5 Joe Pass Jazz Guitar Intros

Joe Pass had a remarkable ability to set the mood of a tune within just a few bars. His intros are never flashy or complicated for the sake of it, instead they establish the key, imply the harmony, and lead naturally into the song.

In this lesson, we’ll look at five Joe Pass intros, drawn from recordings with Ella Fitzgerald and his solo work.

Each example highlights a different approach, from chordal movement and extended ii–V progressions to single-note lines and blues language.

Joe Pass recorded four duet albums with Ella Fitzgerald:

• Take Love Easy (1974)
• Fitzgerald and Pass… Again (1976)
• Speak Love (1983)
• Easy Living (1986)

These records are a goldmine for studying jazz guitar comping: subtle voice leading, clear harmonic choices, and impeccable time. Check them out!

 

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Joe Pass Intro 1 – I’ve Got the World on a String

Key: Ab

This intro is taken from the album Fitzgerald and Pass… Again (1976).

Joe Pass opens with a chromatically descending sequence of 13sus4 chords resolving to 13 chords:

Ab13sus4 → Ab13 → G13sus4 → G13 → Gb13sus4 → Gb13 → F13sus4 → F13

The intro concludes with a ii–V in Ab, ending on the tritone substitution of Eb7:

Bbm7 → Eb7 → Ab7♯11

 

 

 

Joe Pass Intro 2 – Ain’t Misbehavin’

Key: Eb

This intro comes from Joe Pass’s album My Song (1993).

He begins with a set of typical jazz guitar voicings that voice-lead from the 13th down to the 5th.

Harmonically, the intro functions as an extended ii–V–I in Eb, with detours to the secondary dominant (V/V = F♯7) and its tritone substitution (B7).

 

 

 

Joe Pass Intro 3 – Once I Loved

Key: F

This intro comes from Take Love Easy (1974), the first of four studio albums Ella Fitzgerald recorded with Joe Pass.

He begins with a single-note line over Em7♭5, outlining a Gm9 sound, before moving through the cycle of fifths using altered dominant chords.

 

 

 

Joe Pass Intro 4 – Joe’s Blues

Key: G

This intro is taken from Joe’s Blues, a blues in G from the album Intercontinental.

In bars 1-3, Joe Pass plays a repeating lick based on the G minor blues scale.

In bars 4-7, he shifts to G Mixolydian, blending the mode with chromatic passing notes.

 

 

 

Joe Pass Intro 5 – Why Don’t You Do Right?

Key: B minor

This intro comes from Why Don’t You Do Right?, a song from 1936 commonly credited to Kansas Joe McCoy. The recording appears on Easy Living (1986), the fourth and final duet album by Ella Fitzgerald and Joe Pass.

Joe Pass opens with a Bm9 arpeggio in bar 1.

In bars 2 and 4, he targets the V chord (F#7), each time preceded by its tritone substitution (G7).

 

 

 

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