The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    Anyone comp / sing this old tune? I like it a lot but haven't found a way to play it that satisfies. The Dixieland Real Book has it in Eb, though it seems to be more commonly played in A or G (-at least by guitarists, who give it more folky feel with fingerpicking.)

    A few versions---Nat King Cole's and, much more recently, Willie Nelson's and finally John Pizarelli's.







    I like John's comping best (but his vocal least)

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  3. #2

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    Hi Mark,
    Happy New Year ! Here's a restrained Joe Pass from , "Unforgettable" with a version in "C".

  4. #3

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    Quote Originally Posted by gtrplrfla
    Hi Mark,
    Happy New Year ! Here's a restrained Joe Pass from , "Unforgettable" with a version in "C".
    Neat! Thanks. I'd never heard that.

  5. #4

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    Dang. Someone beat me to it. I think unforgettable was acutally the first pass album I bought and to me, Walkin' my Baby Back Home was one of the hipper-hot tracks on the album. I like his pentatonic lick on the way out of the tune. So slick...

  6. #5
    I might carry some nationalistic bias, but to me the best version is the swedish translation as sung by Monica Zetterlund. If I would ever get around to do it, I would do something like it, letting the walking bass drive the song, and adding some synchopation with the harmony. Really love this song.

  7. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by Northenlights
    I might carry some nationalistic bias, but to me the best version is the swedish translation as sung by Monica Zetterlund. If I would ever get around to do it, I would do something like it, letting the walking bass drive the song, and adding some synchopation with the harmony. Really love this song.
    Very nice! I enjoyed that. Yes, I think a walking bass line should drive the song.

  8. #7

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    Ed Bickert and Don Thompson do it on the duo LP they made, "Alone Together".
    I think they use the I ii iii ii (two beats a piece) progression for the first part.

    That's how I used to play it on gigs, anyway.
    I agree about JP's vocals- they make want to puke.

  9. #8

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    Thanks for the nudge, Mark. I've been meaning to post this for a while.

    A few weeks ago my girlfriend and I were driving into town, listening to a 40s channel on satellite radio. I was enjoying this tune in a non-committed manner until a minute-thirty seconds in when I recognized George Van Eps playing a solo using a plectrum and employing all those gorgeous devices he brings to the fingerboard. Wonderful stuff.




    I'll cross-post this in one of the Van Eps threads.

    Enjoy,
    Jerome
    Last edited by monk; 01-05-2016 at 08:17 PM.

  10. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by sgcim
    Ed Bickert and Don Thompson do it on the duo LP they made, "Alone Together".
    I think they use the I ii iii ii (two beats a piece) progression for the first part.




  11. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by sgcim
    Ed Bickert and Don Thompson do it on the duo LP they made, "Alone Together".
    I think they use the I ii iii ii (two beats a piece) progression for the first part.

    That's how I used to play it on gigs, anyway.
    That's how I play it too. I'm not completely satisfied with it though. Probably just need to voice it a bit differently. It's nice to hear so many different versions---glad others enjoy this old tune too.

  12. #11

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    Quote Originally Posted by MarkRhodes
    That's how I play it too. I'm not completely satisfied with it though. Probably just need to voice it a bit differently. It's nice to hear so many different versions---glad others enjoy this old tune too.
    Yea, Bicket is doing the same basic thing, but Don Thompson is going back to the I chord instead of up to the iii.
    All I know is it gives my head a pleasurable tingle when I hear it in my head like that, and that's good enough for me.

  13. #12

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    Mark, here are some variations suggested by a quick listen through the clips above. If we're thinking in A, try | Amaj7 E7#5 | % | for the first two bars in place of the rising & falling I-ii-iii-ii sequence. In bars 3-4, Bickert and Thompson, along with Pizzarelli play I-IV7-iii7b5-VI7: | Amaj7 D9 | C#m7b5 F#7 |. The C#m7b5 is occasionally replaced with its b5 sub, G7 for a stronger chromatic pull to the bass line. That's followed in bar 5 by | Bm7 A#dim7 (F#7b9/A#) | Bm7 E7 | Bm7 E7 | Amaj7 | or something similar to round out the "A" section.

    Jo Stafford's version has the greatest deviation from those basic changes. It has I6 for the first three bars with an alternating bass then goes to II9 for a bar: | A6 A6/E | % | % | B9 B9/F# |. The bass pedals on the V for bars 5-7 before closing out on a straight ii-V-I: | Bm7/E A#dim7/E | Bm7/E E7 | Bm7 E7 | A6 |. The whole first section of this version outlines a reworked "A Train" set of changes. Cool tune!
    Last edited by PMB; 01-06-2016 at 07:15 AM.

  14. #13

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    [QUOTE=PMB;602576]Mark, here are some variations suggested by a quick listen through the clips above....QUOTE]


    Thanks for that! I'll print your post and put it on the music stand for reference when practicing this tune. I see it in A often but I play it in Eb. One version I've seen (in A) starts A A6 / C#m7 F#m / Amaj7 F#m F#7, then Bm7b5 E7 / % / % / A Edim E7..


    Another version by a singing guitarist, James Taylor.


  15. #14

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    I notice that James Taylor, like John Pizarelli, say "or she's reciting a poem." I prefer what I take to be the original lyric, "Or I'm reciting a poem."

  16. #15

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    I’m waking up this zombie thread because I’ve been studying the tune, using Nat King Cole’s version (in Db) as a reference. None of my fake books come close to his version, so I tried to improve on them. So far, I have this:

    It may not be exactly what he plays, but I think it’s pretty close and I think it works well with the melody. I think it’s similar to PMB’s suggestion above. The key of Db actually works pretty well for solo guitar. I’ll probably tweak the chords as I work on it—especially the bridge.
    But my next step will be figuring out what John Knowles is playing here:

    The first difference I notice is the chromatic bass line in bars 3 & 4 (which I’ve transposed to Db for comparison):
    Last edited by KirkP; 12-02-2018 at 02:58 AM.

  17. #16

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    After a bit more work, here’s how I hear John Knowles’ chords, now in his key of A.



    John doesn’t play them all as full chords since Tommy Emmanuel is supplying the melody and some extensions. I’m not sure I have bars 6 & 7 quite right, but I do hear him flatting the 5th of the Bminor in those measures. Any suggestions or observations?
    I’m now working on this as a solo piece, but I’m very sloppy at this point.

  18. #17

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    Quote Originally Posted by KirkP
    I’m waking up this zombie thread because I’ve been studying the tune, using Nat King Cole’s version (in Db) as a reference....
    Glad you woke it up! Those charts look good. Haven't had a chance to play them yet.

    Still love this old tune.

    Here's how Nick Lucas did it.


  19. #18

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    Here’s a very rough solo guitar take in A.

    I changed bar 6 to | Bm7b5 E7 |. I clammed a few notes in the melody, but the idea is there.
    The tune seems hopelessly old fashioned, but maybe that just my lack of imagination. I’ll try to find some more adventurous modern recordings for ideas on jazzing it up.