Standards

Blue And Sentimental chords & key

Key: E♭ major
Form: ABC
Bars: 18
Groove: Ballad
Time signature: 4/4

“Blue And Sentimental” is a jazz standard by Livingstone-David-Basie. Most bands play it in E♭ major, ballad; the tune runs 18 bars in ABC form. Harmonically it contains 3 major ii–V–I cadences and 1 minor ii–V–i, uses 18 different chords and moves between the key centres E♭ major, F minor and A♭ major. In this atlas it appears on 4 album tracks.

Chord changes

to key

Showing in: Concert (C) — E♭ major

E♭D♭⁷C⁹G♭⁹

F⁹B♭¹³

G^m7C⁷F^m7B♭⁷

E♭D♭⁷C⁹G♭⁹

F⁹B♭¹³

E♭⁹B♭^m7E♭⁹

A♭⁶A^dim7

E♭⁶_/B♭B♭⁷E♭⁹

A♭⁶A^dim7

E♭⁶_/B♭C⁷F^m7B♭⁷

E♭D♭⁷C⁹G♭⁹

F⁹B♭¹³

E♭⁹D⁹D♭⁹C⁹

F⁹B♭¹³

E♭⁶F^m7B♭⁷

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

Harmonic analysis

3Major ii–V–I

1Minor ii–V–i

5ii–V moves

0Tritone substitutions

11Dominant chains

18Different chords

Most used chords

F⁹×7
B♭¹³×7
C⁹×4
B♭⁷×4
E♭⁹×4
E♭×3

Key centres reached by ii–V

E♭ major, F minor and A♭ major

Recorded on these albums

1952	Dizzy, Volume I Dizzy Gillespie · “Blue and Sentimental”
1956	Oscar Peterson Plays Count Basie Oscar Peterson
1957	Dizzy at Home and Abroad Dizzy Gillespie · “Blue and Sentimental”
1983	Speak Love Ella Fitzgerald / Joe Pass · “Blue and Sentimental”

Historic 78 rpm recordings

Blue and Sentimental Don Byas All Star Quartet · Johny Guarnieri · David · Basie ·… · 1945 archive.org ↗
BLUE AND SENTIMENTAL Don Byas All Star Quintet · Johnny Guarnieri · David · Basie ·… · 1945 archive.org ↗
BLUE AND SENTIMENTAL ERROLL GARNER · MacDavid · Basie · Livingston · 1949 archive.org ↗

Standards with similar changes

Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.

Title	Composer	Key	Form	Groove
All Too Soon 28%	Duke Ellington	C major	AABA · 32	Ballad
Cheetah 26%	Kenny Burrell	B♭ major	AABA · 32	Up-tempo swing
I Ain't Got Nobody 26%	Graham-Williams	G major	AABA · 32	Slow swing
Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home 25%	Hughie Cannon	G major	ABAC · 32	Medium-up swing
Dancing On The Ceiling 24%	Richard Rodgers	F major	AABA · 32	Ballad
Rosetta 24%	Earl Hines	F major	AABA · 32	Medium-up swing
Old Cape Cod 23%	Rothrock-Vakus-Jeffrey	E♭ major	AABA · 32	Ballad
I Don't Know Enough About You 22%	Peggy Lee	C major	AABA · 32	Medium swing

Frequently asked questions

What key is Blue And Sentimental in?

Blue And Sentimental is usually played in E♭ major. For B♭ instruments that is F major, for E♭ instruments C major.

Who wrote Blue And Sentimental?

Blue And Sentimental was written by Livingstone-David-Basie.

What is the form of Blue And Sentimental?

Blue And Sentimental has 3 sections (ABC) with 18 bars in total.

How fast is Blue And Sentimental played?

The usual groove is Ballad.

What are the chord changes to Blue And Sentimental?

The opening bars are Eb Db7 C9 Gb9 | F9 Bb13 | F9 Bb13 | Gm7 C7 Fm7 Bb7. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.