- published: 03 Nov 2007
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"Blue in Green" is the third track on Miles Davis' 1959 album, Kind of Blue. One of two ballads on the LP (the other being "Flamenco Sketches"), "Blue in Green"'s melody is very modal, incorporating the presence of the dorian, mixolydian, and lydian modes. The first measure is a G minor chord with an added natural 13 (Gm13), which contains an F natural but the modal tonality of the piece is already evident as the opening note of the melody is an E natural, which is the leading tone of the F major scale. The natural 13 of the chord is E natural.
It has long been speculated[by whom?] that pianist Bill Evans wrote "Blue in Green", even though the LP and most jazz fakebooks credit only Davis with its composition. In his autobiography, Davis maintains that he alone composed the songs on Kind of Blue. The version on Evans' trio album Portrait in Jazz, recorded in 1959, credits the tune to 'Davis-Evans'. Earl Zindars, in an interview conducted by Win Hinkle, said that "Blue in Green" was 100-percent written by Bill Evans. In a 1978 radio interview, Evans said that he himself had written the song.
Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926 – September 28, 1991) was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz, hard bop, modal jazz, and jazz fusion.
Miles Dewey Davis was born on May 26, 1926, to an affluent African American family in Alton, Illinois. His father, Dr. Miles Henry Davis, was a dentist. In 1927 the family moved to East St. Louis, Illinois. They also owned a substantial ranch in northern Arkansas, where Davis learned to ride horses as a boy.
Davis' mother, Cleota Mae (Henry) Davis, wanted her son to learn the piano; she was a capable blues pianist but kept this fact hidden from her son. His musical studies began at 13, when his father gave him a trumpet and arranged lessons with local musician Elwood Buchanan. Davis later suggested that his father's instrument choice was made largely to irk his wife, who disliked the trumpet's sound. Against the fashion of the time, Buchanan stressed the importance of playing without vibrato; he was reported to have slapped Davis' knuckles every time he started using heavy vibrato. Davis would carry his clear signature tone throughout his career. He once remarked on its importance to him, saying, "I prefer a round sound with no attitude in it, like a round voice with not too much tremolo and not too much bass. Just right in the middle. If I can’t get that sound I can’t play anything."Clark Terry was another important early influence.[citation needed]
Oh, how sweet the pain like silver
Your blood is blue and then turns green at night,
Your eyes seek fear, your sighs are tears
Of long lost loving passion
Your veins are hot with anguished blood
You killed, you tore away from God
I remember when He made you
Lie down in green pastures
He leadeth you to the still waters
He restoreth your soul
Now that you gaze in the valley
Of the shadow of death
You shall fear no evil
For He is not with you