Revisit Tito Puente’s Latin cover of Miles Davis song ‘All Blues’
Even if you’ve only heard jazz music leaking out of smokey clubs, you’ll almost certainly know the name Tito Puente. Widely regarded as the king of Latin jazz, the drummer was born in Harlem, New York, in 1923. He would go on to establish himself as one of the most pioneering bandleaders of the 1940s and ’50s, during which time he placed traditional Latin rhythms at the heart of American big band music. Here, we’ve bought you Tito’s joyous rendition of ‘All Blues’ by Miles Davis.
Puente grew up in New York’s Spanish Harlem and started working as a professional musician at just 13. His first instrument was the piano, but he later picked up the saxophone, vibraphone, timbales and percussion. However, shortly after an apprenticeship in the Machito Orchestra, Puente found his ambitions interrupted by war.
After being drafted into the US Navy and fighting in Second World War, he returned to New York to study at the prestigious Julliard School. In 1948, he formed the Tito Puente Orchestra, and by the 1950s, he was playing to huge crowds. Latin jazz was the dance music of the age, and young Puente was its golden boy.
By the time Miles Davis was recording his modal masterpiece Kind of Blue in 1959, Puente had already released his best-selling album Dance Mania, which was followed by even more hits, including Oye Como Va, ‘Babarabatiri’, ‘Ran Kan Kan’.
In this scintillating and euphoric recording, Puente brings a polyrhythmic pulse to Davis’ sultry and deeply melodic ‘All Blues’, a 12-bar blues track in 6/8 made up entirely of seventh chords. Featuring John Coltrane on saxophone and Bill Evans on piano, this innovative slice of ’50s jazz has inspired everyone from Duane Allman of the Allman Brothers to Henry Rollins of Black Flag.
Make sure you check out Tito’s rendition below if you haven’t already
