Caravan

An exotic postcard that never stopped traveling. Juan Tizol — the Puerto Rican valve-trombonist in Duke Ellington's band — wrote the sinuous, minor-key...

An exotic postcard that never stopped traveling. Juan Tizol — the Puerto Rican valve-trombonist in Duke Ellington's band — wrote the sinuous, minor-key melody; Ellington gave it its shadowy arrangement, first cut by Barney Bigard's small group in 1936. It became one of the most-recorded jazz compositions ever written, a magnet for percussionists and a bridge between the Latin tinge and swing. Dizzy sped it up, Tito Puente ran it through the big band — the caravan keeps moving.

Composer

Juan Tizol; Duke Ellington

Year

1936

Lineage

big band swing