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Player guide

Stompin' At The Savoy

A riff-friendly swing standard with a distinctive chain of dominant colours in the bridge. The contrast between relaxed tonic material and moving bridge harmony makes it useful for rhythmic development.

If you study one thing

Keep the bridge's descending guide-tone line audible.

Original editorial illustration for Stompin' At The Savoy: wide diagonal dance-floor exchange.
Original Djangopedia illustration · AI-assisted, 2026
Illustration credits
Chart keyF major in the inherited chart
Form32 bars, AABA; first source cell is unspecified
FeelSwing
Meter4/4
MusicEdgar Sampson, Benny Goodman, Chick Webb
Guide coverage11 / 12 sections present

Owner content reviewed — 2026-10-06T18:40:09Z by admin. Coverage measures presence, not accuracy. Content review does not certify rights or musical perfection.

See what is here and what is missing
  • ✓ Recording evidence
  • ✓ Key & form
  • ✓ Chart
  • ✓ History
  • ✓ Playing notes
  • ✓ Practice plan
  • ✓ Backing track
  • ✓ Django recording
  • ○ Django solo study aid
  • ✓ Illustration
  • ✓ Sources
  • ✓ Difficulty

Django's Recordings

Django recordings for this tune. Uploader dates and take labels remain source claims; only an evidenced exact association enables a row’s Listen control.

2 historical recording entries · source text preserved
EntryYearRecording / session / release evidenceListen
011944Stompin' At The Savoy, Dec.1944, ST 1230 ,"Fremeaux FA 312, Classics 945"," - Paris - Jazz Club Mystery Hot Band - Bernie Previn (tpt), Peanuts Hucko (cl,ts), Mel Powell (p), Django Reinhardt (g),Josz Schulman (b), Ray McKinley (d)"—
021950Stompin' At The Savoy, 1950, BL201,(unissued)," - Rome - Django Reinhardt (elg), Andre Ekyan (as,cl), Ralph Schecroun (p), Alf Masselier (b), Roger Paraboschi (d)"—

A dash means no video has been associated with this exact historical recording. Tune-level listening resources remain available above.

History & Listening

Stompin' At The Savoy is credited here to Edgar Sampson, Benny Goodman, Chick Webb. The source date is 1933; publication, composition and later lyric adaptations may have separate dates. The inherited archive lists 2 recording entries, with dated entries spanning 1944–1950. These are archive rows, not a claim that every entry is a distinct released take. The linked recording rows preserve the original discographical wording. Compare their dates, matrices and personnel when choosing a performance to study.

Tune details

Music: Edgar Sampson, Benny Goodman, Chick Webb

Words: Andy Razaf

Published / composed / adapted — see history: 1933

Original key: Not established

Study level: Intermediate; advanced where the inherited roadmap needs reconstruction

Melody & head

  • Preserve the head's rhythmic identity; more notes do not make a riff swing harder.

Study a documented Django entry ↗

Listening task: Preserve the head's rhythmic identity; more notes do not make a riff swing harder. Mark the key, pickup, phrase lengths and ending before comparing another version.

Session evidence

Stompin' At The Savoy, Dec.1944, ST 1230 ,"Fremeaux FA 312, Classics 945"," - Paris - Jazz Club Mystery Hot Band - Bernie Previn (tpt), Peanuts Hucko (cl,ts), Mel Powell (p), Django Reinhardt (g),Josz Schulman (b), Ray McKinley (d)"

Compare another archive entry ↗

Compare the first and last listed entries for tempo, instrumentation and arrangement. Do not infer identical takes from a shared title. Keep the bridge's descending guide-tone line audible.

Session evidence

Stompin' At The Savoy, 1950, BL201,(unissued)," - Rome - Django Reinhardt (elg), Andre Ekyan (as,cl), Ralph Schecroun (p), Alf Masselier (b), Roger Paraboschi (d)"

Check the practice arrangement ↗

The inherited chart is in F major in the inherited chart. Confirm the backing track’s sounding key, pickup and complete form before playing; an instrument label may describe a transposed score.

Chart & Form

F-centred A sections contrast with B♭7–E♭7–A♭7–D♭7 before C7 returns home. The source adds chromatic upper neighbours to several bridge dominants.

The first cells of the opening two rows contain only slashes. Their intended harmony is not stated; confirm it from a chosen edition. This source uses F, which may differ from other charts and tracks.

Inherited chord reference · source cells
1Continue
2C7
3F
4F/ C7
5F
6F/ F#0
7F
8F/ C7
9Continue
10C7
11F
12F/ C7
13G7
14C7
15F
16F/ C7
17Bb7/ B7
18Bb7
19Eb7/ E7
20Eb7
21Ab7/ A7
22Ab7
23Db7
24C7
25F
26F/ C7
27F
28F/ F#0
29Gm7
30C7
31F
32F
Original chart text & notation
| //// | C7/// | F/// | F/ C7/ | F/// |  F/ F#0/ | F/// | F/ C7/ |

| //// | C7/// | F/// | F/ C7/ | G7/// |  C7/// | F/// | F/ C7/ |

| Bb7/ B7/ | Bb7/// | Eb7/ E7/ | Eb7/// | Ab7/ A7/ | Ab7/// | Db7/// | C7/// |

| F/// | F/ C7/ | F/// | F/ F#0/ | Gm7/// |  C7/// | F/// | F/// :||
Original source ↗

Play along

Study Django's Solo

Performed studies, transcriptions, TAB, notation and lessons for studying Django’s solo. Inclusion does not certify note-for-note accuracy.

No Django solo study aid yet. Know a useful resource — or want to record a study of this solo?

Similar tunes

Behind the illustration

A fictional small swing band occupies one corner of a broad abstract dance floor while distant dancer silhouettes answer its riff. A contrasting descending colour staircase crosses the far wall. The tune's riff-friendly head and dominant bridge motivate a Savoy-inspired title setting, not an exact historical hall.

An original editorial interpretation of the tune. This is an illustration, not an archival photograph or a documented reconstruction of a recording session.

Original Djangopedia illustration · AI-assisted, 2026

Illustration credits & provenance →

Notable Gypsy Jazz Performances

Selected performances by notable Gypsy Jazz players and ensembles. Inclusion is editorial and does not imply an objective popularity ranking.

Video thumbnail: Stompin´At The Savoy ⎮Stochelo Rosenberg & Joscho StephanStompin´At The Savoy ⎮Stochelo Rosenberg & Joscho StephanStochelo Rosenberg and Joscho Stephan · Joscho StephanStudio guest session · YouTube title, uploader metadata and player availability checked 6 October 2026. Independent interpretation; proposed order awaits owner decision. No full-video musical audition claimed.Stage 4N private performance. Performed theme, solos and trading; separate lesson links are promotional.✓ FeaturedVideo thumbnail: 'Stompin' at the Savoy' - The Rosenberg Trio @ Jazz in Marciac. July 31 2019.'Stompin' at the Savoy' - The Rosenberg Trio @ Jazz in Marciac. July 31 2019.Rosenberg Trio · SINTI MUSIC2019 · Jazz in Marciac, 31 July 2019 · YouTube title, uploader metadata and player availability checked 6 October 2026. Independent interpretation; proposed order awaits owner decision. No full-video musical audition claimed.Stage 4N private performance. Festival performance featuring Stochelo, Mozes and Nonnie Rosenberg.Select videoVideo thumbnail: Stomping at the Savoy - Gypsy Jazz in Paris 2026Stomping at the Savoy - Gypsy Jazz in Paris 2026Romain Vuillemin Quartet with Noe Codjia · Romain Vuillemin2026 · Django meets Armstrong, Paris · YouTube title, uploader metadata and player availability checked 6 October 2026. Independent interpretation; proposed order awaits owner decision. No full-video musical audition claimed.Stage 4N private performance. Gypsy-jazz trumpet and guitar quartet; year identified in title.Select videoVideo thumbnail: Stompin' at the SavoyStompin' at the SavoyRemi Harris and Tom Moore · Remi Harris2020 · Guitar and bass support-bubble jam · YouTube title, uploader metadata and player availability checked 6 October 2026. Independent interpretation; proposed order awaits owner decision. No full-video musical audition claimed.Stage 4N private performance. Description dates session to day before 16 June 2020 upload.Select video

Improvisation

Target notes & voice leading

  • Follow D–D♭–C–C♭ through B♭7–E♭7–A♭7–D♭7.
  • Resolve B♭ on C7 into A over F.

Pitch choices

  • Start with the chord tones of each written harmony. Follow D–D♭–C–C♭ through B♭7–E♭7–A♭7–D♭7.
  • Use passing notes only after the destination chord and phrase length are secure; this guide does not assign one scale indiscriminately to the whole tune.

Play the bridge without chromatic neighbours, then add them while keeping the same guide-tone line and pulse. Practise a repeated two-note motif over the A sections.

Comping & voicings

Keep the bridge's main dominant roots clear and make the chromatic neighbours brief colours. Match the head's rhythmic placement without crowding it.

Voicing note sets

  • B♭7: B♭–D–A♭; E♭7: E♭–G–D♭; A♭7: A♭–C–G♭.

Keep the accompaniment clear

  • Keep a quiet, even swing pulse, adjusting its density to the melody and ensemble.
  • Practise one chorus with only two chord attacks per bar, then restore four without changing tempo.
  • Assigning an unverified chord to the opening slash-only source cell.
  • Crowding the melody with dense extensions or doubling another accompanist’s register.

Practice room

Start around 100–140 bpm; increase only after the form stays secure

Your assignment

Play the bridge without chromatic neighbours, then add them while keeping the same guide-tone line and pulse. Practise a repeated two-note motif over the A sections.

Loop these changes

  • Follow D–D♭–C–C♭ through B♭7–E♭7–A♭7–D♭7.
  • Resolve B♭ on C7 into A over F.

Metronome

Begin with four quarter-note clicks. Halve the click rate and hear beats 2 and 4 while maintaining the same phrase lengths.

Transposition

  • Transpose the first complete phrase up a whole step, including its cadence. Name chord functions before finding new fingerings.
  • Return to F major in the inherited chart and play the melodic phrase from memory.

At the session

Stompin' At The Savoy — F major in the inherited chart; 32 bars, AABA; first source cell is unspecified. Agree the pickup, tempo and ending before counting in.

Start together

  • Suggested rehearsal entry: give two clear bars of count-in and start the agreed pickup or first melody note. This is not claimed as a historical Django introduction.

Finish together

  • Agree a final melody statement and hold its tonic arrival; remove any turnaround intended to restart the chorus. Check the chosen arrangement for tags or a separate coda.

32 bars, AABA; first source cell is unspecified. The first cells of the opening two rows contain only slashes. Their intended harmony is not stated; confirm it from a chosen edition. This source uses F, which may differ from other charts and tracks.

  • Assigning an unverified chord to the opening slash-only source cell.

Arranging the tune

Solo guitar

Start with melody and bass only. Add the following colour without interrupting the melody: Follow D–D♭–C–C♭ through B♭7–E♭7–A♭7–D♭7.

Trio or larger group

Keep the bridge's main dominant roots clear and make the chromatic neighbours brief colours. Match the head's rhythmic placement without crowding it. Agree the full roadmap and signal the last head before it starts.

Vocal considerations

Choose a comfortable vocal key and transpose the whole arrangement, including its introduction and ending.

Further study

  • Compare the printed bridge neighbours with the underlying dominant chain and hear which notes can remain common between adjacent voicings.
  • The first cells of the opening two rows contain only slashes. Their intended harmony is not stated; confirm it from a chosen edition. This source uses F, which may differ from other charts and tracks.
  • Compare the linked archive entries before attributing one arrangement to all Django performances. Keep composition history separate from the dates of Django’s recordings.

Explore related tunes

Inherited media links

Sources & credits

This player guide combines inherited recording evidence and editorial study notes. Musical study notes are editorial suggestions; compare them with the recording.

Djangopedia — inherited chart and recording rows ↗

  • Inherited notation and discographical claims; not independent verification

Composition credits and background ↗

  • Writer credits and source date where supplied

Guitare Improvisation — practice backing ↗

  • Video identity, view-count snapshot and embed metadata

Feature photograph — source collection ↗

  • Photo identification and provenance; reuse rights remain unverified
Illustration credit & provenance

Original Djangopedia illustration · AI-assisted, 2026

An original editorial interpretation of the tune. This is an illustration, not an archival photograph or a documented reconstruction of a recording session.

Generated with the native image-generation tool on 2026-10-08; original editorial artwork, not a historical photograph.

Prompt: Use case: illustration-story. One original editorial feature illustration for Djangopedia's guide “Stompin' At The Savoy”. Landscape 1536 × 1024, opaque background. Scene: A fictional small swing band occupies one corner of a broad abstract dance floor while distant dancer silhouettes answer its riff. A contrasting descending colour staircase crosses the far wall. The tune's riff-friendly head and dominant bridge motivate a Savoy-inspired title setting, not an exact historical hall. Musical basis from the guide: A riff-friendly swing standard with a distinctive chain of dominant colours in the bridge. The contrast between relaxed tonic material and moving bridge harmony makes it useful for rhythmic development. The supplied chart is F major in the inherited chart; form: 32 bars, AABA; first source cell is unspecified; feel: Swing. These describe musical inspiration, not visible writing. Historical context: Stompin' At The Savoy is credited here to Edgar Sampson, Benny Goodman, Chick Webb. The source date is 1933; publication, composition and later lyric adaptations may have separate dates. Do not illustrate disputed historical claims or suggest this imagined scene is an archival session. Medium: mid-century editorial. Dominant palette: jade coral and midnight blue. Composition: wide diagonal dance-floor exchange. Human presence: four small figures and distant dancers. Strong intentional design, clearly drawn/painted, distinctive material marks; keep essential subject safely within the central 70 percent width and middle 80 percent height for card crops. Maintain enough visual substance at thumbnail size. Broad inspiration observed in old photo, ONLY scale/rhythm and never a reference image: wide seated outdoor group; repeated chairs; open daylight. Independently invent every pose, perspective, clothing, setting and lighting. Avoid: No terrace photo recreation, famous ballroom copy, repeated nightclub scene. No photorealism, archival simulation, generated text, letters, numbers, labels, fake musical notation, logo, signature, watermark, fake dates, yellowed-paper patina, recognizable artwork or copied photograph. No imitation of any named artist. Render the art edge to edge without borders, mockup or typography. Batch B diversity compensation: make light and midtone areas substantial; avoid near-black dominant backdrops, violet monochrome, empty chair/stool/bench compositions, repeated sunset terraces and generic cloud panoramas. Preserve the stated tune-specific scene. Human figures remain standing or peripheral except an explicitly named ensemble; no centered seated Django portrait. For graphic images use clearly plain colour shapes, no ruled parallel staffs, circles with stems, note-like marks or typography.

Research & rights notes
  • Specialist review of original editorial playing advice
  • Original key and precise composition date where not independently established
  • Inherited notation, session details and arrangement variants
  • Photograph reuse permissions

Photograph provenance and rights are stated separately. Attribution does not establish permission.