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.