A minor blues that rewards rhythmic authority and economical lines. The tonic and subdominant minor-sixth sounds contrast with the descending dominant close.
If you study one thing
Keep the 12-bar structure audible through rests.
William P. Gottlieb / Library of Congress Aquarium, New York · circa November 1946 · Photo credits
Chart keyG minor
Form12-bar minor blues; legacy grid is compressed
FeelSwing
Meter4/4
MusicDjango Reinhardt
Guide coverage12 / 12 sections present
Owner content reviewed — 2026-10-05T18:26:42Z 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
✓ Photograph
✓ 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
Entry
Year
Recording / session / release evidence
Listen
01
1948
Swing 48, 29/02/48, Fremeaux FA 316," - Festival de Jazz de Nice - Stephane Grappelly (v), Django & Joseph Reinhardt, Challun Ferret (g), Emmanuel Soudieux (b)"
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02
1947
Swing 48, 6/7/47, ST 2092-1 ,"Fremeaux FA 314, Classics 1001,Verve 835 418-1,Verve 516 931-2"," - Paris - QHCF - Django Reinhardt (elg), Hubert Rostaing (cl), Joseph Reinhardt (g), Ladislas Czabanyck (b), Andre Jourdan"
—
A dash means no video has been associated with this exact historical recording. Tune-level listening resources remain available above.
History & Listening
Despite the title, Djangopedia includes a Paris recording from 6 July 1947, matrix ST 2092-1, followed by a 1948 Nice entry. The title must not be used as proof of the composition or first-recording year.
Tune details
Music: Django Reinhardt
Documented in archive: 1947
Original key: Not established
Study level: Intermediate
Melody & head
Keep the blues phrases in call-and-response pairs.
Listening task: Keep the blues phrases in call-and-response pairs. Count the head before comparing solo choruses.
Session evidence
Swing 48, 29/02/48, Fremeaux FA 316," - Festival de Jazz de Nice - Stephane Grappelly (v), Django & Joseph Reinhardt, Challun Ferret (g), Emmanuel Soudieux (b)"
Count its form and check its key before joining in. Think in three four-bar blues phrases: G minor, a move to C minor and back, then E♭7–D7 returning to G minor. The old six-cell text is a compact notation, not a six-bar chorus.
Chart & Form
Think in three four-bar blues phrases: G minor, a move to C minor and back, then E♭7–D7 returning to G minor. The old six-cell text is a compact notation, not a six-bar chorus.
The legacy six-cell notation compresses a 12-bar minor blues. The expanded grid below is an editorial practice reduction; turnaround variants differ.
12-bar practice reduction · final dominant restarts the chorus
source-described; accuracy not independently verified
Creator presents a study of Django’s recorded solo. Use it alongside the original recording; exact transcription accuracy has not been independently reviewed.
Chosen as a view of Django from circa November 1946, to place the study beside his changing performing life. The closest dated recording entry here is 1947. This is an editorial pairing; the photograph is not claimed to depict a performance or session of this tune.
Part of William P. Gottlieb’s documented Aquarium photographs in New York, circa November 1946. The catalogue supplies the location and approximate date; this is not evidence of a particular tune being played.
Gm6 introduces E natural; do not automatically flatten it in every tonic phrase.
Cm6 adds A natural as a colour over the subdominant.
Resolve F♯ on D7 up to G at the chorus boundary.
Pitch choices
G-minor pentatonic for a blues gesture, varied with tonic arpeggios.
G harmonic minor near D7; use E♭7 chord tones on that approach.
Play four 12-bar choruses using only a three-note motif. Make the third chorus quieter and the fourth more rhythmically active, without increasing speed.
Comping & voicings
Use a steady, restrained pompe. A repeated tonic chord can be effective; save stronger attacks for the move to Cm and the final dominant.
Voicing note sets
Gm6: G–B♭–E; Cm6: C–E♭–A.
E♭7: E♭–G–D♭; D7: D–F♯–C.
Keep the accompaniment clear
Start with a quiet, even pulse. Leave an entire phrase unfilled and listen to how the melody breathes.
Counting six printed cells instead of twelve bars.
Adding dense extensions that obscure the melody or duplicate the pianist’s register.
Practice room
Start at 100–120; build toward 160–200 bpm
Your assignment
Play four 12-bar choruses using only a three-note motif. Make the third chorus quieter and the fourth more rhythmically active, without increasing speed.
Loop these changes
Cm6 → Gm6
E♭7 → D7
Final cadence into bar 1
Metronome
Start below the suggested tempo. First hear four quarter-note clicks, then halve the click rate and place clicks on beats 2 and 4. Keep the same phrase length.
Transposition
Move Cm6 → Gm6 up one whole step by naming each chord’s function before finding a guitar shape.
Return to G minor and play the original melody without the chart.
At the session
Swing 48 — G minor; 12-bar minor blues; legacy grid is compressed. Agree the tempo, pickup, solo order and ending before the count.
Start together
Four bars of Gm at the selected groove are enough; agree whether the melody has a pickup.
Finish together
Use a clearly cued last blues chorus and land on Gm6, without an automatic final D7.
If trading fours, count three exchanges per 12-bar chorus; a 16-bar mental model will derail the return.
Counting six printed cells instead of twelve bars.
Arranging the tune
Solo guitar
Alternate low G and D bass notes with short minor-sixth stabs, keeping the melody above the accompaniment.
Trio or larger group
If trading fours, count three exchanges per 12-bar chorus; a 16-bar mental model will derail the return.
Vocal considerations
This guide studies an instrumental arrangement. Any later lyric adaptation requires its own credit and chosen key.
Further study
Compare the minor-sixth blues sound with modern minor-seventh voicings. The changed sixth/seventh colours substantially alter the atmosphere.
The legacy six-cell notation compresses a 12-bar minor blues. The expanded grid below is an editorial practice reduction; turnaround variants differ.
Compare the session evidence below before attributing one arrangement to every Django performance. Despite the title, Djangopedia includes a Paris recording from 6 July 1947, matrix ST 2092-1, followed by a 1948 Nice entry. The title must not be used as proof of the composition or first-recording year.
This player guide combines inherited recording evidence and editorial study notes. Musical study notes are editorial suggestions; compare them with the recording.
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