John Coltrane
Tenor Sax Solo on
Take the Coltrane

About

John Coltrane's tenor saxophone solo on "Take the Coltrane" is the second of three solos on this track from the 1962 Duke Ellington and John Coltrane album. He takes eleven choruses of the 12-bar blues form at 258 BPM in F, an extended, powerful blues statement that stands as one of the session's most exciting performances. Following Duke Ellington's two-chorus piano opening, Coltrane builds a sustained improvisation of escalating intensity, his sheets of sound and harmonic explorations transforming the straightforward blues into a showcase for his mature improvisational powers. Jimmy Garrison follows with four bass choruses.

John Coltrane was 35 to 36 years old at the time.