Emmet Cohen
Piano Solo on
I Hear a Rhapsody

About

Emmet Cohen takes six choruses of piano on "I Hear a Rhapsody" at approximately 216 BPM, the most extended solo on this up-tempo swing performance. His improvisation over the 32-bar AABA form in E-flat combines the rhythmic intensity demanded by the tempo with harmonic depth and inventive melodic development across the six-chorus span. Following four-chorus solos by Alexa Tarantino and Tatum Greenblatt, Cohen's expanded statement serves as the performance's climactic feature, his playing sustaining creative momentum while driving the energy higher before Russell Hall's closing bass solo.

Emmet Cohen was 30 to 31 years old at the time.