Juan Tizol and Duke Ellington, music · Irving Mills, lyrics · First recorded by Barney Bigard and His Jazzopators, December 1936
Caravan
Caravan is a 64-bar minor-key tune by Juan Tizol and Duke Ellington, first recorded in 1936. Each A section holds one chord for twelve bars, which gives a soloist room to build ideas. You will hear it from big bands, trios, Latin bands and hard bop groups, and in Whiplash.
▶ Plays the whole path in order, one recording after another.
- 1 Hear the first recording Barney Bigard and His Jazzopators✓
- 2 Hear it as a trio Duke Ellington with Charles Mingus and Max Roach✓
- 3 Hear a pianist's version Thelonious Monk✓
- 4 Hear the hard bop arrangement Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers✓
- 5 Hear a guitar with an orchestra Wes Montgomery with the Johnny Pate Orchestra✓
- 6 Hear it sung Ella Fitzgerald with Duke Ellington✓
- 7 Hear a Latin rhythm section Dizzy Gillespie✓
- 8 Hear the source of the chart Wynton Marsalis✓
How the tune works
Each chorus is 64 bars in F minor, laid out A, A, B, A with 16 bars to a section. Most of each A sits on one chord, C7 (often written C7♭9), the dominant of F minor, held for 12 bars. F minor, the home chord, arrives only for the last 4 bars. The bridge turns to the relative major, A♭, by walking round the circle of fifths: F7 for 4 bars, B♭7 for 4, E♭7 for 4, then A♭ major for 2. G7 and D♭7, one bar each, lead back to C7 for the last A. Charts write the long C7 in several ways, such as C7♭9, C7 with D♭7, or a diminished chord, and they describe the same sound.
The changes under Wynton Marsalis's trumpet solo on Marsalis Standard Time, Vol. 1 (1986), transcribed in the Weimar Jazz Database. Fake books write the long C7 in several ways (C7♭9, C7 with D♭7, or a diminished chord).
Use the key buttons to move the chart to the key you play in.
Listen in this order
Play all 8 on YouTube ↗You hear the first recording by members of Ellington's band, then Ellington's own trio and Monk's trio. A hard bop sextet, a guitarist with an orchestra, a singer, a Latin rhythm section and a modern quartet follow.
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Step 1 · Hear the first recording Now playing
Barney Bigard and His Jazzopators 1936
“Caravan (Take 1)”, Variety 78 rpm single
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- Listen for
- Seven players take part, and the song's two composers, Ellington on piano and Tizol on trombone, are both in the band. Listen for how long each A section stays on the dominant chord before the minor home chord arrives.
- Try this
- Play C7 on a keyboard or guitar, then F minor, and hear how F minor feels like arriving home. Then count one full A section: C7 for 12 bars, F minor for 4.
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Step 2 · Hear it as a trio Now playing
Duke Ellington with Charles Mingus and Max Roach 1962
Money Jungle
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- Listen for
- Three players, piano, bass and drums, cover what seven players did on the first recording. Follow the bass through one A section, then listen again for the drums.
- Try this
- Play C7 for 12 bars and F minor for 4 with a steady pulse. Then repeat it with only the root note in your left hand and the chord in your right.
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Step 3 · Hear a pianist's version Now playing
Thelonious Monk 1955
Thelonious Monk Plays the Music of Duke Ellington
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- Listen for
- The trio has no horns, so the piano carries the tune. The track runs 5:55, so listen for how Monk handles the long stretch on the dominant chord.
- Try this
- If you can play the melody, play it in your right hand over one held left-hand note on C for 12 bars, then move the left hand to F for 4.
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Step 4 · Hear the hard bop arrangement Now playing
Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers 1962
Caravan
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- Listen for
- Three horns, trumpet, trombone and tenor saxophone, play over piano, bass and drums, and the track runs 9:47. Try to keep your place in the 16-bar sections as the band goes round the form.
- Try this
- Play the A section chords at a slow tempo: C7 for 12 bars, then F minor for 4. If that is too much, play C7 for 4 bars and F minor for 4.
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Step 5 · Hear a guitar with an orchestra Now playing
Wes Montgomery with the Johnny Pate Orchestra 1964
Movin' Wes
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- Listen for
- The track runs 2:36. Pick out the guitar against a large ensemble of trumpets, trombones, tuba and woodwinds, with piano, bass, drums and percussion underneath.
- Try this
- Play the A section chords on guitar or keyboard as a steady pattern: C7 once per bar for 12 bars, then F minor for 4.
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Step 6 · Hear it sung Now playing
Ella Fitzgerald with Duke Ellington and His Orchestra 1957
Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Song Book
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- Listen for
- Listen for how the voice takes the lead with Ellington's orchestra behind her. Compare it with the instrumental versions earlier on the path.
- Try this
- Hum the tune while you play the A section chords: C7 for 12 bars, then F minor for 4.
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Step 7 · Hear a Latin rhythm section Now playing
Dizzy Gillespie 1954
Afro
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- Listen for
- Gillespie plays with flute, piano, bass and four percussionists, including bongos and timbales, and the track runs 7:19. Pick out the bongos and timbales first, then follow the flute and trumpet over them.
- Try this
- Play C7 for 12 bars and F minor for 4 while you tap a steady pulse with your foot. Then try tapping the pulse on the off-beats.
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Step 8 · Hear the source of the chart Now playing
Wynton Marsalis 1986
Marsalis Standard Time, Vol. 1
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- Listen for
- The quartet is trumpet, piano, bass and drums. The trumpet solo runs from 1:31 to 4:08, two choruses of the 64-bar form, at about 197 beats per minute.
- Try this
- Follow the chart bar by bar through the first chorus of the trumpet solo, starting at 1:31. If a full chorus is too long to track, follow just the first A: 12 bars of C7, then 4 of F minor.
More great versions
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Kenny Burrell 1958
Blue Lights, Volume 1
Kenny Burrell's septet plays Caravan for nearly ten minutes, with Art Blakey on drums, on the 1958 Blue Note album Blue Lights, Volume 1.
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Dizzy Gillespie and His Orchestra 1960
A Portrait of Duke Ellington
Dizzy Gillespie leads an orchestra with arrangements by Clare Fisher on this April 1960 recording for his Verve album A Portrait of Duke Ellington.
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Randy Weston 1989
“Caravan (Instrumental)”, Portraits of Duke Ellington
Pianist Randy Weston plays Caravan for just over twelve minutes on Portraits of Duke Ellington, with Jamil Nasser on bass and Idris Muhammad and Eric Asante on drums and percussion.
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Michel Camilo 1993
“Caravan (Live)”, Rendezvous
Pianist Michel Camilo plays Caravan in a trio with Anthony Jackson on bass and Dave Weckl on drums, on his 1993 Columbia album Rendezvous.