Standards

Limehouse Blues chords & key

Key: A♭ major
Form: AB
Bars: 32
Groove: Up-tempo swing
Time signature: 4/4

“Limehouse Blues” is a jazz standard by Braham-Furber. Most bands play it in A♭ major, up-tempo swing; the tune runs 32 bars in AB form. Harmonically it contains 1 major ii–V–I cadence, uses 12 different chords. In this atlas it appears on 8 album tracks and in 2 transcribed solos.

Chord changes

to key

Showing in: Concert (C) — A♭ major

D♭⁷

B♭⁷

A♭⁶

C⁷

F^m7

B♭⁷

B♭^m7

E♭⁷D⁷

D♭⁷

B♭⁷

A♭⁶

F⁷

B♭^m7

D♭^m6

A♭⁶_/CB^dim7

B♭^m7E♭⁷

A♭⁶

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

Harmonic analysis

1Major ii–V–I

0Minor ii–V–i

3ii–V moves

0Tritone substitutions

0Dominant chains

12Different chords

Most used chords

B♭⁷×10
D♭⁷×8
A♭⁶×5
B♭^m7×3
E♭⁷×2
C⁷×1

Recorded on these albums

1960	Louie and the Dukes of Dixieland Louis Armstrong & The Dukes of Dixieland
1964	The Many Moods of Tony Tony Bennett
1966	Soul Mates Dizzy Gillespie & Roy Eldridge
1978	Tea for Two Yehudi Menuhin & Stéphane Grappelli
1983	Two of the Few Oscar Peterson & Milt Jackson
1988	Menuhin and Grappelli Play “Jealousy” and Other Great Standards Yehudi Menuhin & Stéphane Grappelli
1996	How High the Moon Ella Fitzgerald
2004	Limehouse Blues Louis Armstrong & The Dukes of Dixieland

Transcribed solos on Limehouse Blues

Charlie Shavers trumpet	269 BPM	Ab-maj	1941-09-13
Sidney Bechet soprano saxophone	274 BPM	Ab-maj	1941-09-13

Historic 78 rpm recordings

Limehouse Blues Kai Ewans and his Swinging 16 · Kai Ewans · Erik Parker · Tage… archive.org ↗
LIMEHOUSE BLUES RAY BLOCH and his Orchestra · Braham · Furber · 1945 archive.org ↗
Limehouse Blues Bob Wilber and his Jazz Band · Furber · Braham · Henry Goodwin · Bob… · 1949 archive.org ↗
LIMEHOUSE BLUES BOB WILBER AND HIS JAZZ BAND · Henry Goodwin · Bob Wilber · Jimmy… · 1949 archive.org ↗
LIMEHOUSE BLUES CHU BERRY & HIS ORCHESTRA · Chu Berry · B. Bailey · O. Page · G… · 1949 archive.org ↗

Standards with similar changes

Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.

Title	Composer	Key	Form	Groove
Hungaria 29%	Django Reinhardt	G major	ABAC · 32	Medium-up swing
All Of Me 21%	Gerald Marks	C major	ABAC · 32	Medium swing

Frequently asked questions

What key is Limehouse Blues in?

Limehouse Blues is usually played in A♭ major. For B♭ instruments that is B♭ major, for E♭ instruments F major.

Who wrote Limehouse Blues?

Limehouse Blues was written by Braham-Furber.

What is the form of Limehouse Blues?

Limehouse Blues has 2 sections (AB) with 32 bars in total.

How fast is Limehouse Blues played?

The usual groove is Up-tempo swing. Transcribed solos in our data were played at 269 BPM and 274 BPM.

What are the chord changes to Limehouse Blues?

The opening bars are Db7 | Db7 | Db7 | Db7. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.