Caravan (Juan Tizol and Duke Ellington song)

"Caravan" is an American jazz standard by Juan Tizol and Duke Ellington, first performed by Ellington in 1936. Irving Mills wrote lyrics, but they are rarely sung.

Original recording

The first version of the song was recorded in Hollywood in 1936 and performed as an instrumental by Barney Bigard and His Jazzopators. Two takes were recorded, of which the first was published. The band members were:

Cootie Williams – trumpet
Juan Tizol – trombone
Barney Bigard – clarinet
Harry Carney – baritone saxophone
Duke Ellington – piano
Billy Taylor – double bass
Sonny Greer – drums

The musicians were members of the Duke Ellington Orchestra, which often split into smaller combinations to record songs under different band names. For this recording, which included Ellington and Tizol as performers, the nominal session band leader was Bigard. As of 2024 this is the most covered song in history, with over 500 versions published.

Other versions

The sound of "Caravan" appealed to exotica musicians; Martin Denny, Arthur Lyman and Gordon Jenkins all covered it. The Mills Brothers recorded an a cappella version of the song. More than 350 versions have been recorded.

Duke Ellington – New York, May 14, 1937
Valaida Snow – Valaida Snow and her Orchestra, 1939, Sonora
Art Tatum – Los Angeles, April–July 1940
Billy Eckstine - 1949
Dizzy Gillespie – October 25, 1951
Roy Clark – Third episode of Hee Haw, 1969
Chet Atkins - A Session with Chet Atkins, 1954
Thelonious Monk – Thelonious Monk Plays Duke Ellington, Hackensack, New Jersey, July 27, 1955
Nat King Cole – After Midnight (Nat [King Cole album)|After Midnight], Los Angeles, September 14, 1956
Santo & Johnny's – Santo & Johnny, peaked at number 48 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart
Bobby Darin on This is Darin 1959 1960
Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers – Caravan, New York, October 23, 1962
Wes Montgomery – Movin' Wes, New York, November 16, 1964
Dizzy Gillespie and Oscar Peterson – Oscar Peterson and Dizzy Gillespie, London, November 28–29, 1974
Les Paul & Chet Atkins – Chester and Lester, May 6–7, 1975
Art Pepper – Friday Night at the Village Vanguard, New York, July 29, 1977
Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul, a live version, B-side of the "Forever" single, 1982
Wynton Marsalis – Marsalis [Standard Time, Vol. I], New York, May 29–30, 1986 and September 24–25, 1986
Medeski Martin & Wood – Notes from the Underground, New York, December 15–16, 1991
Michel Camilo – Rendezvous, New York, January 18–20, 1993
Chicago on their 1995 album Night & Day: Big Band
Dee Dee Bridgewater – Prelude To A Kiss: The Duke Ellington Album, a 1996 vocal rendition of the song, with a Mideastern and African percussion setting
Fanfare Ciocărlia - Gili Garabdi, 2005
Hiromi's Sonicbloom - Beyond Standard, 2008

In popular culture

Woody Allen used the song in two of his films, Alice and Sweet and Lowdown.
An arrangement of the song for big band features in the soundtrack of the 2014 film Whiplash, as an important plot element.
The track "ROBBERY" by ASAP Rocky featuring Doechii from the album Don't Be Dumb samples the song.
The song is featured on Rachel Portman’s soundtrack for the 2000 film Chocolat.
Steven Soderbergh used the Lyman version in his 2001 film Ocean's Eleven.
A horn sample from the Romanian cover version by Fanfare Ciocărlia was used in the song "We No Speak Americano" by Yolanda Be Cool.
Wu Bai used aspects of the song in his Crush on You.
The Brian Setzer Orchestra version was used in The Sopranos episode "The Second Coming".
The track "You're Probably Wondering Why I'm Here", from the Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention debut album "Freak Out!", features the comedic line: "I wanna hear Caravan with a drum sola!"