John Coltrane
Tenor Sax Solo on
My Little Brown Book

About

John Coltrane's tenor saxophone solo on Billy Strayhorn's "My Little Brown Book" is the only solo on this track from the 1962 Duke Ellington and John Coltrane album. He takes approximately three-quarters of a chorus of the 34-bar AABA' form at a ballad tempo of 68 BPM in B-flat. Strayhorn's tender ballad, with its distinctive 34-bar form, demands lyrical sensitivity and harmonic awareness, and Coltrane responds with a restrained, emotionally resonant statement. The slow tempo and intimate duo setting with Ellington's piano places Coltrane's warm tenor tone in a particularly exposed and beautiful context.

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