All the Things You Are

“All the Things You Are” is a 1939 song by composer Jerome Kern with lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II, written for the Broadway show Very Warm for May. It quickly outlived the show and became a central Great American Songbook standard, embraced by swing players and then bebop musicians (Charlie Parker’s “Bird of Paradise” is a contrafact). Jazz musicians often point out that it combines a memorable, singable melody with a harmonically rich progression that moves through multiple key centers, which is why it’s considered essential for learning functional jazz harmony. The tune is most commonly played in A♭ major and uses an expanded 36–bar form rather than the usual 32–bar chorus.