Bolivia (Walton song)
"Bolivia" is a jazz standard written by American jazz pianist Cedar Walton.[1][2][3] It is regarded as his best-known composition.[4]
Background[edit]
Bolivia was first recorded on Eastern Rebellion's self-titled album released in 1976 with Cedar Walton on piano, George Coleman on tenor saxophone, Sam Jones on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums.
Musical composition[edit]
Bolivia is composed in G major and typically played in an Afro-Cuban style.
The song contains a bass ostinato[5] that is repeated throughout the first 16 bars of the song. The first 16 bars are entirely based upon a G7(13) chord.
The B section—or the final 16 bars—contains the following form. After the B-section, the song repeats with the same bass ostinato.
| E♭Δ7 | A13(7) | DΔ7 | A♭7 |
| GΔ7 | F♯7 (♯9) | B-7 | C7 (♯11) |
| B-7 | B-7/A | A♭-7♭5 | G-7 C7 |
| FΔ7 | B7 | B♭Δ7 | A7 |
Notable recordings[edit]
- Eastern Rebellion in Eastern Rebellion (1976)[6]
- Sam Jones in Something in Common (1978)
- Doug Raney Quintet in I'll Close My Eyes (1982)
- Freddie Hubbard in Bolivia (1991)
- Cody Moffett in Evidence (1993)
- John Carlini in Further Adventures (2007)
- Sean Dobbins and the Modern Jazz Messengers in Blue Horizons (2008)
References[edit]
- ^ Yardley, William (2013-08-21). "Cedar Walton, Pianist and Composer, Dies at 79". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-06-02.
- ^ Kelsey, Chris. "Cedar Walton: Biography". www.bluenote.com. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
- ^ Schroeder, David (Spring 2017). "Cedar Walton: Being at the Right Place at the Right Time". IAJRC Journal. Vol. 50, no. 1. pp. 33–35. ISSN 0098-9487. ProQuest 1900335571. Retrieved 2022-06-02.
- ^ Skinner, Katherine Lee (2017). Cedar Walton: An Analytical Study of His Improvisational Style Through Selected Transcriptions (DA dissertation). University of Northern Colorado. ProQuest 1908925142.
- ^ Lesche, Stephen (2004). "Artist Study: The Compositional Style of Jazz Guitarist Nathen Page". The Osprey Journal of Ideas and Inquiry. IV.
- ^ Record, The Jazz. "TJR Song of the Day: Eastern Rebellion "Bolivia"". The Jazz Record - Explorations Into Vintage Jazz Vinyl. Retrieved 2022-06-02.