Standards · 1941

9.20 Special chords & key

Key: C major
Form: AABA
Bars: 32
Groove: Medium swing
Time signature: 4/4
Year: 1941

“9.20 Special” is a jazz standard by Earl Warren from 1941. It is usually played in C major as a medium swing, and the 32-bar AABA form has 4 sections. In this atlas it appears on 21 album tracks.

Chord changes

to key

Showing in: Concert (C) — C major

D⁹

F^m6

D⁹

F^m6

C⁷B⁷B♭⁷A⁷

D⁹

G⁷A♭⁷G⁷

D⁹

G⁷C⁶

C⁷

F⁶

D⁷

G⁷

D⁹

F^m6

D⁹

F^m6

C⁷B⁷B♭⁷A⁷

D⁹

G⁷C⁶

Changes as commonly played (concert pitch). Your band's version may differ.

Harmonic analysis

0Major ii–V–I

0Minor ii–V–i

0ii–V moves

0Tritone substitutions

7Dominant chains

12Different chords

Most used chords

D⁹×9
F^m6×6
G⁷×6
C⁷×5
C×3
B⁷×3

Characteristics

AABA song form

History

"9:20 Special" is a 1941 jazz standard. It was written by Earle Warren, Jack Palmer and William Engvick.

Read the full article on Wikipedia ↗ · From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Recorded on these albums

1945	One Night Stand Duke Ellington · “9:20 Special”
1956	Oscar Peterson Plays Count Basie Oscar Peterson · “9:20 Special”
1956	This One's for Basie Buddy Rich · “9:20 Special”
1956	The Crew Cuts The Crew Cuts · “9:20 Special”
1981	I Giganti Del Jazz Vol. 26 Harry "The Hipster" Gibson / Benny Carter / Cecil Gant · “9:20 Special”
1988	Plays Basie & Ellington Ray Bryant · “9:20 Special”
1992	Night Rider Count Basie & Oscar Peterson · “9:20 Special”
1993	Plays Count Basie Oscar Peterson · “9:20 Special”
1995	Clark Terry With Peewee Claybrook & Swing Fever Clark Terry With Peewee Claybrook & Swing Fever · “9:20 Special”
1995	Lee Konitz/Bob Brookmeyer in Paris Lee Konitz / Bob Brookmeyer · “9:20 Special”
1996	+ The Big Band - Vol.2 Milt Jackson & Count Basie · “9:20 Special”
1998	The Natural Seven Al Cohn · “9:20 Special”
1999	Hawk's Groove Coleman Hawkins · “9:20 Special”
2000	The Lang-Worth Transcriptions Count Basie · “Nine-Twenty Special”
2001	Svensk jazz Alice Babs, Bengt Hallberg, Putte Wickman & Charlie Norman
2007	Date With Oscar Oscar Peterson · “9: 20 Special”
2007	Une Anthologie 1952/1956 (Plays Basie And Others / Live!) Oscar Peterson
2009	The Swinging Buddy Rich West Coast All-Star Sessions Buddy Rich · “9:20 Special”
2017	The Wright Approach Bill Holman, Dempsey Wright · “9:20 Special”
2019	Selected Sessions (1934-1943) Coleman Hawkins · “9:20 Special”
2023	The Early Albums Collection Jim Hall · “9:20 Special”

Standards with similar changes

Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.

Title	Composer	Key	Form	Groove
He's A Tramp 25%	Lee-Burke	G major	AABA · 32	Medium swing
I Don't Know Enough About You 23%	Peggy Lee	C major	AABA · 32	Medium swing
Moonglow 21%	Hudson-Lange-Mills	G major	AABA · 32	Ballad
52nd Street Theme 20%	Thelonious Monk	C major	AABA · 32	Up-tempo swing

Frequently asked questions

What key is 9.20 Special in?

9.20 Special is usually played in C major. For B♭ instruments that is D major, for E♭ instruments A major.

Who wrote 9.20 Special?

9.20 Special was written by Earl Warren (1941).

What is the form of 9.20 Special?

9.20 Special has 4 sections (AABA) with 32 bars in total.

How fast is 9.20 Special played?

The usual groove is Medium swing.

What are the chord changes to 9.20 Special?

The opening bars are D9 | Fm6 | D9 | Fm6. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.