The Meaning of the Blues

"The Meaning Of The Blues" (1957) is a jazz composition and song, with music by Bobby Troup and lyrics by Leah Worth. It was written for Troup's wife, Julie London, for her album About the Blues (1957) and recorded shortly thereafter by Miles Davis and Gil Evans on the celebrated record Miles Ahead.

Despite its title, this 32-bar piece is structurally not a blues. Its form follows a standard ABAC design. The overall tonality is minor, with modulations to the major mode in both B & C sections. The melody itself has no accidentals, apart from the raised leading tone at bar 16, where the B section returns to A. The song is commonly performed at a ballad tempo, mm.66 or slower (refer to the Julie London recording, at mm.54).

Notable recordings

• Julie London - About the Blues (1957)
• Miles Davis - Miles Ahead (1957)
• Stan Kenton - Standards in Silhouette (1959)
• Linda Lawson - Introducing Linda Lawson (1960)
• Miles Davis - Miles Davis at Carnegie Hall (1961)
• Mark Murphy - That's How I Love the Blues! (1963)
• Woody Herman - Giant Steps (1973)
• Gil Evans - There Comes a Time (1975)
• Keith Jarrett - Standards (1983)
• Michael Brecker - Now You See It… (Now You Don't) (1990)
• J.J. Johnson - Tangence (1994)
• Shirley Horn - The Main Ingredient (1995)