James Hanley’s standard was recorded in 1917 by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band on one of the first jazz records. Since then, it’s been interpreted as a military style march, ragtime piano piece, and dance band song. It wasn’t until the 1940’s that Charlie Parker used the same chord changes for “Donna Lee” that the complicated bebop melody was first heard. Miles Davis claimed he actually wrote the melody – to imitate Bird – and the record company made a mistake on the album. Hard to play on any instrument, “Donna Lee” is worth knowing for anyone serious about bebop and the changes are a ton of fun to play along with. The 220 BPM here is a great minimum tempo to work up to.