CANAL STREET BLUES - Free Jazz Leadsheet

“canal street blues” was composed by King Oliver and Louis Armstrong and first recorded in 1923 by King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band during their landmark Chicago sessions. The record became one of the defining documents of early ensemble jazz.

The tune has remained a staple of traditional-jazz groups, valued for its expressive bent-note lines and its relaxed yet deeply rhythmic blues feel. Built on a twelve-bar structure with additional ensemble figures, it showcases the collective improvisation central to early New Orleans-style performance.