China Boy: chords & grille (gypsy jazz)
China Boy by Phil Boutelje & Dick Winfree, key of F (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
China Boy is a 1922 song by Phil Boutelje and Dick Winfree, popularised by Paul Whiteman with Bix Beiderbecke and recorded by everyone from Benny Goodman to Django Reinhardt, which cemented it in the manouche up-tempo repertoire.
The sound: a fast, driving swing in F major built on a cycle of dominants (D7, G7, C7), with a bridge that darkens toward the flat keys (B♭m, Gm7♭5, A♭ major).
Practising it: this is a speed and changes workout: arpeggiate the dominant cycle and target guide tones, then woodshed the bridge's flat-key shift separately. Build it slowly and only take the manouche tempo once your lines stay clean.
China Boy chords: the grille
A : | F | F | F | F | F | F | D7 | D7 | G7 | G7 | G7 | G7 | B♭m | Gø C7 | F | E♭7 | A♭ | E♭7 | A♭ | E♭7 | A♭ | E♭7 | A♭ | C7 | F | F | F° | F° | F | C7 | F | F |
Chords used
F · D7 · G7 · B♭m · Gø · C7 · E♭7 · A♭ · F°
Play along
Open the interactive grille for China Boy: 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.