“When
it came to royalties, the settlement
was often a flat fee.
For ‘Caravan’ Irving Mills paid
Juan Tizol twenty-five dollars.”
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- JW
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Barney
Bigard and His Jazzopaters introduced
“Caravan” on the Variety label in
December, 1936. The recording entered
the pop charts in June of 1937,
rising to number four. A month later,
the recording by Duke Ellington
and His Orchestra on the Master
label (pressed in May, 1937) found
its way onto the charts and rose
to number twenty.
Other recordings of “Caravan”
to make the pop charts include:
- Billy Eckstine (1949, with
Hugo Winterhalter and His Orchestra,
#27)
- Ralph Marterie (1953, #6,
million seller)
- Esquire Boys (1953, #27)
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Around the same time that publisher
and manager Irving Mills was writing
the lyrics for “Caravan,” he was
launching two new record labels,
Master and Variety. A veritable
who’s who of the jazz world attended
the over-the-top party and jam session
in celebration of the new labels.
Mercer Ellington and Stanley
Dance, authors of
Duke Ellington in Person: An Intimate
Memoir, report that the
guest list included
Benny Goodman, Count Basie,
Lester Young, Herschel Evans, and
Jo Jones while Duke Ellington played
in a trio with Artie Shaw and
Chick Webb. Ella Fitzgerald
sang. The press coverage, as planned,
was terrific.
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Of the two labels, Variety was
reserved for new talent and experimental
projects. Helen Oakley, the wife
of journalist Stanley Dance, was
its A & R (artist and repertoire)
manager. She suggested to Mills
that they try some small group recordings
using musicians from the Ellington
Orchestra. Given the go-ahead, Oakley
arranged for a number of sessions,
one of which included the December
19, 1936, Los Angeles recording
of “Caravan” by
Barney Bigard and His Jazzopaters.
With Bigard on clarinet, the Jazzopaters
consisted of
Cootie Williams (trumpet), Juan
Tizol (valve trombone), Harry Carney
(baritone sax), Duke Ellington (piano),
Billy Taylor (bass), and Sonny Greer
(drums). Though the Jazzopator hit
proved the feasibility of Oakley’s
idea, both the Variety and Master
labels were defunct before the close
of 1937 due, in part, to stiff business
competition.
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As with many of Duke Ellington’s
compositions the idea originated
with one of his musicians. In the
case of “Caravan” it was trombonist
Juan Tizol. Ellington is quoted
in Stuart Nicholson’s
Reminiscing in Tempo: A Portrait
of Duke Ellington as saying
“… that’s one of those things Tizol
came up with. See, it wasn’t in
tempo, he stood [and played it]
sort of ad lib. He played it, [the]
first ten bars, we took it and worked
out the rest of it.”
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When it came to credit and royalties
for musicians’ contributions, the
settlement was often a flat fee.
For “Caravan” Irving Mills paid
Juan Tizol twenty-five dollars.
When the recording became a hit,
however, Tizol requested Mills cut
him in on the royalties, which the
manager did.
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Ellington’s arrangement of
“Caravan” makes the song. Starting in a minor key
and performed with a Middle Eastern beat, the music
creates an exotic atmosphere, all the while conjuring
up such elements as camels, tents and the desert.
For those imagining a hot and dusty day in the caravan
trade, Irving Mills’ lyrics provide a significant
course correction, relating intrigue and romance
as two lovers travel beneath the stars. Mills’ rhyming
is simple, the words seem dashed off, and, unless
you can accept an implied progression of time, the
lines are contradictory: The stars are bright yet
their light is fading; it is night yet you are “beside
me here beneath the blue.” To Mills’ credit, however,
his phrases are modest and evocative, nicely supporting
the overall caravan mood.
- JW
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Musical analysis of
“Caravan”
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| Original
Key |
G minor |
| Form |
A – A – B
– A |
| Tonality |
“A” is primarily
minor, despite the fact that most of it
is spent on V7 (or corresponding diminished
substitution). “B” is a circle of fifths
in major. |
| Movement |
Embellished
sustained note on dominant, descending chromatically
to the tonic by the end of “A”. Section
“B” ends with an upward arpeggiation to
the dominant of the original key. |
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Comments
(assumed
background)
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The chromatically altered notes in the melody
over V7 and vii˚7 chords tend to give the
“A” section a mysterious, quasi-Oriental
sound, and the slow harmonic rhythm gives
the inexperienced improviser an opportunity
to work on ideas in a single key over several
measures (the D7 and Eb˚7 chord both serve
the same function, as the latter is identical
to D7(b9) without the root). The harmonic
progression of the “B” section, in contrast,
should be very familiar to anyone familiar
with “Sweet
Georgia Brown,” as it uses a “circle
of fifths” in an almost identical fashion. |
K. J. McElrath - Musicologist for JazzStandards.com
Check out K. J. McElrath's book of Jazz Standards Guide Tone Lines at his web site (www.bardicle.com). |
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The melody of “Caravan”
has a lot of chromaticism that makes it fun to play.
And because the A section is composed of only two
chords, there are lots of possibilities for embellishments
and extensions of the basic harmony. The tune is
often played at a very bright tempo but also has
some real charm taken slowly.
John
Stowell, jazz guitarist
www.johnstowell.com
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Instrumentalist?
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“Caravan”
was included in these films:
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Alice (1990, Error Garner)
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Sweet and Lowdown (1999, Bunny
Berigan, also dubbed on guitar by Howard Alden
for Sean Penn)
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Chocolat (2000, instrumental,
Johnny Depp played it on guitar with Malcolm
Ross)
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Ocean’s Eleven (2001, Arthur Lyman
Group)
And on Broadway:
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Sophisticated Ladies (1981, Gregg
Burge)
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Swing! (1999, Gotham City Gates)
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Click on a CD for more details
at Amazon.com
Duke Ellington
The Popular Duke Ellington
2004, BMG Int’l
Original recording, 1966
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| In 1966 Duke Ellington was persuaded
by RCA Victor to create an album of “remakes”
of his most popular repertoire. His acceptance
of this assignment delivered both an update
as well as a reprise of standards that he
had added to the American Songbook. |
Thelonious Monk
Plays Duke Ellington
1991, Orig. Jazz Classics #24
Original recording, 1955, Riverside
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| With “Caravan,” as throughout this
album, the ingenuity of pianist Monk meets
the elegance of the Ellington composition.
It is a symbiotic relationship, highlighting
the creativity of composer and performer. |
Andy Bey
American Song
2004, Savoy Jazz
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| Bey was voted Vocalist of the Year
by the Jazz Journalists Association in 2003.
The immediacy of Bey’s vocal is set against
an unusual rhythmic pattern on “Caravan.”
Pianist Geri Allen’s arrangements throughout
the CD make everything fresh. |
Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers
Caravan
1991, Orig. Jazz Classics #38
Original recording, 1962, Riverside
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| In this high-energy rendition drummer
Blakey leads the sextet rhythmically while
the horn section of trumpeter Freddie Hubbard,
saxophonist Wayne Shorter and trombonist
Curtis Fuller weave around each other like
kites. |
Leon Parker
Above and Below
1994, Sony 66144
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| Drummer Parker lays down a distinctly
tribal rhythm for Sam Newsome’s improvisations
on soprano sax. He recorded “Caravan” again
in his 2000 CD,
The Simple Life. |
Wes Montgomery
Movin’ Wes
1997, Polygram 521433
Original recording, 1964
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| Wes Montgomery is backed by a larger
group than he usually performed with, but
the arrangement works and in the process
allows the guitarist a brilliant solo. |
Randy Weston
Portraits of Duke
1989, Polygram France
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| Weston lived for many years in Africa,
absorbing its culture, and as a result brings
new insight to Ellington’s work. He knew
and admired Ellington, and here the pianist
celebrates the Africanism of Duke’s music
with Jamil Nasser (b), Idris Muhammad (drums
and percussion), and Eric Asante (percussion.) |
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Although generally associated with Duke Ellington
(who over his career had many different arrangements
of the tune), “Caravan” was a popular “mood” piece
recorded by a number of big bands in the 1930’s
(Edgar Hayes, Bunny Berigan,
Benny Goodman). An interesting version from
1937 is by the Mills Brothers, doing an arrangement
featuring their vocal imitation of instruments.
By the 1950’s, the tune had become a set-up for
extended drum solos (musician/composer Frank Zappa
once remarked, “I wanna hear ‘Caravan’ with a drum
solo”), and to most people this is the way the tune
is expected to be performed.
Chris Tyle - Jazz Musician and Historian
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| This section shows the jazz standards
written by the same writing team. Click on a name
to see all of a writer's jazz standards.
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Additional information on “Caravan” may be found in:
4 paragraphs including the following types of information: anecdotal.
1 paragraph including the following types of information: Broadway productions, film productions, history and performers.
1 page including the following types of information: history and music analysis.
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