“There Will Never Be Another You” was composed by Harry Warren with lyrics by Mack Gordon for the 1942 film Iceland. Chet Baker’s vocal version made it a jazz favorite, and it’s now a go-to tune at jam sessions because it swings at any tempo and flows naturally from one chord to the next.
The form is a 32-bar ABAC, typically in Eb major. It opens on Ebmaj7, then moves to a minor ii-V into C minor (Dø, G7, Cm7), followed by Bbm7 to Eb7 heading to Abmaj7. Next comes the minor iv chord (Abm7 to Db7), a sound you’ll hear in tons of standards, before returning to Eb. The second half follows a similar path and ends with a classic iii-vi-ii-V turnaround (Gm7, C7, Fm7, Bb7) to bring you home.
For soloing, notice that most of the tune lives inside Eb major, with quick trips to C minor and the minor iv. Use Eb major as your home base, C harmonic minor over the Dø to G7, and Ab melodic minor or Db Lydian dominant over the Abm7 to Db7 bars. A fun exercise is to play the tune’s melody and then answer each phrase with a short improvised phrase of your own. It trains your ear and keeps your solo connected to the song.
Common mistakes on this tune include ignoring the minor iv chord and playing straight Eb major over it. That Cb note (the third of Abm7) is the most expressive note in the progression, so aim for it every time it comes around.
Practice tips: memorize the melody, then play the changes as root-position arpeggios at a slow tempo, then speed up. Transcribe a chorus from Chet Baker or Sonny Rollins, who both recorded memorable versions. Bring it to your next jam session because almost everyone knows it. Learn more about the composer on Harry Warren’s Wikipedia page, and find more jam-session staples on Minedit.