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Jazz Chord Progressions

Chord progressions are a succession of chords played one after another and during a specified duration. On this page you can find the most popular chord progressions in jazz, provides you a list of songs that use similar chord progressions and the jazz guitarists who recorded these songs.

It's important that you learn to recognize these classic chord progressions and that you practice improvising over them, so fire up Band in a Box, type in the chords and get those fingers going!

1)	IIm7 V7 \| Imaj7
	Dm7 G7 \| Cmaj7

This is without any doubt the most popular chord progression in jazz. I'm not going to give you a list with songs that use this progression, since a jazz standard without a II V I is almost unthinkable. Some jazz standard chord progressions are nothing more then a series of II V's.

2)	Imaj7 VIm7 \| IIm7 V7 \| IIIm7 VI7 \| IIm7 V7
	Cmaj7 Am7 \| Dm7 G7 \| Em7 A7 \| Dm7 G7

This chord progression is the first A of a 'rhythm changes'. 'Rhythm changes' are a kind of chord progression that use the same chord changes as 'I've Got Rhythm', a song written by Gershwin in 1930. People started using this progression to jam on and so many different melodies came into being that use the same chord changes.

A list of standards that use this progression and the guitarists that played them:

	Song Title	Played By
	Moose the Mooche	Pat Metheny
	Shaw Nuff	Barney Kessel
	Cheek to Cheek	George Van Eps
	Mean to Me	Barney Kessel
	Isn't It Romantic	Tal Farlow
	Long Ago and Far Away	Earl Klugh

3)	Imaj7 \| \| (IIm7 \| V7 ) \| Imaj7 \| \| (IIm7 \| V7 )
	Cmaj7 \| \| Cm7 \| F7 \| Bbmaj7 \| \| Bbm7 \| Eb7

This is also a very common jazz chord progression.
There are 2 modulations in this progression. The progressions starts in the key of C major, modulates to Bb major in the 3rd bar and again modulates in the 7th bar, this time to Ab major.

	Song Title	Played By
	How High the Moon	Joe Pass
	Tune Up	Wes Montgomery
	Cherokee	Tal Farlow
	Joy Spring	Joe Pass
	One Note Sambe	Charlie Byrd
	Solar	Pat Metheny

4)	Imaj7 #I°7 \| IIm7 #II°7 \| IIIm7 VI7
	Cmaj7 C#°7 \| Dm7 D#°7 \| Em7 A7

	Song Title	Played By
	Cherokee	Tal Farlow
	Have You Met Miss Jones	Kenny Burrell
	Joy Spring	Joe Pass
	But Beautiful	Lenny Breau
	Ain't Misbehavin'	Django Reinhardt

5)	Imaj7 \| \| II7 \| \| IIm7 \| V7 \| Imaj7 \| \|
	Cmaj7 \| \| D7 \| \| Dm7 \| G7 \| Cmaj7 \| \|

	Song Title	Played By
	Take the 'A' Train	George Benson
	The Girl from Ipanema	Charlie Byrd
	Desafinado	Charlie Byrd
	Mood Indigo	Kenny Burrell

6)	Imaj7 \| (IIm7 V7) \| IVmaj7
	Cmaj7 \| Gm7 C7 \| Fmaj7

	Song Title	Played By
	Satin Doll	Tal Farlow
	Cherokee	Tal Farlow
	Joy Spring	Joe Pass
	Have You Met Miss Jones	Kenny Burrell
	There Will Never Be Another You	George Benson

7)	Imaj7 \| I7 \| IVmaj7\| IVm7\| IIIm7 VI7\| IIm7 V7\|Imaj7\| \|
	Cmaj7 \| C7 \| Fmaj7 \| Fm7 \| Em7 A7 \|Dm7 G7 \| Cmaj7\| \|

	Song Title	Played By
	Moose the Mooche	Pat Metheny
	Shaw Nuff	Barney Kessel
	All of Me	George Benson
	All the Things You Are	Pat Metheny
	There Will Never Be Another You	George Benson

For those of you who want to know more about jazz chord progressions and music theory I strongly recommend The Jazz Theory Book by Mark Levine.

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