Afro Blue

"Afro Blue" is a jazz waltz by the Cuban percussionist Mongo Santamaría, first recorded by his band in 1959 and one of the first jazz standards built on an Afro-Cuban rhythm. This page has the Afro Blue chords and a backing track you can slow down, speed up and transpose.

Who wrote "Afro Blue"

Mongo Santamaría wrote the music. Oscar Brown Jr. later set words to it, and the tune is sung as often as it is played. The melody moves over a rhythm in which three and two beats are felt together, which is what drew jazz players to it.

Recordings that made it a standard

• Mongo Santamaría (1959) — the original, with flute and percussion over the 6/8 groove.
• Abbey Lincoln — Abbey Is Blue (1959), the first recording with Oscar Brown Jr.'s words.
• John Coltrane — Live at Birdland (1963), a long modal treatment by his classic quartet that made it a jazz standard.