Avalon — Free Lead Sheet PDF (Eb, Bb, Concert)

Music by Vincent Rose · Published 1920 · Melody & chords only

Not sure which to pick? Our interactive saxophone transposition chart can help. PDFs open in a new tab — right-click (or long-press on mobile) and choose “Save as” to download.

About Avalon

A Hit Song That Lost a Lawsuit to Puccini

Avalon was composed by Vincent Rose, published in 1920 with lyrics credited to Al Jolson and Buddy DeSylva. Jolson introduced the song himself and interpolated it into two of his own stage vehicles, Sinbad and Bombo; his own recording rose to number two on the charts in 1921. Most historians credit the melody to Rose alone, with Jolson's co-writing credit widely seen as a case of a star performer buying billing on a song rather than genuinely helping write it — a common practice at the time.

The song's most famous chapter came the following year. In 1921, the estate of opera composer Giacomo Puccini and his publisher sued everyone connected with Avalon, arguing that its melody had been lifted from the aria "E lucevan le stelle" in Puccini's Tosca. The court agreed, awarding the Puccini estate $25,000 in damages and all future print royalties from the song — a rare and striking case of a popular song losing a plagiarism suit to a work of grand opera.

The chart on this page offers the melody and chords, no lyrics. Despite its unusual legal history, the tune became a jazz standard in its own right, recorded by generations of musicians long after the original dispute was settled.

The Form & Harmony

A Repeated ii-V Turnaround Under a Broad, Operatic Melody

Avalon is in the key of F, verified against the engraved chart used for this page. Its harmony is built around a repeated G‹7-C7 turnaround — a straightforward ii-V figure that recurs across most of the form, giving the tune a strong, functional harmonic backbone under its wide-ranging, almost operatic melodic leaps.

The bridge offers a brief detour, moving to A‹7-D7 — a ii-V gesture toward the relative minor — before a striking chromatic move to B¨‹7-E¨7, a ii-V a whole step below the home key that briefly pulls the harmony into unexpected territory before resolving back to F. This chromatic dip is the tune's single moment of real harmonic surprise.

That combination of functional ii-V harmony and a sweeping, wide-interval melody is part of why the tune's plagiarism connection to Puccini's operatic writing feels so fitting — whatever the legal outcome, the melody genuinely does carry some of that operatic, long-breathed quality into a 32-bar popular song form.

How to Play It on Saxophone

A Practical Approach to a Broad, Operatic Melody

1. Learn the melody's wide leaps with full breath support. The tune's long, arching phrases and wide intervals reward a singer's approach to breathing. Plan your breaths to preserve the shape of each phrase.

2. Settle into a confident medium swing tempo. This tune works well at a bright, assured medium tempo. Find that pocket early and keep the eighth notes even and swinging throughout.

3. Isolate the chromatic dip in the bridge. The move to B¨‹7-E¨7 is the tune's one moment of real harmonic surprise. Practise this shift in isolation so it feels intentional rather than accidental inside the full form.

4. Prioritise a big, confident tone. The tune's sustained, wide-ranging phrases reward a full, projecting sound rather than a light or tentative one. Spend practice time on long tones across the melody's full range.

5. Study Coleman Hawkins's tenor saxophone reading of the tune. Listen to how Hawkins brings his characteristic big, authoritative tone to the tune, using its broad phrases as a platform for confident, unhurried improvisation.

If you would like one-to-one guidance on tone development, phrasing or building a wider jazz vocabulary, saxophone lessons in person in South East London or online are available. The free saxophone transcriptions on this site are also useful for hearing how great players navigate standards like this one.

Essential Recordings

Where to Start Listening

For a definitive saxophone treatment, seek out Coleman Hawkins's playing on Shelly Manne's 2-3-4 (Impulse!, 1962), where critics have singled out Hawkins for burning through the tune with characteristic authority alongside pianist Hank Jones.

The tune's defining early recording remains Al Jolson's own 1921 version, which rose to number two on the popular charts and helped cement the song's place in the American songbook.

The tune has also been recorded by Sarah Vaughan and countless dance bands of the 1920s. Comparing Jolson's original vocal reading against Hawkins's later jazz treatment is a good way to hear how far the tune travelled from its Tin Pan Alley origins.

If you are working through the broader Great American Songbook repertoire, browse the online real book index for related tunes, all available as free lead sheet PDFs in Concert, Bb and Eb.