Jazz Standards Library

Chords & Changes

Cotton Tail

Cotton Tail — chords and changes, key facts, and listening notes.

Cotton Tail was composed by Duke Ellington. The lyrics are credited to Duke Ellington. It dates from 1940. It is in Bb major, 32 bars long, and in AABA (8-8-8-8) form.

Chart

Chord chart

Four bars per row · sections labelled

Bb major

Section A1

Bbmaj7Gm7
Cm7F7
Bbmaj7Gm7
Cm7F7
Bbmaj7Bb7
Eb7Ab7
Bbmaj7Gm7
Cm7F7

Section A2

Bbmaj7Gm7
Cm7F7
Bbmaj7Gm7
Cm7F7
Bbmaj7Bb7
Eb7Ab7
Bbmaj7
Cm7F7

Section B1

D7
D7
G7
G7
C7
C7
F7
F7

Section A3

Bbmaj7Gm7
Cm7F7
Bbmaj7Gm7
Cm7F7
Bbmaj7Bb7
Eb7Ab7
Bbmaj7Cm7F7
Bbmaj7

Changes confidence: high. Source: Weimar Jazz Database (Jazzomat Research Project, HfM Weimar), ODbL 1.0. Changes as annotated by the Jazzomat Research Project, licensed under the ODbL 1.0.

Listen

Recordings (from MusicBrainz)

  • Maxwell Davis — Album not listed
    Source: musicbrainz
    1960
  • Lambert, Hendricks & Ross — Album not listed
    Source: musicbrainz
    1990
  • Hilton Ruiz — Album not listed
    Source: musicbrainz
    1995
  • Duke Ellington & His Orchestra — Album not listed
    Source: musicbrainz
    1997
  • Duke Ellington — Album not listed
    Source: musicbrainz
    2007
  • Louis Bellson — Album not listed
    Source: musicbrainz
    2013

Recording credits and years follow the entries in the dataset. Source: MusicBrainz.

Landmark solos

Solos analysed in the Weimar Jazz Database

  • Phil Woods (alto sax) — Further Definitions, Benny Carter And His Orchestra
    Bebop · 242 bpm · swing feel
    1997

Solo, record, style, tempo and feel as catalogued by the Jazzomat Research Project (ODbL 1.0). Release year is the year of the catalogued issue, which can be a later reissue.

Nearby