[Dixielandjazz] Duke Ellington tag

[Graham Martin]

Larry Swain said, in part:

["For years I have wondered (not a lot, but some) what the chord sequence is for the 
trademark 4-note tag he used on many recordings.

Anybody know and care to tell us?

I think it would be fun, maybe once an evening, to stick the tag on a piece we've 
performed."]

G'day Larry,

If you are talking about the "Take The 'A' Train" tag, I think it is really only two bars and all the same root chord of 'C' - although you could enhance it slightly depending on how you like your chords to come:

|C / / / |C / / Cmaj7 | / / / / ||

or more likely:

|C6 / (NC) / |(NC) / / C69 | / / / / ||  

NC = No Chord!

My band plays my arrangement, most of which is stolen from Strayhorn but I like to repeat the tag three times. This makes it just a little bit different. That surprise element!

My childish mind can never resist announcing it as "Take a train". And of course it is written by Billy Strayhorn, and not The Duke. BTW, the original score manuscript is held by the Smithsonian Institution and I have a couple of photo copies of it on the cover of an arranging book called "Changes Over Time - The Evolution of Jazz Arranging". The Ellington Orchestra alone made at least 100 recordings of roughly a half dozen different arrangements and when Duke Ellington temporarily replaced Strayhorns 1941 arrangement with his own in 1952, it just had a tenor sax cadenza and a final held note from the band. It is really interesting to see how the various arrangers have paid tribute to the original tag over the years. My favourite is one by Sammy Nestico that is a bit deceptive. It starts with the Strayhorn concluding line but adds a surprise extension with a chromatic run comprised of tight diminished structures. I don't care to enter the discussion as to whether this is OKOM or not.

Best,

Grah  

Graham Martin
Email: grahmartin at bigpond.com
Website: http://tromjazz.netfirms.com
REDLAND BAY
Queensland, AUSTRALIA