A Shade of Jade by Joe Henderson

Overview

Key: C minor · Chords used: 18 · Sections: 4

Form: A Section → A Section → Bridge → A Section

Where these chords come from: a chord chart of this song written by a musician and shared on the iReal Pro forums, archived in the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). It's one musician's reading of the song, not a transcription checked against the recording. This page shows that chart as-is: the analysis below is generated directly from it by code, not written by AI. Consecutive repeats of a chord are shown once, and the piano voicings are our playable arrangement of each chord symbol, not a note-for-note transcription.

Section by section

A Section 1

• Cm9 – D♭maj7♯11 – E♭maj7♯11 – Emaj7♯11 – Dmaj7♯11 – D♭maj7♯11
  i9 – bIImaj7#11 – bIIImaj7#11 – IIImaj7#11 – IImaj7#11 – bIImaj7#11

A Section 2

Same chords as A Section 1.

Bridge

• G♭maj7♯11 – F7♭9 – B♭m7 – Gm7♭5 – C7♯9 – Fmaj7 – Dm7 – B♭m7 – E♭maj7 – G♭maj7 – D♭maj7 – Dm7♭5 – A♭maj7 – G7♯9
  bVmaj7#11 – IV7b9 – bvii7 – vø7 – I7#9 – IVmaj7 – ii7 – bvii7 – bIIImaj7 – bVmaj7 – bIImaj7 – iiø7 – bVImaj7 – V7#9

A Section 3

Same chords as A Section 1.

Chord vocabulary

Chord	Roman numeral	Role	Heard in
Cm9	i9	Home chord (tonic)	A Section
D♭maj7♯11	bIImaj7#11	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
E♭maj7♯11	bIIImaj7#11	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
Emaj7♯11	IIImaj7#11	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
Dmaj7♯11	IImaj7#11	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
G♭maj7♯11	bVmaj7#11	Outside the key (chromatic)	Bridge
F7♭9	IV7b9	Outside the key (chromatic)	Bridge
B♭m7	bvii7	Outside the key (chromatic)	Bridge
Gm7♭5	vø7	Outside the key (chromatic)	Bridge
C7♯9	I7#9	Outside the key (chromatic)	Bridge
Fmaj7	IVmaj7	Borrowed from C major	Bridge
Dm7	ii7	Borrowed from C major	Bridge
E♭maj7	bIIImaj7	In the key	Bridge
G♭maj7	bVmaj7	Outside the key (chromatic)	Bridge
D♭maj7	bIImaj7	Outside the key (chromatic)	Bridge
Dm7♭5	iiø7	In the key	Bridge
A♭maj7	bVImaj7	In the key	Bridge
G7♯9	V7#9	In the key	Bridge

Harmonic highlights

• Fmaj7 (IVmaj7) is borrowed from the parallel key, C major.
• Dm7 (ii7) is borrowed from the parallel key, C major.

Sources & accuracy

• Chords: the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). Community chord chart “A Shade of Jade” (credited “Henderson Joe”, style Up Tempo Swing) from the forum file linked here, CC BY 4.0 via ChoCo. Artist as credited on the chart.
• Section names: from the chart's own markings: section names written on the chart (Intro, Verse, Chorus…) are kept, and rehearsal letters are shown as “A Section”, “B Section” and so on (the B of an AABA song is called the Bridge).
• Cross-check: the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). Community chord chart “A Shade Of Jade” (credited “Henderson Joe”, style Up Tempo Swing) from the forum file linked here, CC BY 4.0 via ChoCo. Artist as credited on the chart. A separately posted chart of the same song; its chords match this page's closely when both are read in the same key (similarity 100%).
• Chord charts are often written in a key that suits a particular singer or band, so this may not be the key of the original recording.
• Verified: two community charts of this song, posted in different forum threads, agree on its harmony. They're still charts, not transcriptions checked against the recording.
• Rhythm and chord durations aren't shown; each step is one chord change.