Solar (composition)
"Solar" (/ˈsoʊlər/ or /soʊˈlɑːr/) is a musical composition attributed to Miles Davis on the studio album Walkin' (1954), considered a modern jazz standard. The tune has been played and recorded by many musicians including his former bandmates/collaborators Lee Konitz, Bill Evans, Dave Holland, Keith Jarrett or Jack DeJohnette. A controversy exists over authorship of this composition and one current consensus[1][2] holds that Davis' "Solar" is essentially an earlier song, "Sonny", written by Chuck Wayne.
The first two measures of this song adorn Miles Davis' tombstone in Woodlawn Cemetery.
Chord structure
Solar is considered a blues[3] by most listeners, and the commonly accepted chord structure[4] for this piece is:
| A | CmMaj7 | % | Cm7 or Gm7 | Gm7 : C7 |
| FMaj7 | % | Fm7 | Bb7 | |
| EbMaj7 | Ebm7 : Ab7 | DbMaj7 | Dm7b5 : G7 |
Recordings
- Miles Davis - Walkin' (1957)
- Chet Baker - Chet Baker in New York (1958)
- The Mastersounds - Ballads & Blues (1959)
- Bill Evans - Sunday at the Village Vanguard (1961)
- Dave Holland - Emerald Tears (ECM, 1978), double bass solo
- John Scofield & John Abercrombie - Solar (1982)
- McCoy Tyner - Live at Sweet Basil (1989)
- Charlie Haden - The Montreal Tapes: with Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Paul Motian (1989)
- Pat Metheny - Question and Answer (1990)
- Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock & Jack DeJohnette - Tribute (ECM, 1992)
- Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock & Paul Motian - At the Deer Head Inn (ECM, 1994)
- Brad Mehldau - Art of the Trio, Vol. 4 (1999)
- Kenny Barron - Live At Bradley's (2001)
- Edgar Meyer, Béla Fleck - Music for Two (Sony Classical, 2004)
- Bruce Hornsby, Christian McBride & Jack DeJohnette - Camp Meeting (SonyBMG/Legacy, 2007)
- Eliane Elias - Something for You: Eliane Elias Sings & Plays Bill Evans (Blue Note, 2008)
- Stanley Clarke Trio - Jazz in the Garden (2009)
- Lee Konitz, Brad Mehldau, Charlie Haden & Paul Motian - Live at Birdland (ECM, 2011)
- Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock & Jack DeJohnette - Somewhere (ECM, 2013)
References
- ^ Voce, Steve. Chuck Wayne Obituary. The Independent (London), 1997 August 1 (link). Accessed 6 August 2007
- ^ Appelbaum, Larry. "Chuck Wayne, Sonny & Solar". In the Muse: Performing Arts Blog, Library of Congress. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
- ^ Pachet, François (February 2000). "Computer Analysis of Jazz Chord Sequences: Is Solar a Blues?" (PDF). Readings in Music and Artificial Intelligence.
- ^ New Real Book Volume 1. New Real Book Volume 1. Petalnuma, CA: Sher Music Co., 1988
