Mood Indigo is a jazz standard written by Duke Ellington and Barney Bigard with lyrics by Irving Mills. It was published in 1930 and first recorded by Duke Ellington and His Orchestra in October 1930 for Brunswick – originally titled Dreamy Blues – after Ellington said it was written for microphone transmission. The tune is famous for Ellington’s inverted horn voicing and a mic-tone effect that suggests a fourth “voice” in the arrangement. It became a core part of Ellington’s repertoire and appears on the 1950 album Masterpieces by Ellington and the Indigos collection, and it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1975 for its 1931 Brunswick release. The song has been widely covered, including Frank Sinatra’s 1955 vocal version on In the Wee Small Hours. Mood Indigo is a sophisticated, melancholic jazz standard in nature.
