“Lullaby of Birdland” was composed by pianist George Shearing in 1952, with lyrics by George David Weiss. Named after the famous New York jazz club Birdland, it became a hit and a standard for singers like Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan. Shearing’s locked-hands piano style is closely associated with it.
The form is a 32-bar AABA, usually in F minor (with Ab major as the relative major). The A sections move through minor ii-V progressions and resolve to the relative major, giving the tune a cool, slightly mysterious quality. The bridge moves through more ii-Vs before returning.
For improvisation, practice minor ii-V-i patterns in F minor and major ii-V-I patterns in Ab. Use F harmonic minor over the dominant chords that resolve to F minor. Shearing’s locked-hands technique, playing the melody in block chords, is worth learning for pianists.
Practice the melody from Ella’s or Sarah Vaughan’s version, then improvise using guide tones. Medium swing around 140 BPM is a good starting tempo.
Arrangement idea: try Shearing’s quintet sound by doubling the melody on vibraphone and guitar while the piano plays locked-hands block chords. For vocal versions, a short scat chorus works well before the final melody, just as Ella Fitzgerald did on her famous recordings.
Memorizing the Lullaby of Birdland Lead Sheet PDF: learn the form in sections, not all at once. Play the first eight bars until you can do them with your eyes closed, then add the next section. Within a week or two you won’t need the page at all, which is the real goal of any lead sheet.
Ear training with the Lullaby of Birdland Lead Sheet PDF: before reading along, listen to two different recordings and try to hear where each section starts. Then follow the lead sheet while listening. Connecting what you see to what you hear is how lead sheets turn into tunes you truly know.
Is it hard to play? It’s intermediate. Recordings to study: George Shearing’s original quintet recording and Ella Fitzgerald’s vocal version. Learn more about the composer on George Shearing’s Wikipedia page, and find more swing standards on Minedit.