C'est si bon — chords & grille (gypsy jazz)
C'est si bon by Henri Betti & André Hornez — key of C (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
C'est si bon was composed in 1947 by Henri Betti with lyrics by André Hornez, made famous by Yves Montand and later Eartha Kitt and Louis Armstrong. It became an international jazz standard and a manouche favourite.
The sound — a sunny swing in C: the ii–V (Dm7, G9) into Cmaj6/9, with chromatic diminished chords (E♭dim7, D♭dim7) sliding between the changes and a bright, playful lift.
Practising it — nail the ii–V–I in C first, then the diminished passing chords as chromatic connectors. Arpeggiate Dm7 and G9, and use the diminished shapes to glide half-steps into the target chords. Keep it buoyant and swinging.
C'est si bon chords — the grille
A : | Dm7 | G9 | C6/9 | C/E E♭° | Dm7 | G9 | C6/9 | C6/9 C#° | Dm7 | G9 | C6/9 | C/E E♭° | Dm7 | G9 | C6/9 | B♭m7 E♭7 | A♭6/9 | D♭6/9 | A♭6/9 | A♭6/9 | D7 | D7 | Dm7 | G9 | Dm7 | G9 | C6/9 | C/E E♭° | Dm7 | G9 | Eø | A7 | Dm7 | Fm6 | C6/9 | C6/9 | A♭9 | G9 | C6/9 | C6/9 C#° |
Chords used
Dm7 · G9 · C6/9 · C/E · E♭° · C#° · B♭m7 · E♭7 · A♭6/9 · D♭6/9 · D7 · Eø · A7 · Fm6 · A♭9
Play along
Open the interactive grille for C'est si bon: 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.