone lead a piano, bass and drums rhythm section at a fast tempo. Count each 32-bar chorus in four-bar groups and listen for the bridge, where the harmony leaves the home key.
- Try this
- Play the eight-bar A section from the chart slowly, one chord per bar, then count four-bar groups along with the record until you hear the bridge arrive. Playing the changes at this tempo is hard, so treat the slow chord version as the real exercise.
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Step 4 · Hear a piano trio Now playing
Bill Evans Trio 1959
“What Is This Thing Called Love?”, Portrait in Jazz
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- Listen for
- In the head, Evans decorates the melody in the A sections and plays a plainer bridge. When his solo starts, the drums drop out and the bass plays broken time, mixing whole notes, half notes and walking quarter notes.
- Try this
- Play the bridge chords from the chart (bars 17 to 24) slowly, then the A section chords, and hum the melody over both. A smaller version is to play only the first chord of each bar.
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Step 5 · Hear a contrafact Now playing
Dizzy Gillespie and His All Stars (with Charlie Parker) 1945
“Hot House”, 78 rpm single, with Salt Peanuts
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- Listen for
- A trumpet and an alto saxophone play a new melody over the same chord changes as the Porter tune. Follow the chart on this page while you listen. The chords match, and only the tune is new.
- Try this
- Play the eight-bar A section from the chart, one chord per bar, while the record plays. No soloing is needed. The aim is to hear the same changes under a different melody.
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Step 6 · Hear a long jam-session version Now playing
Art Tatum, Lionel Hampton and Buddy Rich 1955
“What Is This Thing Called Love?”, The Lionel Hampton / Art Tatum / Buddy Rich Trio
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- Piano, vibraphone and drums, with no bass player. Listen for which instrument sounds the low notes under the others, and count 32-bar choruses over the seven minutes.
- Try this
- Play the chart's A section slowly, one chord per bar, and keep counting 32 bars for as long as the record plays. Following the whole track this way is a stamina exercise, so stop after two choruses if needed.
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Step 7 · Hear it on guitars Now playing
Jimmy Raney Quartet featuring Doug Raney 1981
“What Is This Thing Called Love?”, Raney '81
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- Listen for
- Two guitars, bass and drums in a light, swinging style. Try to tell the two guitars apart and follow how they interact through the form.
- Try this
- Play the chart's A section on guitar or piano at a slow tempo, one chord per bar. A smaller version is to play only the first four bars, which are a ii–V into F minor.
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Step 8 · Hear a modern trio Now playing
Keith Jarrett Trio 1999
“What Is This Thing Called Love? (Live)”, Whisper Not
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- Listen for
- Piano, bass and drums playing live. Keep counting 32-bar choruses and see how many you can follow before the track ends.
- Try this
- Play the chart's A section slowly with the record's first minute in your ear, one chord per bar. Following twelve minutes of improvisation is a listening exercise, so stop after a few choruses if you lose the form.
More great versions
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Leo Reisman and His Orchestra (Lew Conrad, vocal) 1930
78 rpm single on Victor
Leo Reisman's orchestra was the first act to put the song on the pop charts, where it reached number five in 1930.
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The Quintet (Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, Charles Mingus, Max Roach) 1953
“Hot House (Live)”, Jazz at Massey Hall, Vol. 3
The Dameron melody on the Porter changes again, played live in Toronto by the same two leaders who made it famous in 1945.
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Frank Sinatra (arranged and conducted by Nelson Riddle) 1955
“What Is This Thing Called Love?”, In the Wee Small Hours
Frank Sinatra sings it on In the Wee Small Hours with Nelson Riddle's arrangement.
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Ella Fitzgerald (Buddy Bregman Orchestra) 1956
“What Is This Thing Called Love?”, Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Song Book
Ella Fitzgerald sings it with Buddy Bregman's orchestra on the first of her Song Book albums, issued in May 1956.
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John Coltrane 1959
“Fifth House”, Coltrane Jazz
Coltrane's Fifth House is a tune built on the Hot House changes, which are the changes of the Porter song.
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Lee Konitz, Brad Mehldau and Charlie Haden 1996
“What Is This Thing Called Love?”, Alone Together
An alto saxophone, piano and bass trio plays it live with no drums, for over eleven minutes.