“Caravan“ is an American jazz standard that was composed by Juan Tizol and Duke Ellington….and first performed by Ellington in 1936….whereas Irving Mills wrote lyrics, but they are rarely sung. The exotic sound of “Caravan” interested exotica musicians such as Martin Denny, Arthur Lyman and Gordon Jenkins….of whom all covered it. Woody Allen used the song in two of his films, Alice and Sweet and Lowdown….whereas, Steven Soderbergh used the Lyman version in his 2001 film Ocean’s Eleven….plus the song appears often in the 2014 film Whiplash as an important plot element. The Mills Brothers recorded an a cappella version in which they imitated instruments with their voices…..and Johnny Mathis recorded the song in 1956…..whereby more than 350 versions of “Caravan” have been recorded.
As seen in this video herewith….Duke Ellington and his Orchestra play his famous song “Caravan” while appearing live at The Apollo Theater in 1953…..which makes this video “a nugget of pure gold” in our treasure chest of vintage memories here at ImaSportsphile.
