Free Jazz Standard Sheet Music Downloads

"Solitude" is a celebrated ballad composed by Duke Ellington in 1934. Legend has it that Ellington wrote the piece in just twenty minutes while standing against a glass partition in a Chicago recording studio, waiting for another band to finish. Lyrics were added by Eddie DeLange and Irving Mills, and Ellington's orchestra recording reached number two on the charts.

The tune is a 32-bar AABA form in D♭ major. Its distinctive opening melody ascends to the leading tone without resolving to the tonic, immediately establishing a mood of wistful longing. The harmony appears straightforward but contains subtle touches — notably, the IV chord in the third measure is replaced by a II7 on the second pass, adding a sense of unfulfilled resolution. Ellington cherished this composition throughout his career, recording it an remarkable forty-two times between 1934 and 1972.

The original 1934 recording by the Ellington Orchestra, featuring Joe "Tricky Sam" Nanton's plunger-muted trombone and Barney Bigard's clarinet, remains a touchstone. Vocal interpretations by Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald on her Duke Ellington Song Book (1957, Verve) are among the most treasured versions.