Blue Rondo à la Turk
Encyclopedia
"Blue Rondo à la Turk" is a jazz standard
composition by Dave Brubeck
. It appeared on the album Time Out
in 1959. It is written in 9/8 and swing 4/4.
The piece is sometimes incorrectly assumed to be based on the Mozart composition "Rondo alla Turca." In 2003, during an interview, Dave Brubeck commented that "I should've just called it 'Blue Rondo', because the title just seemed to confuse people."
used this song (uncredited) when he was with progressive rock band The Nice
, using it as the basis of "Rondo" from the album The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack
. Later, Emerson folded the melody into the 14-minute "Finale (Medley)" on the 1993 Emerson, Lake & Palmer
release Live at the Royal Albert Hall, as well as improvisations on "Fanfare for the Common Man
". Those medleys also included themes from other well-known tunes including "America
" from West Side Story
, "Toccata and Fugue in D
", and "Flight of the Bumblebee
". Emerson has frequently used the "Rondo" as a closing number during live performances through his career.
French singer Claude Nougaro
used this composition as a musical foundation for his song "À bout de souffle".
The song "Vesuvius" by Frank Ticheli borrows a motif from Blue Rondo.
\contemporary jazz
scene David Benoit covered the song from two of his albums, 2006's "Standards" and renditions-packed album "Heroes"
Other notable covers include:
Jazz standard
Jazz standards are musical compositions which are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive list of jazz standards, and the list of songs deemed to be...
composition by Dave Brubeck
Dave Brubeck
David Warren "Dave" Brubeck is an American jazz pianist. He has written a number of jazz standards, including "In Your Own Sweet Way" and "The Duke". Brubeck's style ranges from refined to bombastic, reflecting his mother's attempts at classical training and his improvisational skills...
. It appeared on the album Time Out
Time Out (album)
Time Out is a jazz album by The Dave Brubeck Quartet, released in 1959 on Columbia Records, catalogue CL 1397. Recorded at Columbia's 30th Street Studio in New York City, it is based upon the use of time signatures that were unusual for jazz such as 9/8 and 5/4. The album is a subtle blend of cool...
in 1959. It is written in 9/8 and swing 4/4.
History
Brubeck heard the unusual "1-2/1-2/1-2/1-2-3" rhythm performed by Turkish musicians on the street. Upon asking the musicians where they got the rhythm, one replied "This rhythm is to us, what the blues is to you." Hence the title "Blue Rondo à la Turk."The piece is sometimes incorrectly assumed to be based on the Mozart composition "Rondo alla Turca." In 2003, during an interview, Dave Brubeck commented that "I should've just called it 'Blue Rondo', because the title just seemed to confuse people."
Derivative pieces
Keith EmersonKeith Emerson
Keith Noel Emerson is an English keyboard player and composer. Formerly a member of the Keith Emerson Trio, John Brown's Bodies, The T-Bones, V.I.P.s, P.P. Arnold's backing band, and The Nice , he was a founder of Emerson, Lake & Palmer , one of the early supergroups, in 1970...
used this song (uncredited) when he was with progressive rock band The Nice
The Nice
The Nice were an English progressive rock band from the 1960s, known for their blend of rock, jazz and classical music. Their debut album, The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack was released in 1967 to immediate acclaim. It is often considered the first progressive rock album...
, using it as the basis of "Rondo" from the album The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack
The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack
The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack is the 1967 debut album by the English psychedelic rock and progressive rock group The Nice. It is considered one of the first albums in the latter genre....
. Later, Emerson folded the melody into the 14-minute "Finale (Medley)" on the 1993 Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Emerson, Lake & Palmer, also known as ELP, are an English progressive rock supergroup. They found success in the 1970s and sold over forty million albums and headlined large stadium concerts. The band consists of Keith Emerson , Greg Lake and Carl Palmer...
release Live at the Royal Albert Hall, as well as improvisations on "Fanfare for the Common Man
Fanfare for the Common Man
Fanfare for the Common Man is a 20th-century American classical music work by American composer Aaron Copland. The piece was written in 1942 for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra under conductor Eugene Goossens. It was inspired in part by a famous speech made earlier in the same year where vice...
". Those medleys also included themes from other well-known tunes including "America
America (West Side Story song)
"America" is a well-known song from the musical West Side Story. Leonard Bernstein composed the music; Stephen Sondheim wrote the song's lyrics...
" from West Side Story
West Side Story
West Side Story is an American musical with a script by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and choreographed by Jerome Robbins...
, "Toccata and Fugue in D
Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565
The Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565, is a piece of organ music attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach. It is one of the most famous works in the organ repertoire, and has been used in a variety of popular media ranging from film, video games, to rock music, and ringtones...
", and "Flight of the Bumblebee
Flight of the Bumblebee
"Flight of the Bumblebee" is an orchestral interlude written by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov for his opera The Tale of Tsar Saltan, composed in 1899–1900. The piece closes Act III, Tableau 1, during which the magic Swan-Bird changes Prince Gvidon Saltanovich into an insect so that he can fly away to...
". Emerson has frequently used the "Rondo" as a closing number during live performances through his career.
French singer Claude Nougaro
Claude Nougaro
Claude Nougaro was a French songwriter and singer.Claude Nougaro was born in Toulouse to a respected French opera singer, Pierre Nougaro, and an Italian piano teacher, Liette Tellini. He was raised by his grandparents in Toulouse where he heard Glenn Miller, Édith Piaf and Louis Armstrong on the...
used this composition as a musical foundation for his song "À bout de souffle".
The song "Vesuvius" by Frank Ticheli borrows a motif from Blue Rondo.
Cover versions
In 2008, well-known pianist in the jazz fusionJazz fusion
Jazz fusion is a musical fusion genre that developed from mixing funk and R&B rhythms and the amplification and electronic effects of rock, complex time signatures derived from non-Western music and extended, typically instrumental compositions with a jazz approach to lengthy group improvisations,...
\contemporary jazz
Smooth jazz
Smooth jazz is a genre of music that grew out of jazz fusion and is influenced by R&B, funk, rock, and pop music styles ....
scene David Benoit covered the song from two of his albums, 2006's "Standards" and renditions-packed album "Heroes"
Other notable covers include:
- Al JarreauAl JarreauAlwin "Al" Lopez Jarreau is a seven-time Grammy Award winning jazz singer.- Background :Jarreau was born in Milwaukee, the fifth of six children. His web site refers to Reservoir, Inc., the name of the street where he lived. His father was a Seventh-Day Adventist Church minister and singer, and...
adds lyrics on Breakin' Away. - Richard ClaydermanRichard ClaydermanRichard Clayderman is a French pianist who has released numerous albums including the compositions of Paul de Senneville and Olivier Toussaint, instrumental renditions of popular music, rearrangements of movie soundtracks, ethnic music, and easy-listening arrangements of most popular works of...
instrumental cover on "Light Classics" - Salvator Cirillo on "Unpretentious"
- The Canadian Brass on "Showtime"
- Marcel DadiMarcel DadiMarcel Dadi was a Tunisia-born Jewish French guitarist known for his finger-picking style which faithfully recreated the instrumental styles of American guitarists such as Chet Atkins, Merle Travis and Jerry Reed...
Classical Guitar on "Guitar Memories" - Quatuor De Saxophones Diaphase
- Stochelo Rosenberg, Romane on "Double Jeu"
- Richard GreeneRichard GreeneRichard Marius Joseph Greene was a noted English film and television actor. A matinee idol who appeared in more than 40 films, he was perhaps best known for the lead role in the long-running British TV series The Adventures of Robin Hood, which ran for 143 episodes from 1955 to 1960.It has been...
on "Breaking The Rules" - Duo Bergerac Classical Guitar on "Blue Rondo"
- The italian rock progressive band Le OrmeLe OrmeLe Orme is an Italian progressive rock band formed in 1966 in Marghera, a frazione of Venice. The band was one of the major groups of the Italian progressive rock scene in the 1970s...
on the single "BLUE RONDO’ A LA TURK/CONCERTO N°3" published in 1973