John Coltrane
Tenor Sax Solo on
Summertime

About

John Coltrane's tenor sax solo is the first of four solos on this recording. Spanning six choruses of the 16-bar form in D at a brisk 160 BPM with a swing feel, Coltrane opens with six tenor saxophone choruses, his improvisations ranging from bluesy simplicity to complex harmonic explorations. They extend the typical 16 bar form of Summertime to 22 bars by extending the last 2 bars into 8. Coltrane's tenor saxophone work reflects a balance of technical fluency and melodic storytelling, building intensity through the course of the improvisation.

John Coltrane was 33 to 34 years old at the time.