Standards · 1932

Sophisticated Lady chords & key

Duke Ellington · Lyrics: Irving Mills, Mitchell Parish

Key: A♭ major
Form: AABA
Bars: 32
Groove: Ballad
Time signature: 4/4
Year: 1932

“Sophisticated Lady” is a jazz standard by Duke Ellington from 1932. Most bands play it in A♭ major, ballad; the tune runs 32 bars in AABA form. Harmonically it contains 5 major ii–V–I cadences and 4 minor ii–V–i, uses 21 different chords and moves between the key centres A♭ major, B♭ minor, G major, G minor and A minor. In this atlas it appears on 18 album tracks and in 1 transcribed solo.

Chord changes

to key

Showing in: Concert (C) — A♭ major

B♭^m7

G♭⁷F⁷E⁷E♭⁷

A♭^maj7

A♭⁷G⁷G♭⁷F⁷

B♭⁷

B♭^m7E♭⁷

A♭⁶

C^m7♭5F^7♭9

A♭⁶

A^m7♭5D⁷

G^maj7E^m7

A^m7D⁷

B^m7E^7♭9

A^m7D^7♭9

G^maj7E^m7

A^m7D⁷

G^maj7C^m7

B♭^m7C^m7♭5F⁷

B♭^m7

G♭⁷F⁷E⁷E♭⁷

A♭^maj7

A♭⁷G⁷G♭⁷F⁷

B♭⁷

B♭^m7E♭⁷

A♭⁶

C^m7♭5F^7♭9

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

Harmonic analysis

5Major ii–V–I

4Minor ii–V–i

11ii–V moves

0Tritone substitutions

3Dominant chains

21Different chords

Most used chords

B♭^m7×7
F⁷×7
G♭⁷×6
E♭⁷×6
E⁷×3
A♭^maj7×3

Key centres reached by ii–V

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

Characteristics

AABA song form

History

"Sophisticated Lady" is a jazz standard, composed as an instrumental in 1932 by Duke Ellington.

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

Recorded on these albums

1953	Oscar Peterson Plays Duke Ellington Oscar Peterson
1956	At Newport Duke Ellington and The Buck Clayton All-Stars
1957	Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Song Book Ella Fitzgerald
1959	All or Nothing at All Billie Holiday
1959	Oscar Peterson Plays the Duke Ellington Song Book Oscar Peterson
1960	Alone Together Tony Bennett
1966	The Duke At Tanglewood Duke Ellington • Boston Pops • Arthur Fiedler
1975	This One's for Blanton! Duke Ellington & Ray Brown
1992	The Intimate Ellington Duke Ellington
1993	Jazz Tribune No.69: Indispensable Duke Ellington
1999	Reflections on Duke Duke Ellington; Jean‐Yves Thibaudet
2000	Classic Ellington Duke Ellington arr. Luther Henderson; City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Simon Rattle, Lena Horne
2001	Caravan Duke Ellington
2008	Columbia Jazz Profiles Duke Ellington
2013	Battle of Swing, Vol. 2 Duke Ellington
2014	In Gröna Lund 1963 Duke Ellington
2024	Copenhagen 1958 (bonus: After Hours 1950) Duke Ellington
2026	With Every Breath I Take Cécile McLorin Salvant, Metropole Orkest, Jules Buckley

Transcribed solos on Sophisticated Lady

Coleman Hawkins tenor saxophone

68 BPM

Ab-maj

1949-12-21

Historic 78 rpm recordings

SOPHISTICATED LADY GUARNIERI QUARTET · Lou Guarnieri · Don Byas · J. C. Heard · Johnny… archive.org ↗
SOPHISTICATED LADY archive.org ↗
Sophisticated Lady Jimmy Forrest and his All Star Combo · Ellington · 1952 archive.org ↗
Sophisticated Lady Oscar Peterson Trio · Oscar Peterson · Barney Kessel · Ray Brown ·… · 1953 archive.org ↗
SOPHISTICATED LADY JOHNNY SMITH · Johnny Smith · Don Lamond · Arnold Fishkin · Perry… · 1954 archive.org ↗

Standards with similar changes

Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.

Title	Composer	Key	Form	Groove
Bye Bye Blackbird 22%	Ray Henderson	F major	AB · 32	Medium swing

Frequently asked questions

What key is Sophisticated Lady in?

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

Who wrote Sophisticated Lady?

Sophisticated Lady was written by Duke Ellington (1932).

What is the form of Sophisticated Lady?

Sophisticated Lady has 4 sections (AABA) with 32 bars in total.

How fast is Sophisticated Lady played?

The usual groove is Ballad. Transcribed solos in our data were played at 68 BPM.

What are the chord changes to Sophisticated Lady?

The opening bars are Bbm7 | Gb7 F7 E7 Eb7 | Abmaj7 | Ab7 G7 Gb7 F7. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.