Minor key tunes with minimal chord progressions trace back to New Orleans. By the late 1930s several, like St. James Infirmary, Minnie The Moocher, and Sing, Sing, Sing entered the American vernacular. Ellington composed quite a few minor key numbers himself including his theme (East St. Louis Toodle-oo), The Mooche, Black And Tan Fantasy, and It Don’t Mean A Thing. Like East St. Louis Toodle-oo,

The Gal From Joe’s is a big AB form—A section is in Bb minor and the B section is in Db (the relative major). The minor section is mostly very spare harmonically, alternating between tonic and leading tone diminished. The occasional use of tonic diminished, V/V, and shoulder chords create surprise. The major section mainly alternates between tonic and leading tone diminished chords. Both A and B have 8-bar bridges for relief.

Johnny Hodges plays the sketchy melody, taking liberties and making it his own while alternating with the pep section. He is the only soloist in the entire piece. The brass and saxes develop the A material with the pep section returning for the vamp ending. The studio recordings all end with a board fade. Subsequent airchecks extend the vamp and cadence in the relative major.

There is far more repetition in this chart than we are used to from Ellington. Sometimes the repeats change octaves and/or dynamics. Coupled with the simplicity of melody and harmony, one would think this recording would have become a Swing Era hit. Evidently, Ellington had faith in it and kept it in the band’s book through 1940. Hodges recorded it in the ‘50s with Strayhorn, and finally, Duke brought it back for a minute in 1971.

The main appeal is the relaxed swing groove. I don’t know who this gal was (Ellington would say, “A gentleman would never tell,”) but we can assume that she wasn’t flashy, dangerous, threatening, high maintenance, or terribly exciting, but she was so cool and comfortable to be with that she was irresistible.