MILES DAVIS ALL BLUES
KIND OF BLUE - 1959
All Blues
• This track is from the album KIND OF BLUE and was recorded
in one take in New York in 1959
• Each track on the album, including this one, had only one take
and the whole album was recorded in three 3 hour sessions
• Rarely, all the musicians were at the height of their playing
abilities when this was recorded
• MILES DAVIS gave his band the minimum of preparation for
this track before they went into the studio in New York in
1959
– They were just given some MODES (Scales) and melody lines to
improvise around
• This is MODAL JAZZ – this means that rather than relying on
complicated chord patterns and PLAYING THE CHANGES, the
solos are built from the chosen MODES. This means the
improvisations are longer and much freer.
• Unusually for Jazz the time signature is 6/4 and is marked JAZZ
WALTZ
The bandMILES DAVIS - trumpet
CANNONBALL ADDERLEY - alto sax JOHN COLTRANE - tenor sax
JIMMY COBB - drums
BILL EVANS – piano PAUL CHAMBERS - bass
The Instruments & Their Roles
• The frontline instruments are the TRUMPET, ALTO
SAXOPHONE & TENOR SAXOPHONE. They play
the IMPROVISED SOLOS
• The RHYTHM section provides the harmonic and
rhythmic background - in this case it is the
DRUMS / BASS / PIANO
• The Piano COMPS chords underneath the 3 solos.
COMPING is a Jazz term for accompanying
• The Bass is very repetitive throughout – it
deliberately doesn’t detract from the
improvisations
Structure of ALL BLUES
In total All Blues plays the 12 Bar Blues pattern 19 times
with short link passages in between each main section.
Structural Overview:
• INTRO
• HEAD – this is where the original tune or melody is
played
• IMPROVISED SOLOS - trumpet / alto sax / tenor sax /
piano
• HEAD - the main theme returns
• OUTRO - this fades out
This is the chord pattern for a standard 12 bar blues:
Bar 1
Bar 2
Bar 3
Bar 4
G
G
G
G
Bar 5
Bar 6
Bar 7
Bar 8
C
C
G
G
Bar 9
Bar 10
Bar 11
Bar 12
D
C
G
G/C
This is the chord pattern used in All Blues:
Bar 1
Bar 2
Bar 3
Bar 4
G7
G7
G7
G7
Bar 5
Bar 6
Bar 7
Bar 8
C7
C7
G7
G7
Bar 9
Bar 10
Bar 11
Bar 12
D7#9
Eb7#9 D7#9
G7
G7
• All Blues uses EXTENDED CHORDS such as
DOMINANT 7ths, and the last line also uses
ALTERED CHORDS
• A Dominant 7th is a normal triad with the 7th
note above the bass added
• Adding a 7th, 9th or even an 11th to a triad
turns it into an EXTENDED CHORD
• A #9 chord works on the same idea, you add
the 9th note above the root and sharpen it
(This is the same as adding a sharpened 2nd)
• Sharpening or Flattening a note makes a chord
an ALTERED CHORD – such as D7#9 and Eb7#9
Chord Voicing
• Bill Evans keeps the piano part interesting while COMPING by
constantly changing the CHORD VOICING
• Changing the voicing means simply changing the order of
notes in a chord
• Changing which notes are at the top, bottom or middle, and
how far they spread over the piano can dramatically change
the way a chord sounds
RIFFS – What are they?
• A RIFF is a short repeated phrase, or the
modern name for an ostinato – Riffs are very
common in Jazz, Blues & Pop.
• All Blues is based on 2 short riffs
– The first is played by the Double Bass throughout
most of the piece
– The second is the rising and falling 3rds played
mainly by the alto and tenor saxes, and
occasionally the piano