"It's taken me all my life to learn what not to play." Dizzy Gillespie

By Edgar Sampson in 1933 (copyrighted by Irvine Mills in 1935)

First recorded by Benny Carter in 1933

Chick Webb in 1934 and Fletcher Henderson in 1936 

By Oliver Nelson in 1961

Featured on the Album ‘Blues and the Abstract Truth 

By Al Cohn first released 1948 on the Woody Herman Album

‘The Essential Woody Herman’ 

By Ted Grouya in 1940 

First recorded by Herb Jeffries with the Duke Ellington Orchestra

Also Earl Bostic had a hit with an R&B version in 1951 

By Duke Ellington in 1932 words were added later by Mitchell Parish

By Benny Carter around 1961 

and was first aired on ‘Further Definitions’  

By Stanley Turrentine in 1961 

By Johnny Hodges in 1957

And was released on the album ‘Johnny Hodges and the Ellington Men’ 

in 1958 

By Ray Noble in 1938

Made popular by various musicians such as Charlie Barnet, who

had a hit with it in 1939. Since then it has been a popular vehicle

with many others like Charlie Parker, Art Tatum and Sonny Stitt

By Frank Foster in 1955 

Originally an instrumental, but lyrics were later added by 

Jon Hendricks in January 1963, and in July 1963 Ella Fitzgerald

wrote a version that is now more commonly used.

By Milton Rajonsky, better known as ‘Shorty Rogers’ in 1954

He released so many valuable tunes in the West Coast style, and

recorded with so many musicians that went on to become giants in

their own right such as Stan Kenton, Bud Shank, Bill Perkins and

many others.