This swing and jazz standard started life as a number in the 1921 London review A to Z, with music by Philip Braham and lyrics by Douglas Furber. It became a smash hit in the U.S. when Gertrude Lawrence made her 1924 Broadway debut singing it in André Charlot's Revue. Countless covers have been recorded since then by everyone from Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli with the Quintet of the Hot Club of France to the David Grisman Quintet to bluegrass greats Reno and Smiley. Horn players tend to play the song in A♭, but Aaron teaches it in the string-friendly key of G. “Limehouse Blues” has an AB form, and the B part starts like the A part, but diverges from the A-part melody four bars in. In this video, Aaron shows you the unique chord progression, which starts on the IV chord (C7), and is heavy on seventh chords throughout.
