The 12-bar blues (or blues changes) is one of the most popular chord progressions in popular music. The blues progression has a distinctive form in lyrics and phrase and chord structure and duration. It is, at its most basic, based on the I-IV-V chords of a key.

A 24-bar blues follows the same changes but each chord lasts for twice as many measures.

The blues can be played in any key. Mastery of the blues and rhythm changes are "critical elements for building a jazz repertoire" (Thomas 2002, p. 85).

In the key of C, one basic blues progression, E. from above, is as follows (Benward & Saker 2003, 186):

C C C C or C7 C7 C7 C7
F F C C or F7 F7 C7 C7
G G C C or G7 G7 C7 C7

Chords may be also represented with a few different notation systems. A basic example of the progression would look like this, using T to indicate the tonic, S for the subdominant, and D for the dominant, and representing one chord. In Roman numeral analysis the tonic is called the I, the sub-dominant the IV, and the dominant the V. (These three chords are the basis of thousands more pop songs which thus often have a blues sound even without using the classical 12-bar form.)

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]}

Robben Ford (born December 16, 1951) is an American blues, jazz and rock guitarist. He was a member of the L.A. Express and has collaborated with Miles Davis, Joni Mitchell, George Harrison and KISS. He was named one of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of the 20th Century" by Musician magazine.

Ford was born in Woodlake, California and raised in Ukiah, California. He began playing the saxophone at age 10 and the guitar at age 14. Ford and his brothers Mark (harmonica) and Patrick (drums) created a band and named it the Charles Ford Blues Band in honor of their father.

Ford has received four Grammy Award nominations   and was named one of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of the 20th Century" by Musician magazine.

At age 18 Ford and the Charles Ford Blues Band were hired as a backup band for Charlie Musselwhite. The band also recorded two albums The Charles Ford Band and Discovering the Blues. Ford recorded two albums with the Witherspoon's called Live and Spoonful'. The Ford Blues Band reunites periodically, and released live albums in the 1980s and 1990s. In the 1970s, Ford branched out into jazz fusion, and joined the band, L.A. Express , led by saxophonist Tom Scott in 1974. That same year the band supported George Harrison on his American tour and Joni Mitchell's on albums, Court and Spark, Hissing of Summer Lawns and Miles of Aisles.

John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz. He organized at least fifty recording sessions as a leader during his recording career, and appeared as a sideman on many other albums, notably with trumpeter Miles Davis and pianist Thelonious Monk.

As his career progressed, Coltrane and his music took on an increasingly spiritual dimension. His second wife was pianist Alice Coltrane, and their son Ravi Coltrane is also a saxophonist. Coltrane influenced innumerable musicians, and remains one of the most significant tenor saxophonists in jazz history. He received many posthumous awards and recognitions, including canonization by the African Orthodox Church as Saint John William Coltrane. In 2007, Coltrane was awarded the Pulitzer Prize Special Citation for his "masterful improvisation, supreme musicianship and iconic centrality to the history of jazz."

Keith Wyatt is a Los Angeles-based guitarist, educator performer, teacher, writer, and developer of music curriculum and educational media. Since 1996, Wyatt has toured and recorded with renowned LA-based “American Music” group The Blasters and is featured on 4-11-44 (Rainman Records). He has also worked with a variety of other groups and artists including Albert Collins, Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce and Robben Ford in Los Angeles and internationally as a solo performer.

In 1978, after graduating from the Guitar Institute of Technology (GIT) in Hollywood, California, Wyatt joined the faculty and assisted in curriculum development under the direction of GIT founder Howard Roberts. After serving for a decade as Director of the Guitar program in what had become Musicians Institute, he was named to his current position as Vice President of Programs with responsibility for overseeing curriculum development for the institution. He also maintains a regular teaching schedule at the school with a specialty in blues guitar.