Chad Lefkowitz-Brown
Tenor Sax Solo on
Donna Lee

About

Chad Lefkowitz-Brown opens the solo section with six choruses of tenor saxophone on Miles Davis's "Donna Lee" at approximately 184 BPM, the first of three soloists on this bebop classic. The piece is a contrafact based on the chord changes of "Indiana," reharmonized with a new melody. Lefkowitz-Brown's extended solo over the 32-bar AB form in A-flat demonstrates his facility with the demanding bebop vocabulary that the composition requires, his lines moving through the changes with rhythmic precision and harmonic awareness. As the first soloist, he sets the pace for what becomes one of the set's most technically challenging performances, his six choruses building a persuasive case for his command of the tradition.

Chad Lefkowitz-Brown was 31 to 32 years old at the time.