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John Coltrane's soprano saxophone solo is the fourth and final solo on this Village Vanguard performance of "Spiritual," following his own opening tenor passage, Eric Dolphy's bass clarinet, and McCoy Tyner's piano. Playing in a waltz feel at approximately 121 BPM, his soprano is more piercing and keening than his earlier tenor work on this piece, its high, singing voice bringing a different emotional quality to the devotional atmosphere. This closing soprano statement serves as the performance's culmination, foreshadowing the transcendent intensity that would characterize A Love Supreme and Coltrane's subsequent spiritually driven works.
John Coltrane was 34 to 35 years old at the time.
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