"C Jam Blues" is a jazz standard composed in 1942 by Duke Ellington and performed by countless other musicians, such as Dave Grusin and Django Reinhardt. As the title suggests, the piece follows a twelve-bar blues form in the key of C major.
The piece typically features several improvised solos. The final solo continues in the upper register as the entire ensemble comes in and the music grows to a climax. The melody likely originated from the clarinetist Barney Bigard in 1941, but its origin is not perfectly clear.
It was also known as "Duke's Place", with lyrics added by Bill Katts, Bob Thiele and Ruth Roberts Western Swing band leader Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys recorded the song sometime between mid-1945 through 1947 as part of the Tiffany Transcriptions.
Famous quotes containing the words jam and/or blues:
“If you hadn’t been in such a hurry to cremate me, I wouldn’t be in the jam I’m in now.”
—Seton I. Miller (1902–1974)
“Holly Golightly: You know those days when you’ve got the mean reds?
Paul: The mean reds? You mean like the blues?
Holly Golightly: No, the blues are because you’re getting fat or maybe it’s been raining too long. You’re just sad, that’s all. The mean reds are horrible. Suddenly you’re afraid and you don’t know what you’re afraid of.”
—George Axelrod (b. 1922)