“Hearing Coltrane seize ‘In a Sentimental Mood’ is thanks enough.” - Marc Greilsamer

Rank 19 Music Duke Ellington Lyrics Irving Mills Manny Kurtz   On April 30, 1935, Duke Ellington and His Orchestra introduced “In a Sentimental Mood.” Recorded on the Brunswick label and featuring Otto “Toby” Hardwick on alto saxophone, the composition went onto the pop charts on July 13, rising to number fourteen. “In a Sentimental Mood” enjoyed a wave of popularity in the 1930’s. Other recordings to make the pop charts that decade included Benny Goodman and His Orchestra, 1936, which rose to number thirteen, and Mills Blues Rhythm Band, also in 1936, which rose to number nineteen. In an age of radio, “In a Sentimental Mood” was the theme song for no less than nine radio shows.   Chart information used by permission from Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954   Although Ellington is credited for the music of “In a Sentimental Mood,” Toby Hardwick should be recognized beyond his introductory performance. In his biography, Duke Ellington, James Lincoln Collier comments, “...the central melodic ideas of virtually all of Ellington’s best-known songs originated in somebody else’s head.” Among many others examples, Collier points out that “In a Sentimental Mood,” “Sophisticated Lady,” and “Prelude to a Kiss” were adaptations of Hardwick melodies.     More on Otto Hardwick       More on Duke Ellington   The combination of Ellington’s music and the Kurtz/Mills lyrics has elicited high praise from music critics. Accolades have included “Simply the most beautiful song ever written” and “The perfect soundtrack for falling in love.”     More on Irving Mills       More on Manny Kurtz

More information on this tune... James Lincoln Collier Duke Ellington Oxford University Press, USA Hardcover: 352 pages (Ellington biographer Collier devotes two paragraphs to anecdotes and a musical analysis of the song.) See the Reading and Research page for this tune for additional references. - Jeremy Wilson

This section suggests definitive or otherwise significant recordings that will help jazz students get acquainted with “In a Sentimental Mood.” These recordings have been selected from the Jazz History and CD Recommendations sections.

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The original Duke Ellington version of “In A Sentimental Mood” from 1935 (The Duke: The Columbia Years 1927-1962) is haunting and lyrical, showing what a brilliant composer and arranger he already was. Perhaps better known, especially among modern musicians, is his revisiting of the tune in 1962 (Duke Ellington and John Coltrane) with a quartet featuring the passionate saxophone of John Coltrane. A standout among vocal performances of the tune is Sarah Vaughan’s assured, intimate version from 1961 (Ballads: Sarah Vaughan) accompanied only by the guitar of Mundell Lowe and the bass of George DuVivier.

Noah Baerman - Jazz Pianist and Educator

It is always tempting to question how much Irving Mills contributed to a song bearing his name. In this case the lofty phrases,

“stars come through my room”
“flame that lights the gloom”
“wings of every kiss”

are so similar in style to Mills’ individual effort on “Caravan” (1937)

“stars above that shine so bright”
“The myst’ry of their fading light...”

that it seems likely credit is due.

In his book American Popular Song: The Great Innovators, 1900-1950, Alec Wilder comments that the lyrics to “In a Sentimental Mood” have little fluidity. While that may be true, as with “Caravan” their strength lies in the evocative power of the phrases. The lyrics are not witty, urbane, or exemplary in their construction like those of Lorenz Hart or Cole Porter, but they do successfully create images that support the mood of Ellington’s music.

“In a Sentimental Mood” is written in the basic popular song format A-A-B-A and appears to capitalize on a supporting phrase from a Gershwin song. The chorus opens with a seven-note climb up the scale that, with the exception of key, is the same as the opening of the chorus in Gershwin’s 1926 “Someone to Watch over Me.” The songs part company there, however, with Gershwin launching into a series of repeated notes before closing the first chorus (and others) with the title phrase. “In a Sentimental Mood,” on the other hand, pauses for a full measure at the end of the initial seven-note climb, providing emphasis that establishes the sequence of notes as the hook phrase and as the logical place to fit the title of the song. -JW

Musical analysis of “In a Sentimental Mood”
Original Key	One flat; “A” starts in D minor and ends in F major with a false key change to Db major
Form	A - A – B – A
Tonality	About 45% is minor; first “A” wanders to the relative major key, while “B” is entirely major
Movement	Primarily scale-wise, initially ascending from the third degree of the minor key, gradually working its way back down through a combination of steps and skips in both directions.
Comments     (assumed background)
The beginning minor gives the song a “brooding,” introspective feeling, but the eventual change to minor seems to bring some resolution. It has been pointed out that the first seven notes are identical to Gershwin’s “Someone To Watch Over Me.” However, the harmonic context is so radically different as to make it almost unrecognizable. Harmonically, the piece is brilliant and unique. A descending bass line subtly leads the ear from i to iv. A V7 returns us to i, but then, changes the V to a minor v chord, making it a pivot iii chord of the relative major in a circle of fifths that leads the ear to the new tonic (in the original key: A7 – Dm – Am7 – D7 – Gm7 – C7 – F). This whole modulation is done with such finesse, the listener is hardly aware of it until the sudden shift back to i for the second “A”. The harmonic progression of “B,” by contrast, is a fairly standard I – vi – ii – V7 (“Blue Moon,” “Heart And Soul,” etc.), but since the song has modulated into a distant key, it still sounds fresh. Part of this is also because many notes of the melody are on coloristic chord extentions–the major (raised) seventh, the ninth, and the eleventh, for the most part. Other important melody notes are chord extentions, the most notable being the first long sustained note of “A”. The initial seven-notescale run lands on the 11th (G in D minor). This could only work in a minor key and essentially makes the opening chord Dm11. The next predominant note is the 9th (A in G minor).
K. J. McElrath - Musicologist for JazzStandards.com

Duke Ellington’s lovely melody was the basis for a number of arrangements in the 1930’s, most notably those recorded by reedman Jimmy Dorsey, the Mills Blue Rhythm Band, guitarist Dick McDonough, Benny Goodman, and Elllington himself. The Belgian-gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt’s version with the Quintette of the Hot Club of France in 1937 showed he was not intimidated by the song’s harmonic structure; his work on the recording is forward-thinking.

The tune had a bit of hiatus during the 1940’s but resurfaced in 1953 with recordings by Sonny Rollins and Art Tatum, after which it was revisited by many jazz players.

Chris Tyle - Jazz Musician and Historian

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Django Reinhardt, Stephane Grappelli Classic Early Recordings in Chronogical Order Jsp Records

“In a Sentimental Mood” was included in these films:

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• The Natural (1984, instrumental)
• He Said, She Said (1991)
• A League of Their Own (1992, Billy Joel)
• The Mambo Kings (1992, Duke Ellington and His Orchestra)
• The Hudsucker Proxy (1994, Duke Ellington and His Orchestra)
• The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996, Marvin Hamlisch, instrumental)
• Love Jones (1997, John Coltrane and Duke Ellington)
• Angel Eyes (2001, Dennis Smith)

And on Broadway:

• Sophisticated Ladies (1981, Phyllis Hyman)
• Black and Blue: The Life and Lyrics of Andy Razaf (1989, Bunny Briggs, Jerome Richardson)

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