This alternate take of "Like Sonny" appears on expanded editions of Coltrane Jazz and offers a revealing comparison with the master take. Recorded during the same November 1959 session with Wynton Kelly on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Jimmy Cobb on drums, the performance maintains the same 24-bar ABA structure in E-flat at a slightly faster tempo of approximately 156 BPM. Coltrane's three-chorus tenor saxophone solo takes a different improvisational path than the released version, demonstrating how his creative process could yield distinctly different musical narratives from identical starting points. Kelly again delivers two polished choruses, and Chambers takes two featured bass solos that showcase his remarkable facility and melodic sense. The alternate take provides insight into the working methods of these musicians, revealing the spontaneity and inventiveness that characterized each pass through the material. Subtle differences in phrasing, note choice, and dynamic shaping between this take and the master illustrate the improvisatory nature of jazz at its finest. For students of Coltrane's music, hearing multiple versions of the same composition from the same session offers an invaluable window into the rapid evolution of his improvisational thinking during this transformative period.
