There are dozens of tunes in the traditional jazz repertoire that consist of 16 bars (measures).
But can you think of any that comprise 18 bars?
If we exclude tunes that are really 16-bars plus a two-bar tag (tunes such as I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate and Baby Won't You Please Come Home and Don't Go Away, Nobody) how many genuine 18-bar tunes are there?
I am unable to think of a single one, apart from Miss Otis Regrets by the wonderful Cole Porter - but that is rarely played by traditional jazz bands.
At least that was the case until the ever-amazing Shaye Cohn came along with her 2015 composition Tangled Blues. You can watch a performance of this remarkable song by clicking here.
The 18-bar melody is part of a very clever 'tangle' indeed, because Shaye alternates the 18-bars (which Erika Lewis sings on the recording) with a related 32-bar theme.
But we should not be surprised to find Tuba Skinny coming up with something as unusual as this. After all, they also astonished us a couple of years earlier by adding an 11-bar tune - Jackson Stomp - to their repertoire. I have not come across any other tune in the traditional jazz repertoire with that unusual number of bars, either.
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| Shaye Cohn What a Player! What a Composer! |
If we exclude tunes that are really 16-bars plus a two-bar tag (tunes such as I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate and Baby Won't You Please Come Home and Don't Go Away, Nobody) how many genuine 18-bar tunes are there?
I am unable to think of a single one, apart from Miss Otis Regrets by the wonderful Cole Porter - but that is rarely played by traditional jazz bands.
At least that was the case until the ever-amazing Shaye Cohn came along with her 2015 composition Tangled Blues. You can watch a performance of this remarkable song by clicking here.
The 18-bar melody is part of a very clever 'tangle' indeed, because Shaye alternates the 18-bars (which Erika Lewis sings on the recording) with a related 32-bar theme.
But we should not be surprised to find Tuba Skinny coming up with something as unusual as this. After all, they also astonished us a couple of years earlier by adding an 11-bar tune - Jackson Stomp - to their repertoire. I have not come across any other tune in the traditional jazz repertoire with that unusual number of bars, either.
