II-V-I song list

krzys

Hello,

I am a bit of a newbie to improvisation and have been making good ground with learning licks, arpeggios and theory. Now I am putting it to the test by playing what I know in different keys. Could I please have a list of GJ standards that have II-V-I's?

Willie

Hard to imagine any GJ standard without.

Not a few of those old Swing tunes even are based on whole chains of II-V. And you can replace every dominant chord with IIm7-V7, so the list really might be rather long.

krzys

Yeah, I'm still quite new. I should specify, just major II-V-I

Is it right to say a good half of standards are II-V-I then second most common is I-vi-ii-V / rhythm changes?

What is the progression in the last eight bars of Django's Tiger? The D, D#dim, A, F#7 ? I hear that a lot too.

Willie

The last 8 bars for me are IV, II7 without root (or maybe even some weird kind of tonic chord: try "A" as bass note with the first 3 chords), I, VI7, II7, V7, I, V7. So the last 5 bars are a VI-II-V chain of dominant chords leading to the resolution in the tonic chord.

I'm curious about the opinions on the D#°. It's sometimes called "passing chord"; but I'm afraid that can be translated as "no idea what function this damned chord has".

krzys

Thanks for the explanation. I guess I am after any other standards that have a lot of repeating 251s like Coquette or Blue Bossa.

Djangheureux

if you are singing the bassline the D#° wants to go to E (A with E in the Bass) making it function like a B7; in Ballads you even can make it F#m7 B7b9 so there is your ii V.

Its inversion C° wants to go to C# (A with C# in the Bass) or C#m7 making it a G#7b9; the C#m7 would also function as a ii for the following F#7; In a Ballad you could play D#m7b5 G#7 as a ii V.

I like interpreting it as a G# Triad much because it doesn't sound as dark as a Dim Arpeggio plus its the Tritone of D!

When it comes to hearing/singing in the original key of A the diminished Triad would give me the 1, b3, #4, 13, so it also can be heard as a kind of kind of bluesy sound!

Svanis1337

Try the "B" section of "Cherokee", it's II V I after II V I.

Djangheureux

at the end of a tune i like to play a turnaround as a kind of improvised Coda for hours, instead of resolving to C in the key of C Major you could em7:

II: em7 A7 I dm7 G7 :II or for a even more dramatic effect play: II: em7 I A7 I dm7 I G7 :II

The possibilities in coloring or reharmonising (they don't call them "Changes" for nothing!) these chords are endless, you can go for hours without repeating yourself, while you're still in the key of C all the Time;-)))

I learnd a lot from applying lines, melodies, concepts to turnarounds in every Major tune plus you get familiar with keys you are unfamiliar with. Since i played more with horns the guitar and violin friendly keys A, E, D in Jazz Manouche where quite unusual for me so that helped!

SOLAR by Miles Davis did a great job for me long time ago: you really have to know your harmonic and melodic Minor key of C then it starts modulating via II Vs to F, Eb, Db back to C Minor. The Melody of the tune is a great study in Guide Tone Lines. It can be played in the original medium tempo or medium up.

Russell Letson

When I Google around to refresh my memory of which tunes use II-V-I sequences, what I find is material about ii-V-I. The only standard with a II-V movement that comes immediately to my mind is the bridge of "I Can't Believe the You're in Love with Me," which goes III-VI-II-V-I.

The "Cherokee" bridge is a series of descending ii-V-I figures that cycle down to the V of the main key to return to the A-section (F7 to B-flat in the canonical key). "Blue Bossa" is full of ii-Vs--in fact, it's mostly minor chords.

krzys

Thanks guys. Cherokee looks perfect