Blues March — Chord Changes & Harmonic Analysis
- Composer:
- Benny Golson
- Year:
- 1958
- Key:
- Bb major
- Form:
- Blues (12 bars)
- Style:
- Hard Bop
- Tempo:
- 120–160 BPM
A spirited blues with a martial swing feel. Benny Golson's composition for Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers combines traditional blues changes with a march-like rhythmic character that's both playful and hard-driving.
About This Standard
Composed by Benny Golson in 1958 for the Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers album Moanin', Blues March was one of Golson's signature pieces with the Messengers and helped define the hard bop style. Its swinging march feel — a blues played with a two-beat emphasis recalling military marching bands — became an instantly recognizable part of the hard bop repertoire.
Notable recordings:
- Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers — Moanin' (1958)
- Benny Golson — (various recordings)
Chord Changes
Notation
Harmonic Analysis
Blues March is a 12-bar blues in Bb with a march-like two-feel swing groove instead of standard 4/4 jazz swing. The chord changes follow a standard Bb blues structure — I7 (Bb7), IV7 (Eb7), V7 (F7) — with bebop-era ii-V turnarounds. The march rhythmic character transforms the familiar blues form into something distinctly energetic, and the simple harmonic structure allows soloists to focus on rhythmic invention and blues vocabulary.