ENDEIT

Standards · 1927

Creole Love Call chords & key

Duke Ellington

Key
B♭ major
Form
AABB
Bars
46
Groove
Medium swing
Time signature
4/4
Year
1927

“Creole Love Call” is a jazz standard by Duke Ellington from 1927. It is usually played in B♭ major as a medium swing, and the 46-bar AABB form has 4 sections. Harmonically it contains 2 major ii–V–I cadences, uses 9 different chords. In this atlas it appears on 7 album tracks.

Chord changes

Showing in: Concert (C) — B♭ major

A
×2
B♭maj7
B♭maj7
B♭7
E♭maj7
E♭maj7
E♭maj7
B♭maj7
F7
Cm7F7
B♭6E♭maj7
B♭6
B
×2
B♭7
F7
B♭7
B♭7
E♭7
E♭7Edim7
B♭7
G7
Cm7
F7
B♭7
B♭7

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

Harmonic analysis

2Major ii–V–I
0Minor ii–V–i
4ii–V moves
0Tritone substitutions
6Dominant chains
9Different chords

Most used chords

  • B♭7×14
  • E♭maj7×8
  • F7×8
  • B♭maj7×6
  • Cm7×4
  • B♭6×4

History

"Creole Love Call" is a 1927 jazz standard by Duke Ellington, Bubber Miley and Rudy Jackson. The song is associated with vocalist Adelaide Hall. The song entered the Billboard USA song charts in 1928 at No. 19. In 1988, during a radio interview with the journalist and radio host Max Jones, Hall explained how she came up with the counter-melody in "Creole Love Call". An excerpt from the interview can be heard in the British Library article (published 17 December 2020) on the British Library blog titled Oral History of Jazz in Britain.

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

Recorded on these albums

1999 A Tone Parallel to Harlem
Duke Ellington; Claude Bolling Big Band · “Créole Love Call”
2002 Jazz Caravan
Duke Ellington
2003 The Blues I Love To Sing
Duke Ellington · “Creole Love Call (Vocal: Adelaide Hall)”
2005 Rockin' in Rhythm
Duke Ellington
2008 Columbia Jazz Profiles
Duke Ellington
2014 The Duke: Historically Speaking
Duke Ellington
2023 Ellington In Order, Volume 4 (1932)
Duke Ellington · “Creole Love Call (Take B)”

Standards with similar changes

Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.

TitleComposerKeyFormGroove
Rhythm-a-ning 31% Thelonious Monk B♭ major AABA · 32 Medium-up swing
Down By The Riverside 23% Traditional F major AB · 32 Medium swing
Better Git It In Your Soul 22% Charles Mingus F major AABA · 38 Up-tempo swing
You Better Leave It Alone 22% Clifford Jordan B♭ major AA · 32 Medium-up swing
Across The Alley From The Alamo 21% Joe Greene F major AABA · 32 Medium swing
Alexander's Ragtime Band 21% Irving Berlin F major ABAC · 32 Medium swing
One Foot In The Gutter 21% Clark Terry F major AABA · 32 Medium swing
Barbados 20% Charlie Parker F major A · 12 Latin

Frequently asked questions

What key is Creole Love Call in?

Creole Love Call is usually played in B♭ major. For B♭ instruments that is C major, for E♭ instruments G major.

Who wrote Creole Love Call?

Creole Love Call was written by Duke Ellington (1927).

What is the form of Creole Love Call?

Creole Love Call has 4 sections (AABB) with 46 bars in total.

How fast is Creole Love Call played?

The usual groove is Medium swing.

What are the chord changes to Creole Love Call?

The opening bars are Bbmaj7 | Bbmaj7 | Bb7 | Ebmaj7. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.