Rhythm changes

In jazz and jazz harmony, "rhythm changes" refers to the chord progression occurring in George Gershwin's song "I Got Rhythm". This pattern, "one of the most common vehicles for improvisation," forms the basis of countless (usually uptempo) jazz compositions, was popular with swing-era musicians: It is found in "Shoeshine Boy" (Lester Young's 1936 breakout recording with Count Basie) and "Cotton Tail" written by Duke Ellington in 1940, as well as Charlie Christian's "Seven Come Eleven",Dizzy Gillespie's "Salt Peanuts", and Thelonious Monk's "Rhythm-a-Ning", for instance. The earliest known use of rhythm changes was by Sidney Bechet in his September 15, 1932 recording of "Shag" with his "New Orleans Feetwarmers" group.

History

This progression's endurance in popularity is largely due to its extensive use by early bebop musicians. The chord changes began to be used in the 1930s, became extremely common in the '40s and '50s, and are now ubiquitous. First, "I Got Rhythm" was by then already a popular jazz standard; second, by listening to the song and writing a new melody over its chord changes, thereby creating a composition of a type known as a contrafact, a jazz musician could claim copyright to the new melody rather than acknowledge Gershwin's inspiration and pay royalties to his estate.