Standards · 1936

Caravan chords & key

Duke Ellington · Lyrics: Irving Mills

Key: F minor
Form: AAB
Bars: 48
Groove: Latin
Time signature: 4/4
Year: 1936

“Caravan” is a jazz standard by Duke Ellington from 1936. It is usually played in F minor as a latin, and the 48-bar AAB form has 3 sections. In this atlas it appears on 24 album tracks and in 1 transcribed solo.

Chord changes

to key

Showing in: Concert (C) — F minor

×2

C^7♭9

F^m

F⁷

B♭⁷

E♭⁷

A♭⁶

G⁷

D♭⁷

Changes as commonly played (concert pitch). Your band's version may differ.

Harmonic analysis

0Major ii–V–I

0Minor ii–V–i

0ii–V moves

0Tritone substitutions

2Dominant chains

8Different chords

Most used chords

C^7♭9×24
F^m×8
F⁷×4
B♭⁷×4
E♭⁷×4
A♭⁶×2

History

"Caravan" is an American jazz standard by Juan Tizol and Duke Ellington, first performed by Ellington in 1936. Irving Mills wrote lyrics, but they are rarely sung.

Read the full article on Wikipedia ↗ · From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Recorded on these albums

1952	Dizzy Gillespie Dizzy Gillespie
1954	Blow That Horn! Dizzy Gillespie, Vol. 1 Dizzy Gillespie
1956	Jazz Creations of Dizzy Gillespie Dizzy Gillespie
1956	The Champ Dizzy Gillespie
1957	Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Song Book Ella Fitzgerald
1957	An Evening With Oscar Peterson Oscar Peterson
1959	The Great Wide World of Quincy Jones Quincy Jones
1962	Money Jungle Duke Ellington • Charlie Mingus • Max Roach
1964	The Many Moods of Tony Tony Bennett
1966	The Duke At Tanglewood Duke Ellington • Boston Pops • Arthur Fiedler
1971	Giants Dizzy Gillespie, Bobby Hackett, Mary Lou Williams, Grady Tate & George Duvivier
1977	"The Giants" Peterson & Pass & Brown
1993	Jazz Tribune No.69: Indispensable Duke Ellington
1999	A Tone Parallel to Harlem Duke Ellington; Claude Bolling Big Band
2001	Caravan Duke Ellington
2002	Jazz Caravan Duke Ellington
2002	I Grandi Del Jazz - Duke Ellington Duke Ellington
2003	The Blues I Love To Sing Duke Ellington
2004	Jazz Moods - Hot Duke Ellington
2005	Rockin' in Rhythm Duke Ellington
2008	Columbia Jazz Profiles Duke Ellington
2012	Blue Note Jazz Inspiration Duke Ellington
2013	Battle of Swing, Vol. 1 Duke Ellington
2020	All that Jazz, Vol. 128: Quincy Jones - "Ghana" Quincy Jones

Transcribed solos on Caravan

Wynton Marsalis trumpet

197 BPM

C-maj

29.-30.5.1986, 24.-25.9.1986

Historic 78 rpm recordings

Caravan The Coronets · Ellington · Tizol · Mills · Jazz-Disques archive.org ↗
CARAVAN MAX MILLER TRIO · Ellington · Tizol archive.org ↗
CARAVAN MAX MILLER TRIO · Ellington · Tizol archive.org ↗
CARAVAN HAROLD RAMSAY · Ellington & Tizol archive.org ↗
CARAVAN IVOR MORETON & DAVE KAYE · Ellington & Tizol archive.org ↗
Caravan Jack Harris and His Orchestra · Mills · Ellington · Tizol · 1937 archive.org ↗
Caravan Ray Linn and His Orchestra · Ellington · Tizol · Harry Klee · Ray… · 1944 archive.org ↗
Caravan Max Miller Trio · Ellington · Tizol · 1946 archive.org ↗

Standards with similar changes

Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.

Title	Composer	Key	Form	Groove
Work Song 27%	Nat Adderley	F minor	A · 16	Medium-up swing
Fever 25%	Davenport-Cooley	A minor	A · 24	Medium swing

Frequently asked questions

What key is Caravan in?

Caravan is usually played in F minor. For B♭ instruments that is G minor, for E♭ instruments D minor.

Who wrote Caravan?

Caravan was written by Duke Ellington (1936).

What is the form of Caravan?

Caravan has 3 sections (AAB) with 48 bars in total.

How fast is Caravan played?

The usual groove is Latin. Transcribed solos in our data were played at 197 BPM.

What are the chord changes to Caravan?

The opening bars are C7b9 | C7b9 | C7b9 | C7b9. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.