Blue Drag — chords & grille (gypsy jazz)
Blue Drag by Josef Myrow — key of D (manouche), form A. Below is the full chord grid; on Haute Gitanerie you can play along with a scrolling chord ribbon, transpose to any key, set the tempo, and switch on a rhythm backing (la pompe) to practise your solos over the changes.
About
Blue Drag was written by Josef Myrow and first recorded in 1932 by Earl Hines. Django Reinhardt cut it several times in 1935–36, and it has stayed in the manouche repertoire ever since as a brooding, minor showcase.
The sound — a dark D minor piece leaning on a ii–V (Em7♭5, A7) back to Dm, coloured by B♭7 and a turn to Gm. The half-diminished chord gives it that melancholy pull.
Practising it — drill the D harmonic minor scale and your Dm, Gm and A7 arpeggios; target the ♭9 of A7 resolving to Dm, and arpeggiate Em7♭5 cleanly. Start slow before pushing the swing tempo.
Blue Drag chords — the grille
A : | Dm Dm/C | Dm/B B♭7 | Dm/B B♭7 | Dm/B B♭7 | Dm | Eø | B♭7 A7 | Dm A7 | Dm Dm/C | Dm/B B♭7 | Dm/B B♭7 | Dm/B B♭7 | Dm | Eø | B♭7 A7 | Dm | Gm | Gm | Dm | Dm | Gm | Gm | Dm | B♭7 A7 | Dm Dm/C | Dm/B B♭7 | Dm/B B♭7 | Dm/B B♭7 | Dm | Eø | B♭7 A7 | Dm |
Chords used
Play along
Open the interactive grille for Blue Drag: loop any section, transpose to any key, set the tempo, and play over a rhythm accompaniment — with a real recorded pompe on featured tunes. In the browser, free.