Lotus Blossom is a jazz piano composition by Billy Strayhorn written for Duke Ellington. The tune has its origins in Strayhorn’s 1946 Charlotte Russe, later reissued as Lotus Blossom in 1959. It is regarded as one of Strayhorn’s most beautiful pieces and was first recorded by Duke Ellington’s orchestra in 1967 on the album And His Mother Called Him Bill, a tribute released shortly after Strayhorn’s death. The famous Ellington recording captures a spontaneous moment, with Ellington at the piano unaware he was being recorded; the end of the session was captured as the musicians put down their instruments, making the take especially moving. The piece opens with a variation on the classic harmonic progression I-vi-ii-V, here sung as Bb/D, Dbm6, Cm7(b5), F7, with Part A featuring chromatic descent and a threefold tonic; Part B delivers a II-V-I in Cm and a dominant pedal that returns to Bb. In essence, Lotus Blossom is a delicate jazz piano work that showcases Strayhorn’s quiet genius and lyrical imagination within simple, familiar elements.
