This version of Miles Davis's "All Blues" appears on Alexis Cole's 2021 album Sky Blossom: Songs From My Tour of Duty. Cole takes a two-chorus vocal solo over the 12-bar blues form in C at a medium swing tempo of 141 beats per minute, followed by alto saxophonist Derrick James with two choruses of his own. Davis composed "All Blues" for his seminal 1959 album Kind of Blue, where it was performed in six-four time as a modal jazz vehicle. Since then, the tune has become one of the most widely performed jazz compositions, adaptable to a range of approaches from modal to blues-based improvisation. Cole's scat improvisation over the blues form demonstrates her comfort with the idiom, her vocal lines drawing on the blues tradition while maintaining the rhythmic flexibility of a jazz instrumentalist. James's alto saxophone solo provides an effective contrast, his horn adding a different tonal color and improvisational vocabulary to the performance. The inclusion of this iconic tune on an album dedicated to Cole's military entertainment tours speaks to the universal appeal of the blues, a form that transcends genre boundaries and connects with listeners across all backgrounds. The arrangement keeps the performance grounded in the jazz tradition while remaining accessible to the diverse audiences Cole encountered during her tours of duty.
