All blues

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All Blues is a jazz composition by Miles Davis from 1959 that has become the jazz standard . The first version was released on the album Kind of Blue .

The composition

All Blues is based on a 12-bar blues scheme. Nevertheless, the composition not a classic blues, as the melody of the 6/8-clock and skidding in the tenth cycle are completely atypical for the blues. The melody consists largely of two memorable motifs: on the one hand, an ascending sixth, ie, on the other hand, a bow figure in bars 5 and 6 (abcdcba). As so-called jazz blues , the song reflects the influence of the blues on jazz. It is an example of modal jazz . Its shape and harmonies are based on the blues and the special chorus structure of 12 bars that is repeated. Davis experimented with the composition for about half a year by performing it alone on the piano over and over again, and also asked Gil Evans for advice. “On the way to the studio, he suddenly decided not to play the piece in a straight beat, but as a waltz . He laid the parts of the instruments on top of each other: the 3/4 or 6/8 time in the drums, the pulse figure in the bass, the piano tremolo and the hypnotically swaying 3-tone riff of the two saxophones, a variation of his first modal Topic ›Milestones‹. "

The composition was actually purely instrumental, later Oscar Brown Jr. wrote a text for the piece, which was sung by Kevin Mahogany , Dee Dee Bridgewater (on their album Live In Paris , 1987) and Ernestine Anderson .

More shots

Davis took up the composition several more times, in 1964 with saxophonist George Coleman , pianist Herbie Hancock , bassist Ron Carter and drummer Tony Williams on the album Four and More . In the concerts of the 1960s, Davis played the piece more and more freely and moved away from the original blues foundation. In its recording from Plugged Nickel (1965) the song is played much faster than in the original version; the meter also jumps constantly between 6/8 and 4/4, which ensures a “heated increase”.

Numerous trumpeters followed Davis and recorded the piece. Freddie Hubbard and Oscar Peterson released a version on their 1982 album Face To Face . Chet Baker performed the song with Rachel Gould in 1979 in London. In 2001 Kenny Drew recorded the song for the album At the Brewhouse . The World Saxophone Quartet and the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble presented unusual arrangements .

reception

Thomas Ward wrote on allmusic: "All Blues" was like a staple around much of Davis 'career, and it's easy to see why - the melody builds on the melodic brilliance of Davis' trumpet, which Coltrane's solo does not feature either "All Blues" is also evidence of Jimmy Cobb's easy, fluid drumming, a rather secret hero of the Kind of Blue Sessions, but a very important member of the group. "

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ It was first recorded at Columbia Records 30th Street Studio in New York City on April 22, 1959 with Cannonball Adderley , John Coltrane , Bill Evans , Paul Chambers and Jimmy Cobb .
  2. ↑ a b c H.-J. Schaal, Jazz-Standards , p. 26f.
  3. ↑ Oscar Brown Jr. biography on allaboutjazz ( Memento from October 16, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
  4. ^ Review of the album Live in Paris at allmusic
  5. ↑ According to Schaal, there are two other texts on the piece.
  6. ^ Review of the album At the Brewhouse on allmusic
  7. ^ Review of the song by Thomas Ward