Mr. P.C. (composition)

"Mr. P.C."
Composition by John Coltrane from the album Giant Steps
Released 1960
Recorded May 1959
Genre Jazz
Length 6:57
Label Atlantic
Composer John Coltrane
Producer Nesuhi Ertegün
Giant Steps track listing
  1. "Giant Steps"
  2. "Cousin Mary"
  3. "Countdown"
  4. "Spiral"
  5. "Syeeda's Song Flute"
  6. "Naima"
  7. "Mr. P.C."

"Mr PC" is a 12 bar minor blues composed by John Coltrane in 1959. The song is named in tribute to the bass player Paul Chambers who had accompanied Coltrane for years. It first appeared on the album Giant Steps where it was played with a fast swing feel.[1]

Form and changes

"Mr PC" is a simple 12 bar minor blues. The chord changes for "Mr PC":

||: Cmin7 | Cmin7 | Cmin7 Bb/C Cmin7 | Cmin7 ||

:|| Fmin7 | Fmin7 | Cmin7 Bb/C Cmin7 | Dmaj7 || :|| Ab7 | G7+9 | Cmin7 Bb/C Cmin7 | Cmin7 :||

Covered by

"Mr PC" has been covered by many other musicians including:

Antecedents

The principal melody closely resembles the Robert MacGimsey popular song "Shadrack", featured in the 1951 film The Strip as performed by Louis Armstrong. Another possible direct influence is a 1951 performance by fellow tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins with the Modern Jazz Quartet.

References

  1. Zisman, Michael (2005-06-01). The Real Easy Book. Sher Music Co. p. 43. ISBN 9781883217198. Retrieved 8 April 2012.