Wycliffe Gordon
Trombone Solo on
What Is This Thing Called Love

About

Wycliffe Gordon contributes two choruses on trombone, the second of 3 solos on the recording. Taken at an up-tempo swing tempo of 204 BPM over the 32-bar AABA in C, the improvisation moves with confident, driving energy. Gordon follows with two choruses of trombone, his improvisation demonstrating the remarkable agility and melodic inventiveness that set him apart from his contemporaries. Recorded for the album Standards Only in 2001, the performance captures Wycliffe Gordon at 33 to 34 years old. Cole Porter's "What Is This Thing Called Love" serves as one of the more uptempo vehicles on Wycliffe Gordon's 2001 album Standards Only, its AABA form in C major taken at a driving medium-up tempo that allows the soloists ample room to stretch out.

Wycliffe Gordon was 33 to 34 years old at the time.