“Blue Train” is the title track of John Coltrane’s 1957 Blue Note album, with Lee Morgan, Curtis Fuller, Kenny Drew, Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones. It’s a slow, dark blues with one of the most recognizable horn melodies in jazz.
The form is a 12-bar blues in Eb, with a minor-flavored melody over dominant blues changes. The horns play the theme in harmony, creating a powerful, mournful sound.
For improvisation, combine the Eb blues scale with chord tones. Coltrane’s solo is a masterpiece of building intensity, while Lee Morgan’s is fiery and bluesy.
Practice with a slow blues play-along. Learn the melody by ear.
Section by section: the first four bars sit on Eb7, so start with the Eb blues scale and then add the G (major third) for contrast. Bars five and six move to Ab7, a great place to land on the C or Gb. Bars nine and ten bring the V chord or a ii-V, so outline it with guide tones before the turnaround. The melody has a minor quality even over the dominant chords, so experiment with mixing minor and major thirds for that dark, bluesy color. Coltrane’s solo builds from simple phrases to dense runs, a great model for pacing.
Practice tip: improvise three choruses in a row, starting sparse and getting busier with each one, just like Coltrane’s solo. This teaches you how to build a solo with a clear arc rather than playing at one intensity throughout.
Memorizing the Blue Train Lead Sheet PDF: learn the form in sections, not all at once. Play the first eight bars until you can do them with your eyes closed, then add the next section. Within a week or two you won’t need the page at all, which is the real goal of any lead sheet.
Is it hard to play? It’s beginner to intermediate. Recordings to study: Blue Train (1957). Learn more about the composer on John Coltrane’s Wikipedia page, and find more blues lead sheets on Minedit.