Stablemates is a jazz composition by American saxophonist

Benny Golson Benny Golson (born January 25, 1929) is an American bebop/hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He came to prominence with the big bands of Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie, more as a writer than a performer, before launch ...

written in 1955. The song was first recorded by

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...

in '' Miles: The New Miles Davis Quintet'', released in 1956. It is widely regarded as a

jazz standard Jazz standards are musical compositions that are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive lis ...

and has been recorded by many notable jazz artists.Bailey, Phil and Hancock, Benny (1979) ''Benny Golson: Eight Jazz Classics'', p. iii. Jamey Aebersold Jazz.

Background

According to his autobiography, Golson wrote Stablemates while on the road with

Earl Bostic Eugene Earl Bostic (April 25, 1913 – October 28, 1965) was an American alto saxophonist. Bostic's recording career was diverse, his musical output encompassing jazz, swing, jump blues and the post-war American rhythm and blues style, which h ...

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

. His soon-to-be ex-wife was present with her friends, and he told her during intermission that he was busy with a "very important assignment" due the following morning. He wrote the first 14 bars of the song on the

bandstand A bandstand (sometimes music kiosk) is a circular, semicircular or polygonal structure set in a park, garden, pier, or indoor space, designed to accommodate musical bands performing concerts. A simple construction, it both creates an orname ...

, and he initially thought the song was "demented". In the coming two days he spent on tour, he took those respective intermissions to write the song on the bandstand. When Golson originally wrote the song, the chord for the first measure was a B-flat augmented chord. When

recorded it, he changed that measure to accommodate two chords, an E minor seventh for the first two beats, and an A seventh for the third and fourth, which had Golson dismayed.

Musical composition

The tune follows an ABA form. Written in D-flat major, the A sections are 14 bars each, while the bridge is 8 bars, for a total of 36 bars.

Notable recordings

in '' Miles: The New Miles Davis Quintet'' (1956) *

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but addi ...

in ''

Dizzy in Greece ''Dizzy in Greece'' is an album by trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, recorded in 1956 and 1957 and released on the Verve label.

'' (1957) *

Jackie McLean John Lenwood "Jackie" McLean (May 17, 1931 – March 31, 2006) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and educator, and is one of the few musicians to be elected to the ''DownBeat'' Hall of Fame in the year of their deat ...

in '' Swing, Swang, Swingin''' (1960)

References

{{Reflist 1950s jazz standards Jazz standards Jazz compositions in D-flat major Benny Golson songs