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"Afro Blue" is a jazz standard composed by Mongo Santamaría, perhaps best known in its arrangement by John Coltrane.
Coltrane's recordings of the piece have several features in common with his versions of "My Favorite Things", including a pulsating 3/4 rhythm, and a simple, almost drone-like harmonic structure.
The song is notable for its Afro-Cuban feel, which also makes it difficult to play. It can be arranged in 6/8 or 3/4 time. If it is arranged in 6/8, it has a strong quarter note triplet feel; if it is arranged in 3/4, it has a strong dotted quarter note feel. All these factors give the piece a complex, smooth-sounding beat.
Performances
- The first recorded performance of the piece was by the Cal Tjader Sextet, April 20, 1959, at the Sunset Auditorium in Carmel, CA, with composer Mongo Santamaria on percussion; this performance was released on the LP Concert By The Sea, Part 1.
- Mongo Santamaria recorded the piece with his own band the following month on his LP Mongo, which was nevertheless released prior to the above recording.
- Abbey Lincoln performed the song on her 1959 album, Abbey Is Blue, with lyrics by Oscar Brown Jr.. (On the original LP sleeve it was credited to Herbie Mann)
- Rahsaan Roland Kirk on Brotherman in the Fatherland
- Derek Trucks Band's Soul Serenade
- Gov't Mule's Live... With a Little Help from Our Friends
- Lizz Wright's Salt
- John McLaughlin's After The Rain
- Andy Summers' The Last Dance Of Mr. X
- Susana Baca's Espiritu Vivo
- McCoy Tyner albums Song of the New World, McCoy Tyner Plays John Coltrane, McCoy Tyner and the Latin All-Stars
- Dee Dee Bridgewater's Red Earth
- David Garfield's Retro Jazz Quintet, AIX Records
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