Chelsea Bridge is a jazz standard composed by Billy Strayhorn in 1941. It was first recorded by the Duke Ellington Orchestra on December 2, 1941, with Strayhorn on piano and Ben Webster on tenor sax, making this the piece’s original performance. The tune is an impressionistic in mood, blending melody and harmony in a Debussy- and Whistler-inspired atmosphere, and it is said to have taken its name from a painting Strayhorn saw rather than the actual bridge. Lyrics were added later by Bill Comstock for The Four Freshmen in 1958, giving rise to vocal versions such as Ella Fitzgerald’s wordless interpretations on the Duke Ellington Songbook projects. Billy Strayhorn himself recorded Chelsea Bridge as an unaccompanied piano piece on his 1961 album The Peaceful Side, and a posthumous release titled Lush Life also includes the piece. Since its debut, Chelsea Bridge has become a jazz standard and a landmark of American impressionism, influencing cool jazz and composers like Gil Evans, and it has been covered by numerous artists including Vince Guaraldi, Tommy Flanagan, Joe Lovano, Keith Jarrett, and Wynton Marsalis.
