Blues File: Story Of A Song: Afro Blue

From: WXPN
Series: Blues File
Length: 04:31

A look at "Afro Blue" in its many incarnations over the decades Read the full description.

Piece Audio

Playing: Blues File: Story Of A Song: Afro Blue
From: WXPN

Santamaria_small Cuban percussionist Mongo Santamaria's "Afro Blue" has challenged & fascinated musicians for decades. John Coltrane did a number of versions of it, including a 38-minute performance in Japan in 1966. Oscar Brown, Jr. accomplished the daunting task of writing lyrics for it that captured and enhanced its alluring quality. Distinctive vocalist Abbey Lincoln recorded Brown's version on her album "Abbey Is Blue" in 1959. With and without lyrics, Afro Blue has been covered by musicians as diverse as Tito Puente and Derek Trucks, and each new version seems to offer a fresh vision of this remarkable Afro-Cuban composition.

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Piece Description

Cuban percussionist Mongo Santamaria's "Afro Blue" has challenged & fascinated musicians for decades. John Coltrane did a number of versions of it, including a 38-minute performance in Japan in 1966. Oscar Brown, Jr. accomplished the daunting task of writing lyrics for it that captured and enhanced its alluring quality. Distinctive vocalist Abbey Lincoln recorded Brown's version on her album "Abbey Is Blue" in 1959. With and without lyrics, Afro Blue has been covered by musicians as diverse as Tito Puente and Derek Trucks, and each new version seems to offer a fresh vision of this remarkable Afro-Cuban composition.