Duke Ellington, music · Barney Bigard, credited on some issues · First recorded for Victor, Chicago, 1942
C Jam Blues
C Jam Blues is a 12-bar blues in C that Duke Ellington's band made famous in 1942. Players love it because the chords are simple and the short riff leaves room for solos. You will hear it at jam sessions, on big-band records and, with words added, as Duke's Place.
▶ Plays the whole path in order, one recording after another.
- 1 Learn the song Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra✓
- 2 Hear it as a piano trio Oscar Peterson Trio✓
- 3 Hear the words Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington✓
- 4 Hear the words with a big band Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington✓
- 5 Hear the band years later Duke Ellington✓
- 6 Hear it with organ Jimmy Smith✓
- 7 Hear it today John Pizzarelli✓
- 8 Hear it stretched out Charles Mingus✓
How the tune works
The tune is one 12-bar blues chorus, played again for every solo. It stays in C throughout. In the chart on this page, C7 lasts four bars, F7 two bars and C7 two more, then Dm7 and G7 lead into two last bars of C7, where the next chorus begins. The riff is short, so the form carries the tune.
One online lead sheet for the changes in C: 12 bars, three lines of four. The first line holds C7 for four bars, the second moves to F7 for two bars and back to C7, and the third runs Dm7, G7, then C7 for two bars.
Taken from one online lead sheet (melody left out), marked medium swing. The same page's text says the tune uses only I, IV and V and no ii–V, so the Dm7 in bar 9 is optional. Jazzadvice.com calls its own chart a general starting point and says blues changes vary. The chords haven't been checked against the 1942 record, so compare this chart with the recording and with the chart you play from.
Source: Jazz Library: C Jam Blues lead sheet and chord changes
Listen in this order
Play all 8 on YouTube ↗You hear Ellington's 1942 record first, then a piano trio, two sung versions, the band again live, an organ record, a small group from 2010 and a 24-minute live stretch with Mingus. Each step gives you one thing to listen for and one thing to try.
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Step 1 · Learn the song Now playing
Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra 1942
“The "C" Jam Blues”
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- Listen for
- Ellington's band plays a short riff over the 12-bar blues in C, and players from the band take turns as soloists. The record lasts 2:37, so each turn is brief.
- Try this
- Play the chords at a slow tempo, one bar each: C7 for four bars, F7 for two, C7 for two, then Dm7, G7 and two bars of C7. Then play the record, count 1 to 12 with your foot, and see how many choruses you can follow before you lose your place.
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Step 2 · Hear it as a piano trio Now playing
Oscar Peterson Trio 1962
Night Train
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- Listen for
- Oscar Peterson, bassist Ray Brown and drummer Ed Thigpen play the tune in 3:23. Thigpen's rivet cymbal was recorded at very close range, so the pulse is easy to hear.
- Try this
- Play the chords with a simple bass line: the root of each chord on all four beats of the bar. For a smaller version, play only the root on beat one of each bar.
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Step 3 · Hear the words Now playing
Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington (Louis Armstrong and His All-Stars) 1961
“Duke's Place”, Together for the First Time
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- Listen for
- Louis Armstrong sings the lyric version, called Duke's Place, with Ellington on piano. The record runs 5:04, long enough for several choruses of the 12-bar form.
- Try this
- Tap a 12-bar count with your foot while you listen, and make a tally mark each time a new chorus starts.
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Step 4 · Hear the words with a big band Now playing
Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington (Duke Ellington and His Orchestra) 1965
“Duke's Place”, Ella at Duke's Place
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- Listen for
- Ella Fitzgerald sings the same Duke's Place lyric as Armstrong, with Ellington's full orchestra in place of a six-piece group. The 12-bar form is the same.
- Try this
- Sing the root of each chord in time with the 12 bars: C, C, C, C, F, F, C, C, D, G, C, C. Then play those roots on an instrument.
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Step 5 · Hear the band years later Now playing
Duke Ellington and His Orchestra 1959
“C Jam Blues (Live at the Blue Note Club, Chicago)”, Live at the Blue Note
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- Listen for
- Ellington's band recorded this live at the Blue Note club in Chicago in 1959. Ray Nance and Harry Carney played on the 1942 record too, and this track runs 4:53, almost twice as long.
- Try this
- Count the 12-bar choruses in this version and in the 1942 record, then compare the two numbers. If counting is hard, count only the first four choruses of each.
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Step 6 · Hear it with organ Now playing
Jimmy Smith (Oliver Nelson, arranger and conductor) 1965
Got My Mojo Workin'
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- Listen for
- Jimmy Smith plays organ with guitarist Kenny Burrell, bass, drums and four horns, in an arrangement by Oliver Nelson. The track is 3:52 long.
- Try this
- Play bars 1 to 4 with only the root and the seventh of C7 (C and B♭) held together, then bars 5 and 6 with the root and seventh of F7 (F and E♭). For a smaller version, hold only the root of each chord.
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Step 7 · Hear it today Now playing
John Pizzarelli (with Harry Allen and Aaron Weinstein) 2010
Rockin' in Rhythm: A Tribute to Duke Ellington
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- Listen for
- John Pizzarelli plays guitar, with Harry Allen on tenor saxophone and Aaron Weinstein on violin. The track runs 7:57, about three times as long as the 1942 record, which also had a violinist (Ray Nance) and a tenor saxophonist (Ben Webster).
- Try this
- Count one chorus aloud, 1 to 12. The chord usually moves to F7 at bar 5, so say "five" louder there and check that you hear a change.
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Step 8 · Hear it stretched out Now playing
Charles Mingus 1974
“C Jam Blues (Live at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY, January 19, 1974)”, Mingus at Carnegie Hall
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- Listen for
- Charles Mingus leads a nine-piece band live at Carnegie Hall in January 1974. The track runs 24:40. Rahsaan Roland Kirk plays tenor saxophone and stritch, and Jon Faddis plays trumpet.
- Try this
- Pick one player and follow only that player's choruses, counting the 12-bar cycles. For a smaller version, count the cycles in the first four minutes.
More great versions
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Louis Armstrong and His All Stars 1947
“"C" Jam Blues (Live 1947 Symphony Hall)”, Satchmo at Symphony Hall
The tune's co-credited composer, clarinetist Barney Bigard, plays it with Louis Armstrong's All-Stars.
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The Red Garland Trio 1957
“C-Jam Blues”, Groovy
A trio reading by Red Garland, Paul Chambers and Art Taylor that runs more than eight minutes, so the blues form repeats many times.
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Duke Ellington and His Orchestra 1959
Blues in Orbit
A studio version from the December 1959 sessions for Blues in Orbit, an album of blues pieces.
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Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie and the Jazz at the Philharmonic All-Stars 1972
“C-Jam Blues (Live)”, Jazz at Santa Monica Civic '72
The finale of a 1972 Norman Granz concert, with Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie and the Jazz at the Philharmonic all-star group on stage together.
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André Previn (with Mundell Lowe and Ray Brown) 1990
Uptown
A trio of piano, guitar and bass, recorded in 1990 for the Telarc album Uptown.
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Dave Grusin (with Clark Terry, Tom Scott, George Bohanon, Brian Bromberg and Harvey Mason) 1993
“C-Jam Blues”, Homage to Duke
A 1993 tribute album by pianist Dave Grusin, with Clark Terry on trumpet and flugelhorn.