An Ellington ballad for making a few notes carry a complete phrase.
If you study one thing
Improvise an eight-bar response using no more than six attacks.
Original AI-generated illustration for Djangopedia; not a historical photograph. Illustration credits
Chart keyNot established
FormNot established
FeelBallad / gentle swing
Meter4/4
MusicDuke Ellington
Guide coverage9 / 12 sections present
Owner content reviewed — 2026-10-18T23:08:26Z by admin. Coverage measures presence, not accuracy. Content review does not certify rights or musical perfection.
See what is here and what is missing
✓ Recording evidence
○ Key & form
○ Chart
✓ History
✓ Playing notes
✓ Practice plan
✓ Backing track
✓ Django recording
○ Django solo study aid
✓ Illustration
✓ Sources
✓ Difficulty
Django's Recordings
Django recordings for this tune. Uploader dates and take labels remain source claims; only an evidenced exact association enables a row’s Listen control.
1 historical recording entries · source text preserved
Entry
Year
Recording / session / release evidence
Listen
01
1937
Solitude,OLA 1706-1 ,"Fremeaux FA 305, Classics 748, Affinity 1003, EMI 780671-2, Jazz Archives ZET 752, Mosaic MD6-190(6 CD Set).","21/4/37 - Paris - QHCF - Stephane Grappelly (v), Django Reinhardt, Pierre Ferret, Marcel Bianchi (g), Louis Vola (b)"
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A dash means no video has been associated with this exact historical recording. Tune-level listening resources remain available above.
History & Listening
Ellington’s 1934 composition later received lyrics by DeLange and Mills. Its reflective character translates well to a small acoustic ensemble, as the proposed Winterstein and Titoks performances demonstrate.
Tune details
Music: Duke Ellington
Words: Eddie DeLange, Irving Mills
Source-attributed publication / composition: 1934
Original key: Not established
Study level: Intermediate; improvise an eight-bar response using no more than six attacks
Melody & head
An Ellington ballad for making a few notes carry a complete phrase.
Sparse playing still needs a counted form; do not let silence become uncertainty.
Study the inherited Django recording evidence
An Ellington ballad for making a few notes carry a complete phrase.
Session evidence
Solitude,OLA 1706-1 ,"Fremeaux FA 305, Classics 748, Affinity 1003, EMI 780671-2, Jazz Archives ZET 752, Mosaic MD6-190(6 CD Set).","21/4/37 - Paris - QHCF - Stephane Grappelly (v), Django Reinhardt, Pierre Ferret, Marcel Bianchi (g), Louis Vola (b)"
Use the melody’s held tones as harmonic checkpoints. Resolve a neighbouring chromatic note only after hearing whether the accompaniment has changed beneath it. Check the video key before playing with the chart.
Chart & Form
Use the melody’s held tones as harmonic checkpoints. Resolve a neighbouring chromatic note only after hearing whether the accompaniment has changed beneath it.
A complete chord chart has not yet been verified. The exercises are editorial listening and practice suggestions, not a replacement score.
No readable chord chart has been added for this title.
Swing · 95 BPM · 5m49s · Video available when checked; creator-described attribution.
Creator-provided play-along; instrumentation and feel vary by selection. Check the key and full arrangement before joining in; the guide chart may use another key. Tempo is the creator’s stated value.
Use the melody’s held tones as harmonic checkpoints. Resolve a neighbouring chromatic note only after hearing whether the accompaniment has changed beneath it.
Sing the destination note before connecting it to the preceding chord.
Pitch choices
Begin with the named chord tones. Add passing notes only after the melody and cadence are secure.
Improvise an eight-bar response using no more than six attacks. Record it and check whether the rests preserve a clear phrase shape.
Comping & voicings
Keep a slow four gentle and even. Let the bass define the pulse while the guitar supplies only the necessary colour.
Voicing note sets
Keep a slow four gentle and even. Let the bass define the pulse while the guitar supplies only the necessary colour.
Keep the accompaniment clear
First establish an even pulse; add rhythmic variation only when the melody leaves space.
Sparse playing still needs a counted form; do not let silence become uncertainty.
Practice room
55–90 bpm
Your assignment
Improvise an eight-bar response using no more than six attacks. Record it and check whether the rests preserve a clear phrase shape.
Loop these changes
Improvise an eight-bar response using no more than six attacks. Record it and check whether the rests preserve a clear phrase shape.
Metronome
Count quarter notes first. Then place the click on beats 2 and 4 at half the click rate, keeping the phrase length unchanged.
Transposition
Move one short cadence to a nearby key by naming its chord tones, then return to the chosen study key.
At the session
Confirm the chosen arrangement key; Confirm the complete form. Agree the arrangement, pickup and ending before counting in.
Start together
Count a clear tempo and use the final cadence of the agreed arrangement.
Finish together
Cue the final tonic together; agree any tag before starting.
Sparse playing still needs a counted form; do not let silence become uncertainty.
Sparse playing still needs a counted form; do not let silence become uncertainty.
Arranging the tune
Solo guitar
Keep the melody uppermost and begin with a single bass note under each harmony. Keep a slow four gentle and even. Let the bass define the pulse while the guitar supplies only the necessary colour.
Trio or larger group
Keep a slow four gentle and even. Let the bass define the pulse while the guitar supplies only the necessary colour.
Vocal considerations
Choose a comfortable singing key and transpose the accompaniment as a whole; lyrics are not reproduced here.
Sources & credits
This player guide combines inherited recording evidence and editorial study notes. Musical study notes are editorial suggestions; compare them with the recording.
Source-attributed credits and historical context; not an exact take mapping.
Inherited Djangopedia chart and recording evidence
Existing chart and discographic rows; retained as inherited evidence.
Illustration credit & provenance
Original AI-generated illustration for Djangopedia; not a historical photograph.
Original AI-assisted editorial artwork inspired by the tune’s mood. It does not depict a documented historical event.
Generated with the native image-generation tool on 2026-10-18; original editorial artwork, not a historical photograph.
Prompt: Original horizontal 1536x1024 3:2 editorial serigraph for jazz tune solitude. A lone anonymous guitarist seated on a quiet park bench beneath a broad angular tree, expansive empty evening sky. Use Stage 6C bold simplified angular silhouettes, asymmetrical negative space, flat limited inks sage, midnight navy, ivory, muted orange, handmade rough ink edges and tactile paper grain. Whimsical restrained mid-century jazz screen-print design. No gradients, no photorealism, no text/letters, no border. Original imagined scene, not a historical depiction. Heads and instruments fully inside frame.
Research & rights notes
Exact YouTube-to-matrix/take associations are not established. Historical rows remain inherited archive evidence.
No complete chart is present in the inherited archive. This is a listening-led study guide; confirm a reliable arrangement before a jam.
No chart key is asserted; choose and verify the key of the selected arrangement.
No qualifying new Django solo recreation was confirmed in this bounded search.
BACKING TRACK - SOLITUDE (Duke Ellington) (Eb) 95 BPM SWINGLuc MaesSwing · 95 BPM · 5m49s · Video available when checked; creator-described attribution.Creator-provided play-along; instrumentation and feel vary by selection. Check the key and full arrangement before joining in; the guide chart may use another key. Tempo is the creator’s stated value.✓ Featured
Jazz Backing Track - SolitudeEagleheart Jazz Channel3m57s · Video available when checked; creator-described attribution.Creator-provided play-along; instrumentation and feel vary by selection. Check the key and full arrangement before joining in; the guide chart may use another key.Select video
Brady & Hono Winterstein Quintet - Solitude (Gypsy Jazz)DC Music SchoolVideo available when checked; creator-described attribution.Performer attribution follows the video title and channel description. Proposed listening selection; no popularity ranking implied.✓ Featured
Gypsy Jazz - "Solitude" - TitoksTitoksVideo available when checked; creator-described attribution.Performer attribution follows the video title and channel description. Proposed listening selection; no popularity ranking implied.Select video