Manuel Valera
Piano Solo on
Alone Together

About

Closing out the solo section, this piano improvisation spans three choruses of the 36-bar AABA form at an uptempo swing feel at 220 BPM. Pianist Manuel Valera then stretches out for three full choruses — the longest piano solo in the early Standard Sessions recordings — bringing a rhythmically adventurous and harmonically rich perspective shaped by his Cuban-American musical background. This is the longest solo on the recording in terms of chorus count, suggesting a featured role in the arrangement. The 36-bar form provides a defined harmonic landscape for the improvisation. Coming after Chad Lefkowitz-Brown's tenor sax solo, this is the final improvisation before the ensemble returns to the head.

Manuel Valera was 36 to 37 years old at the time.