“Days of Wine and Roses” was composed by Henry Mancini with lyrics by Johnny Mercer for the 1962 film of the same name, and it won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Jazz musicians quickly adopted it because its chord changes flow beautifully and give you plenty of room to improvise.
The form is 32 bars, in an ABAC shape, usually in F major. It opens with Fmaj7 to Eb7, a surprising move to a dominant a whole step down, before moving to a ii-V into the relative minor and then other nearby keys. The progression is full of ii-Vs, secondary dominants and descending motion, and it ends with a classic turnaround back to F. It has a lyrical, floating quality that suits medium swing or a slow ballad.
For improvisation, focus on that opening move. Over Eb7, use Eb Lydian dominant or the Bb melodic minor sound, and land on G (the third) to make it sing. After that, treat each ii-V as its own mini key and connect them with guide tones. The melody uses long notes, so you can borrow its rhythm and fill in with your own pitches. Wes Montgomery and Bill Evans both recorded versions full of ideas worth stealing.
Practice by learning the melody from a vocal recording, then playing it in F and Eb. Improvise a chorus using only the third and seventh of each chord, then add arpeggios. Medium swing around 140 BPM is a comfortable place to start.
Recordings to study: Wes Montgomery’s guitar version, Bill Evans’s trio recordings, and Andy Williams’s vocal hit for the original melody. Hearing the tune as both a ballad and a swinger helps you see how flexible the harmony is.
Common mistake: playing F major over the Eb7. That chord needs its own sound. Learn more about the composer on Henry Mancini’s Wikipedia page, and find more film-song standards on Minedit.