Swing 48 — chords & grille (gypsy jazz)
Swing 48 by Django Reinhardt — key of G (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
Swing 48 is a Django Reinhardt composition from 1948, cut with the Quintette du Hot Club de France — one of his late-period swing numbers built on the minor-blues frame he loved.
The sound — G minor over Gm6 and Cm6, with E♭7 and D7 spinning the turnaround, the same lean, driving harmony as Blues en Mineur. Four chords, all momentum.
Practising it — lock in the G harmonic minor scale and the Gm6/Cm6 arpeggios, and lean on D7's F♯ resolving to G. With so few chords, spend your time on rhythm and phrasing; push the tempo once the pompe is rock-steady.
Swing 48 chords — the grille
A : | Gm6 | Gm6 | Gm6 | Gm6 | Cm6 | Cm6 | Gm6 | Gm6 | E♭7 | D7 | Gm6 | E♭7 D7 |
Chords used
Play along
Open the interactive grille for Swing 48: 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.