Written in 1941 for Duke Ellington's Orchestra,
Take
the A Train
became the band's signature tune. The piece is often attributed to Duke
himself but history tells us Billy Strayhorn is the actual composer. It
was during an ASCAP strike.
[Read more on JazzStandards.com ...]
This tune is usually
played as an up tempo swing; that's the reason why it's hard to play a
lot of chords on it : too fast! The chord melody arrangement presented
here is very
minimalist because of the tempo. Here again, you'll have to experiment
and find how
you like to play that song.
Have fun!
