J'attendrai — chords & grille (gypsy jazz)
J'attendrai by Dino Olivieri & Louis Poterat — key of C (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
J'attendrai began as the Italian Tornerai (Dino Olivieri, 1936), became a French hit for Rina Ketty in 1938, and was recorded that same year by Django Reinhardt and Grappelli — a wartime anthem turned manouche ballad.
The sound — a warm C major song with a wistful lilt: it leans on F, A7 into Dm, and the borrowed Fm that gives the cadence its ache. Tender rather than flashy, all about phrasing.
Practising it — sing the melody first. Outline C major, then voice-lead through Dm–G7–C; catch the colour of A7 pulling to Dm and the F–Fm move. Keep it slow and lyrical, let notes breathe.
J'attendrai chords — the grille
A : | C | C | C | F7 | C | C A7 | Dm | Dm A7 | Dm | Dm | Dm | G7 | Dm | G7 | C | C | Gm | C7 | F | Fm | C | C A7 | Dm | G7 | C | C |
Chords used
C · F7 · A7 · Dm · G7 · Gm · C7 · F · Fm
Play along
Open the interactive grille for J'attendrai: 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.