Cedar Walton (1977) [BLUE TRAIN]

From the album ‘First Set’, featuring Cedar Walton - piano, Bob Berg - tenor saxophone, Sam Jones - bass, and Billy Higgins - drums. Recorded live at Jazzhus Montmartre in Copenhagen, Denmark on October 1, 1977.

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Some notes about the composition as found on

Composer: John Coltrane

Year: 1957

Origin: Introduced on the album Blue Train.

Style: Swing, usually played at a medium up tempo.

Form: 12 Bar Major Blues
The head is generally played twice on the way in and out.

Shout-Chorus: The original recording features a repeated 2 bar phrase that is used as a shout-chorus towards the end of each solo.

Key: Eb Major

Harmony/Overview: A straight-ahead Major blues with a II - V turnaround, the tune has an almost quasi-minor sound with its main theme centered around 7#9 chords. On the original recording during the second pass through the melody the line is harmonized with 4ths below, and this arrangement is sometimes included in performances.

Recordings: The first recording comes from the album Blue Train in 1957, and it has gone on to become a standard along with all of the other originals from the album. The 1997 CD re-issue includes an alternate of "Blue Train" from the original session that is taken at a considerably brighter tempo.

JGC Top Picks:
John Coltrane, Blue Train, 1957
Cedar Walton, First Set, 1977
Archie Shepp, True Blue, 1998

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