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 Bill Evans, Dave Holland, Keith Jarrett, Lee Konitz, and Jack DeJohnette.
A controversy exists over authorship of this composition. One consensus[1][2] is that Davis took "Solar" from the song "Sonny" written by jazz guitarist Chuck Wayne. Dutch drummer and composer Pierre Courbois composed a tune called "RALOS" on the "Solar" chords in 7/4.
The first two measures of this song adorn Miles Davis's 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)
- Phil Woods and Gene Quill– Phil and Quill on Prestige (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 (1984)
- 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)
- Ben Wendel – What We Bring (Motema, 2016)
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
