Emmet Cohen
Piano Solo on
You Already Know

About

Emmet Cohen's piano solo on his own composition You Already Know is the third of nine solos in this WBGO broadcast concert. He takes four choruses of the 40-bar AABC form at a blazing 260 BPM, demonstrating his command of uptempo swing playing with virtuosic runs, rhythmic displacement, and harmonic sophistication. As the composer, Cohen has an intimate understanding of the tune's architecture, and his extended four-chorus statement builds in intensity and complexity. The solo precedes Melissa Aldana's tenor saxophone and Russell Hall's acoustic bass, with the up-tempo setting providing a dramatic contrast to the medium-tempo Golson piece that opened the program.

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