Dinah: chords & grille (gypsy jazz)
Dinah by Harry Akst, Sam M. Lewis & Joe Young, key of G (swing), 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
A 1925 Tin Pan Alley hit by Harry Akst (lyrics by Sam Lewis and Joe Young), Dinah was cut by Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli in 1934, an early Quintette showpiece and a favourite up-tempo swing romp ever since.
The sound: bright G major swing built on a cycle of dominants (E7–A7–D7 back to G), with a passing A♭dim7 and a turn through the relative minor (Em, EmMaj7, Em7). Easy, bouncing, made for trading choruses.
Practising it: nail G major and the arpeggios through the dominant cycle, chaining A7 into D7 into G. Great vehicle for la pompe; push the tempo once the changes are automatic.
Dinah chords: the grille
A : | G | C7 | G | G | Am | D7 | G A♭° | Am D7 | G | C7 | G | G | Am | D7 | G | Gm B7 | Em | EmΔ | Em7 | A7 | Em | A7 | Am | D7 | G | C7 | G | G | Am | D7 | G | G |
Chords used
G · C7 · Am · D7 · A♭° · Gm · B7 · Em · EmΔ · Em7 · A7
Play along
Open the interactive grille for Dinah: 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.