“Caravan”—Barney Bigard & His Jazzopators (1936)

While in Hollywood in December 1936, Irving Mills, after being Duke Ellington’s manager for a decade, decided it was time to make recordings with smaller groups from the Ellington band. On the 16th, the first group was led by cornet player Rex Stewart, and three days later clarinetist Barney Bigard was the second to lead an ensemble for Variety, one of Mills’ own two record labels -- the entire Ellington band was released on his Master records label.

Barney Bigard and his Jazzopators: Cootie Williams-trumpet; Juan Tizol-valve trombone; Barney Bigard-clarinet; Harry Carney-baritone saxophone; Duke Ellington-piano; Billy Taylor-string bass; Sonny Greer-drums.

Note that Juan Tizol is listed on the label as the only author of “Caravan,” which was recorded on that December 19, 1936 for the first time. Several months later -- after the Duke “adapted and arranged” the new pop number that became an exotic dance number in the Oriental mood -- the names of Ellington and Mills were added on record labels as co-composers. Though Duke always maintained in interviews that “Caravan” -- one of the most popular tunes in the Ellington band’s repertoire -- was the idea of his Puerto Rican valve trombone player.

Mercer Ellington is quoted on Wikipedia stating that Tizol had invented the melody to “Caravan,” from his days studying music in Puerto Rico, where they couldn't afford much sheet music so the teacher would turn the music upside down after they had learned to play it right-side up. This technique became known as “inverting,” and led to a style called Modal Jazz.

Juan Tizol Martinèz (1900-1984) was born in Puerto Rico, where he trained as a concert musician, first on violin and then on valve trombone instead of a slide trombone, because the valve instrument was more common in Puerto Rico when he was growing up. Juan studied music with his uncle Manuel Tizol, who was the director of the municipal band and the symphony in San Juan. Throughout his youth, Juan played in his uncle’s band and also gained experience by playing in local operas, ballets and dance bands.

In 1920, Juan Tizol joined a band that was going to the United States to work in the nation‘s capital. Traveling as stowaways, the group eventually made it to Northwest, Washington, D.C., where they set up residence. They found work with the pit band at the Howard Theater, located at 620 T Street. Tizol once told Stanley Dance, a close associate and biographer of Ellington: “We were legitimate musicians -- no jazz.”

When Tizol arrived in the U.S., he spoke no English, was not familiar with American culture, knew little of jazz and played an unusual instrument that was considered best for marching bands than orchestra ensembles. Those conditions fascinated author Basilio Serrano and he choose Tizol as the subject for his book “Juan Tizol - His caravan through American life and culture.” According to Serrano, “Many would say that Tizol had three strikes against him, if not four, yet, despite the odds, he went on to have an extremely successful life in music.”

At the Howard the Puerto Rican musicians were also hired to play in small jazz or dance groups. Duke Ellington first heard Tizol at the Howard and, in the late 1920s, when the Ellington band was broadcasting from the Cotton Club in Harlem, he asked Tizol to bring his valve trombone to a broadcast to find out how it would sound with the band. After stints with the Howard Theater orchestra and getting his first jazz band experience with Bobby Lee’s Cotton Pickers in Washington, D.C., Tizol joined the Ellington orchestra in 1929.

When Juan Tizol joined the Ellington outfit he started composing what he thought of as “Spanish melodies” but which, in the Ellington context, seemed to have a Middle Eastern flavor. Consequently, they were given such titles as “Caravan,” and “Pyramid.” Tizol was also an arranger and transcriber and besides being responsible for incorporating Latin influences into the Ellington repertoire he was also responsible for rehearsing and integrating new musicians into the band in Ellington’s absence.

In his autobiography “Music is my mistress” Duke Ellington describes Tizol as “A tremendous asset to our band, a very big man, a very unselfish man and one of the finest musicians I’ve ever known.” Tizol’s other contributions to the Ellington band’s repertory included “Conga Brava,” “Lost In Meditation” and the famous jazz standard “Perdido.”

Tizol's distinctive, Latin-flavored style graced the Ellington orchestra until 1944, when he left to join Harry James. Tizol remained with James -- except for a brief period between 1951 and 1953, when he once again played with Ellington -- until his retirement in 1960.

Juan Tizol paved the way for the future generation of Latin musicians. Basilio Serrano says “I like to think of Tizol as the unsung founding father of Latin Jazz.”