The Blues

Written as the second song in the revue Jazz, "The Blues" talks about one of the most recognized forms in jazz music. This is an excellent opportunity to discuss the notion of "blue notes" as well as the concept of the blues in general, where it came from, what it means, how it has evolved, etc. FYI, blue notes are what give the blues and other forms of jazz its distinctive sound. The most common blue notes are the flatted third and the flatted fifth. So, for instance, if a player is improvising on a C7 chord, while the normal scale would be C to C with a Bb added, in a bluesy solo, the player could also play Eb and Gb.

This particular blues is a 12-bar minor blues and it swings. Many rock 'n' roll blues, for example, do not swing, just to put it in perspective. But the roots of jazz are clearly heard with the use of the blue notes and progressions. That's another excellent topic for discussion: the evolution of jazz into other forms of music, such as rock 'n' roll. Specifically in the case of the blues, there are also subgenres, like boogie woogie or country blues. You could really get carried away delving into it! But for our purposes, we will keep it simple.

So that it stays within the range of young singers, the song is unison and fairly easy. The lyrics talk about what the blues are. The common understanding that the blues expressively reflect emotional distress of some type, like feeling sad, bad, or unhappy, is something kids can relate to. Of course, we make light of it a bit with our song to keep it from being too heavy or depressing.

Another notable thing about the recording for this tune is the alto sax solo that starts around measure 17. Our soloist, Jim Farrelly, gives a good example of improvisation, or ad lib (same difference).