Jazz Changes

Miles Davis, music · Oscar Brown Jr., lyrics (1963) · Introduced on the album Kind of Blue, 1959

All Blues

All Blues is Miles Davis's twelve-bar blues in 6/8, first recorded in G for Kind of Blue in 1959. Players love its repeating bass figure and open harmony, which leave room for long solos. You will hear it from Miles Davis, Oscar Brown Jr., Ron Carter, Pat Martino and the SFJAZZ Collective.

▶ Plays the whole path in order, one recording after another.

  1. 1 Learn the song Miles Davis
  2. 2 Hear it live and faster Miles Davis Quintet
  3. 3 Hear the words Oscar Brown, Jr.
  4. 4 Follow the bass Ron Carter
  5. 5 Hear a piano trio The Great Jazz Trio
  6. 6 Hear it for saxophones World Saxophone Quartet featuring Jack DeJohnette
  7. 7 Hear it for guitar Pat Martino
  8. 8 Hear a modern arrangement SFJAZZ Collective

How the tune works

G majorusual key
12 barsA form
Gkey centers

Each chorus is twelve bars in 6/8, and every chord is a seventh chord. The first four bars sit on G7. Bars 5 and 6 move to C7, and bars 7 and 8 return to G7. Bar 9 is D7♯9, and bar 10 shares E♭7♯9 and D7♯9 before G7 closes the chorus in bars 11 and 12. The E♭7 in the turnaround, a half step above D7, gives the form its sound. On Kind of Blue the bass repeats one figure under the whole chorus except in bars 9 and 10. The saxophones play a vamp at the start, and a four-bar vamp usually separates the choruses.

The twelve-bar chorus in G as printed on the Learn Jazz Standards chord chart, which writes it in 6/8. Bar 10 holds two chords, E♭7♯9 then D7♯9.

Key G major
Abars 1–12
Bar 1: GG7
Bar 2: G7
Bar 3: G7
Bar 4: G7
Bar 5: C7
Bar 6: C7
Bar 7: G7
Bar 8: G7
Bar 9: D7♯9
Bar 10: E♭7♯9D7♯9
Bar 11: G7
Bar 12: G7

The introduction and the vamp are not part of the twelve bars drawn here. Wikipedia says a four-bar vamp usually separates the choruses and that the saxophones play a similar vamp at the start of Kind of Blue. The Learn Jazz Standards page calls the turnaround V7 to ♭VI7 to V7, which in G reads D7, E♭7, D7. Use the key buttons to move the chart to the key you play in.

Source: Learn Jazz Standards: All Blues chord chart (C instruments, G, 6/8, 12 bars), checked against Wikipedia's analysis of the form and the page's turnaround description

Listen in this order

Play all 8 on YouTube ↗

The path starts with the 1959 original and a faster 1964 concert version, then hears Oscar Brown Jr.'s words and a bass-led 1973 session. It goes on through a piano trio, a saxophone quartet, a guitar and organ trio and a modern octet.

  1. Step 1 · Learn the song Now playing

    Miles Davis 1959

    Kind of Blue

    G major · 6/8 · waltz feel in 6/8 · Composer's own recording

    Listen for
    Listen for the ten-second introduction and the saxophone vamp before Davis plays the tune. The bass repeats one figure under each chorus and changes only in bars 9 and 10.
    Try this
    Play the chart's chords at the piano or guitar along with the record, six eighth notes to a bar. Smaller version: play only the roots (G, C, G, then D, E♭, D, G) to find where each change lands.
    Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

  2. Step 2 · Hear it live and faster Now playing

    Miles Davis Quintet 1964

    “All Blues (Live at Philharmonic Hall, New York, NY - February 1964)”, My Funny Valentine: Miles Davis in Concert

    Live recording

    Listen for
    Compare the speed with the 1959 record. Listen for George Coleman's tenor saxophone and Herbie Hancock's piano solos.
    Try this
    Count bars with this faster take and play the chart's chords at the start of each chorus. Smaller version: play only G7 for bars 1 to 4 of each chorus.
    Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

  3. Step 3 · Hear the words Now playing

    Oscar Brown, Jr. 1963

    Tells It Like It Is!

    Vocal with Oscar Brown Jr.'s lyric

    Listen for
    A vocal version, arranged and conducted by Floyd Morris. Listen for how the words suit the tune's repeating mood.
    Try this
    Hum the tune along with the record, then play the chart's chords under your humming. Smaller version: hum only the first four bars of each chorus.
    Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

  4. Step 4 · Follow the bass Now playing

    Ron Carter 1973

    All Blues

    Bass-led session

    Listen for
    Ron Carter plays acoustic and piccolo bass on this track. Follow the bass line while Joe Henderson's tenor saxophone plays.
    Try this
    On bass, or with your left hand on piano, play the root of each chord from the chart in a steady pattern of your own. Smaller version: play only G for bars 1 to 4 and C for bars 5 and 6.
    Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

  5. Step 5 · Hear a piano trio Now playing

    The Great Jazz Trio 1977

    Kindness, Joy, Love & Happiness

    Piano trio

    Listen for
    Only piano, bass and drums play. Listen for how Ron Carter's bass and Tony Williams's drums support Hank Jones's piano through each chorus.
    Try this
    At the piano, play the root of each chord with your left hand and just the third and seventh with your right (B and F over G7). Smaller version: play the roots only.
    YouTube ↗

  6. Step 6 · Hear it for saxophones Now playing

    World Saxophone Quartet featuring Jack DeJohnette 1998

    Selim Sivad: A Tribute to Miles Davis

    Saxophone quartet

    Listen for
    Four saxophonists (baritone, saxello, alto and tenor) with Jack DeJohnette credited on the track. Listen for which saxophone carries the tune in each chorus.
    Try this
    Count the twelve-bar choruses against the chart while the quartet plays. Smaller version: count only the first four bars of each chorus, which stay on G7 in the chart.
    Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

  7. Step 7 · Hear it for guitar Now playing

    Pat Martino 2000

    “All Blues (Live)”, Live at Yoshi's

    Guitar lead · Live recording

    Listen for
    Guitar, organ and drums with no horns. Follow the guitar and notice what the organ and drums play under it.
    Try this
    Play the chart on guitar with simple seventh chords: G7, C7, G7, D7, E♭7, D7, G7. Drop the ♯9 if it is too much. Smaller version: play only G7 and C7 for the first six bars.
    Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

  8. Step 8 · Hear a modern arrangement Now playing

    SFJAZZ Collective 2016

    “All Blues (Live)”, Music of Miles Davis & Original Compositions Live: SFJazz Center 2016

    Live recording

    Listen for
    Eight players, including vibraphone and trombone, which the 1959 record does not have. Follow the chart chorus by chorus and notice who plays the tune each time.
    Try this
    Count the twelve-bar choruses against the chart and mark where the group changes. Smaller version: count only how many times the group plays the full twelve bars.
    Apple Music ↗YouTube ↗

More great versions