TISHAMINGO BLUES - Free Jazz Leadsheet

“tishamingo blues” refers to the blues song more commonly known as “Tishomingo Blues,” composed by Spencer Williams in 1917. The title alludes to Tishomingo, Mississippi—an evocative Southern locale that inspired Williams’s mournful and soulful melody.

The first known recording was made in 1918 by Eddie Nelson for Emerson Records (catalog # 913). Since then it has become a jazz and blues standard, recorded by bands like Duke Ellington’s Cotton Club Orchestra (1928), as well as by traditional New Orleans players such as Bunk Johnson, Sidney Bechet, and more. The lyrics (in many versions) express a haunting longing for home and the South. Musically, the song unfolds over a slow, bluesy structure, with a plaintive melody and chord progressions that leave ample space for improvisation and personal interpretation.