Standards · 1951

Straight No Chaser chords & key

Key: B♭ major
Form: A
Bars: 12
Groove: Medium-up swing
Time signature: 4/4
Year: 1951

“Straight No Chaser” is a jazz standard by Thelonious Monk from 1951. Most bands play it in B♭ major, medium-up swing; the tune runs 12 bars in A form. Its changes follow the 12-bar blues. In this atlas it appears on 24 album tracks.

Chord changes

to key

Showing in: Concert (C) — B♭ major

B♭⁷

E♭⁷

B♭⁷

E♭⁷

B♭⁷

F⁷

B♭⁷

F⁷

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

Harmonic analysis

0Major ii–V–I

0Minor ii–V–i

0ii–V moves

0Tritone substitutions

3Dominant chains

3Different chords

Most used chords

B♭⁷×6
E♭⁷×3
F⁷×3

Characteristics

12-bar blues

History

The following is a list of compositions by jazz pianist and composer Thelonious Monk (1917–1982).

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

Recorded on these albums

1952	Genius of Modern Music, Volume 2 Thelonious Monk · “Straight, No Chaser”
1957	Mulligan Meets Monk Thelonious Monk and Gerry Mulligan · “Straight, No Chaser”
1958	Milestones Miles Davis · “Straight, No Chaser”
1958	Cannonball’s Sharpshooters Cannonball Adderley
1959	Great Jazz Standards Gil Evans · “Straight, no Chaser”
1959	Taylor's Tenors Arthur Taylor, Charlie Rouse, Frank Foster · “Straight, No Chaser”
1961	The Tenor Scene Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis & Johnny Griffin · “Straight, No Chaser”
1962	Bouncing with Bud Bud Powell
1962	Exodus Slide Hampton · “Straight, no chaser”
1963	In Italy Thelonious Monk · “Straight, No Chaser”
1965	Straight, No Chaser Wes Montgomery · “Straight, No Chaser”
1965	Blues Bag Buddy De Franco
1967	Straight, No Chaser Thelonious Monk · “Straight, No Chaser”
1967	The Driver Buddy Rich · “Straight, No Chaser”
1968	Straight, No Chaser Joe Henderson with The Wynton Kelly Trio
1969	Monk’s Blues Thelonious Sphere Monk · “Straight, No Chaser”
1973	Monk in Tokyo Thelonious Monk
1973	Last Concert Ben Webster · “Straight, No Chaser”
1975	Clark Terry And His Jolly Giants Clark Terry
1975	Stolen Moments Oliver Nelson
1976	Wham Clark Terry · “Straight, No Chaser”
1977	Coast to Coast Cannonball Adderley featuring Nat Adderley · “Straight, No Chaser”
1977	Dedicated to George Benson Chuck Loeb Quartet · “Straight, No Chaser”
1978	A Tribute to Monk and Bird Thad Jones, George Adams, George Lewis, Stanley Cowell, Reggie Workman, Lenny White, Heiner Stadler

Standards with similar changes

Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.

Title	Composer	Key	Form	Groove
Blue Monk 80%	Thelonious Monk	B♭ major	A · 12	Medium swing
Blue Sphere 80%	Thelonious Monk	B♭ major	A · 12	Medium swing
Bluehawk 80%	Thelonious Monk	B♭ major	A · 12	Medium swing
C-Jam Blues 60%	Duke Ellington	C major	A · 12	Medium swing
Fine And Mellow 50%	Billie Holiday	F major	A · 12	Slow swing
Bessie's Blues 43%	John Coltrane	E♭ major	A · 12	Up-tempo swing
Eighty One 43%	Ron Carter	F major	A · 12	Even eighths
St. Louis Blues 43%	W.C. Handy	G major	A · 12	Medium swing

Frequently asked questions

What key is Straight No Chaser in?

Straight No Chaser is usually played in B♭ major. For B♭ instruments that is C major, for E♭ instruments G major.

Who wrote Straight No Chaser?

Straight No Chaser was written by Thelonious Monk (1951).

What is the form of Straight No Chaser?

Straight No Chaser has 1 sections (A) with 12 bars in total.

How fast is Straight No Chaser played?

The usual groove is Medium-up swing.

What are the chord changes to Straight No Chaser?

The opening bars are Bb7 | Eb7 | Bb7 | Bb7. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.