Standards

Portrait Of Jennie chords & key

Key
E♭ major
Form
AABA
Bars
32
Groove
Ballad
Time signature
4/4

“Portrait Of Jennie” is a jazz standard by Burdge-Robinson. Most bands play it in E♭ major, ballad; the tune runs 32 bars in AABA form. Harmonically it contains 9 major ii–V–I cadences and 1 minor ii–V–i, uses 19 different chords and moves between the key centres E♭ major, A♭ major, G major, B♭ major and C minor. In this atlas it appears on 24 album tracks.

Chord changes

Showing in: Concert (C) — E♭ major

A
E♭maj7
B♭m7E♭7
A♭maj7
A♭m7D♭7
Gm7Cm7
Fm7B♭7
1.
Gm7Cm7
Fm7B♭7
2.
E♭6
Am7D7
B
Gmaj7
Cm7F7
B♭maj7
Dm7♭5G7♭9
Cm7
F7
Fm7
B♭7
A
E♭maj7
B♭m7E♭7
A♭maj7
A♭m7D♭7
Gm7Cm7
Fm7B♭7
Fm7B♭7♭9
E♭6Fm7B♭7

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

Harmonic analysis

9Major ii–V–I
1Minor ii–V–i
17ii–V moves
0Tritone substitutions
0Dominant chains
19Different chords

Most used chords

  • Fm7×7
  • Cm7×6
  • B♭7×6
  • Gm7×4
  • E♭maj7×3
  • B♭m7×3

Key centres reached by ii–V

E♭ major, A♭ major, G major, B♭ major and C minor

Characteristics

  • AABA song form

Recorded on these albums

1952 Unforgettable
Nat King Cole · “Portrait of Jenny”
1955 The Eminent Jay Jay Johnson, Volume 2
Jay Jay Johnson · “Portrait of Jennie”
1955 With Strings
Clifford Brown · “Portrait of Jenny”
1958 Guitar and the Wind
Barry Galbraith · “Portrait of Jennie”
1961 At the Half Note Cafe, Volume 1
Donald Byrd with Pepper Adams, Duke Pearson, Laymon Jackson, Lex Humphries · “A Portrait of Jennie”
1963 Oscar Peterson & Nelson Riddle
Oscar Peterson · “Portrait Of Jenny”
1966 Bring It Home to Me
Blue Mitchell · “Portrait of Jennie”
1969 Willow Weep for Me
Wes Montgomery · “Portrait of Jennie”
1977 Bundle of Joy
Freddie Hubbard · “Portrait of Jenny”
1982 Face to Face
Oscar Peterson • Freddie Hubbard · “Portrait of Jenny”
1985 The Complete Nat “King” Cole Songbook, Volume Two
Mark Murphy · “Portrait of Jennie / Ruby”
1990 Big Boss Band
George Benson featuring The Count Basie Orchestra · “Portrait of Jennie”
1991 Panamanhattan
Ron Carter & Richard Galliano · “Portrait of Jennie”
1995 Dear Mr. Cole
John Pizzarelli · “Portrait of Jenny”
1996 The Acquaduct
Eugene Chadbourne · “Portrait of Jenny”
1997 At the Half Note Cafe, Volumes 1 & 2
Donald Byrd · “A Portrait of Jennie”
2000 Danger High Voltage
George Coleman
2000 The Best Things
Steve Kuhn · “Portrait of Jennie”
2006 The Manhattan Jazz Septette
Oscar Pettiford · “Portrait of Jennie”
2006 Stablemates
Blue Mitchell · “Portrait of Jennie”
2008 The Unforgettable
Nat King Cole · “Portrait of Jenny”
2008 MPS Trio Sessions
George Shearing · “Portrait of Jennie”
2021 Stretching Out
Ramsey Lewis · “A Portrait of Jennie”
— On Target
George Shearing & Robert Farnon · “Portrait of Jennie”

Standards with similar changes

Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.

TitleComposerKeyFormGroove
Billy Boy 33% Traditional C major AABA · 56 Medium-up swing
A Lovely Way To Spend An Evening 30% Jimmy McHugh F major AABA · 32 Ballad
Why Do I Love You? 30% Jerome Kern A♭ major AA · 32 Medium swing
Don't Worry 'Bout Me 29% Rube Bloom A♭ major AB · 32 Ballad
Ballade 28% Charlie Parker F major AABA · 32 Ballad
Everything Happens To Me 28% Matt Dennis B♭ major AABA · 32 Ballad
Everything I Have Is Yours 28% Burton Lane C major ABAC · 32 Ballad
I Could Have Danced All Night 28% Frederick Loewe C major ABCD · 32 Medium swing

Frequently asked questions

What key is Portrait Of Jennie in?

Portrait Of Jennie is usually played in E♭ major. For B♭ instruments that is F major, for E♭ instruments C major.

Who wrote Portrait Of Jennie?

Portrait Of Jennie was written by Burdge-Robinson.

What is the form of Portrait Of Jennie?

Portrait Of Jennie has 4 sections (AABA) with 32 bars in total.

How fast is Portrait Of Jennie played?

The usual groove is Ballad.

What are the chord changes to Portrait Of Jennie?

The opening bars are Ebmaj7 | Bbm7 Eb7 | Abmaj7 | Abm7 Db7. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.