Solar (composition)

"Solar" (/ˈsoʊlər/ or /soʊˈlɑːr/) is a composition written by Chuck Wayne and later recorded and copyrighted with small alterations by Miles Davis. It first appeared on Davis's 1954 album Miles Davis Quintet and is considered a modern jazz standard.

Miles Davis' tombstone showing the first two measures of "Solar"

Chord structure

Solar is considered a blues[1] by most listeners, and the commonly accepted chord structure for this piece[2] is:

ACmMaj7%Cm7 or Gm7Gm7 : C7
 FMaj7%Fm7Bb7
 EbMaj7Ebm7 : Ab7DbMaj7Dm7b5 : G7

Recordings and popularity

The first released recording of the piece appeared on Davis's album Miles Davis Quintet in 1954; and then appeared on his album Walkin'.[3] It was the only time that he recorded the piece.[3] Probably the best-known version is on pianist Bill Evans's trio album Sunday at the Village Vanguard from 1961.[3] The composition is popular with educators and learners, partly because the structure is "both rich and succinct".[3]

Authorship

The composition was copyrighted in Davis's name in 1963.[4] However, some musicians and others believed that it had been written by Wayne,[4][5] with some making the assertion in print.[6][7] Proof of the suspicions appeared later: in 2012, a Library of Congress archivist revealed that material donated by Wayne's wife the previous year included an unreleased recording of the guitarist playing the tune at a jam session in 1946.[8][9] Then, it was known by the title "Sonny", after trumpeter Sonny Berman, who also played at the session.[4][8] Wayne is believed to have written "Sonny" when he was part of Woody Herman's band in 1946.[7]

The melodies of "Sonny" and "Solar" are the same.[8] Davis altered the opening, major chord of Wayne's composition by making it minor.[5] Davis died in 1991; the first two measures of the composition adorn his tombstone.[8]

References
  1. Pachet, François (February 2000). "Computer Analysis of Jazz Chord Sequences: Is Solar a Blues?" (PDF). Readings in Music and Artificial Intelligence. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-08-07. Retrieved 2012-06-15.
  2. New Real Book Volume 1. Petalnuma, California: Sher Music. 1988.
  3. Gioia, Ted (2012). The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire. New York City: Oxford University Press. pp. 377–378. ISBN 978-0-19-993739-4.
  4. Myers, Marc (July 5, 2012). "'Solar' Wasn't by Miles Davis". jazzwax.com. Archived from the original on May 9, 2016.
  5. Iverson, Ethan (July 6, 2012). "Credit Where It's Due". dothemath. Archived from the original on April 2, 2016.
  6. Voce, Steve (August 1, 1997). "Obituary: Chuck Wayne". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on August 3, 2020. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  7. DeVeaux, Scott (2002), Wayne, Chuck [Jagelka, Charles], Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press, retrieved August 3, 2020
  8. Meyer, Robinson (June 9, 2010). "The Time Miles Davis Stole (or Borrowed) a Song – and How It Ended Up on His Tombstone". The Atlantic. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  9. Appelbaum, Larry. "Chuck Wayne, Sonny & Solar". In the Muse: Performing Arts Blog, Library of Congress. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
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