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"C Jam Blues" is a jazz standard composed in 1942 by Duke Ellington. One of his most famous pieces,[1] it has been performed by countless other musicians, such as Dave Grusin, Django Reinhardt, Oscar Peterson, and Charles Mingus.
| C Jam Blues | |
|---|---|
| by Duke Ellington | |
"C Jam Blues" performed by Ellington in the 1942 short film Jam Session | |
| Key | C major |
| Genre | Jazz |
| Form | Twelve-bar blues |
| Composed | 1941 |
Background
editAs the title suggests, the piece follows a twelve-bar blues form in the key of C major. The tune is well known[according to whom?] for being extremely easy to play, with the entire melody featuring only two notes: G and C.
A performance typically features several improvised solos. The melody likely originated from the clarinetist Barney Bigard in 1941, but its origin is not perfectly clear.[2]
It was also known as "Duke's Place",[3] with lyrics added by Bill Katts, Bob Thiele and Ruth Roberts.[citation needed]
Notable performances
edit- The song is performed in the "soundie" Jam Session, produced in 1942. The video depicts a jam session where Ellington begins playing with a double bass before gradually being joined by other members of his band, among them drummer Sonny Greer and trumpeter Rex Stewart.[4]
- Western Swing band leader Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys recorded the song sometime between 1945 and 1947 as part of The Tiffany Transcriptions.[5][better source needed]
- Bill Doggett recorded a version on his 1958 tribute album Salute to Duke Ellington (King).
- "C Jam Blues" was used by the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band as the basis of their song "The Intro and the Outro".[6]
- Mulgrew Miller and Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen included the song in their 1999 album The Duets.[7]
- The Dave Brubeck Quartet performed this live at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival; the recording appears in their album Newport 1958.[8][9]
- Tenor saxophonist Illinois Jacquet performed the song with former President Bill Clinton at his 1993 inagural ball.[10]
References
editCitations
edit- ^ Schuller 1992, p. 47.
- ^ "C Jam Blues (1942)". JazzStandards.com. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
- ^ "C-Jam Blues by Duke Ellington/arr. Rick Stitzel". J.W. Pepper Sheet Music. Retrieved January 11, 2025.
- ^ Mashon, Mike (December 1, 2015). "Duke Ellington on the National Film Registry: Jam Session (1942)". Now See Hear! (Blog). The Library of Congress. Retrieved January 11, 2025.
- ^ San Antonio Rose. Tiffany Transcriptions page 351.
- ^ Tracey, Ed (September 18, 2016). "Odds & Ends: News/Humor (with a "Who Lost the Week?" poll)". Daily Kos. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
- ^ "Mulgrew Miller Discography". jazzdisco.org. Retrieved March 7, 2017.
- ^ "Newport 1958". Dave Brubeck Jazz. Rovi Corporation. Archived from the original on August 6, 2021. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
- ^ Dryden, Ken. "Newport 1958: Brubeck Plays Ellington Review". AllMusic. Retrieved January 11, 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Legendary saxophonist dies". Deaths. The Robesonian. The Associated Press. July 23, 2004. p. 8A. Retrieved January 11, 2025.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
Sources
edit- Schuller, Gunther (1992). "Jazz and Composition: The Many Sides of Duke Ellington, the Music's Greatest Composer". Bulletin of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. 46 (1). American Academy of Arts & Sciences: 36–51. ISSN 0002-712X. JSTOR 3824163. Retrieved January 11, 2025.
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