Paul Chambers
Acoustic Bass Solo on
Four Strings

About

Paul Chambers opens the solo sequence with four choruses on acoustic bass, the first of 5 solos on the recording. Taken at an up-tempo swing tempo of 212 BPM over the 12-bar Blues in B♭, the improvisation moves with confident, driving energy. Chambers opens with four choruses of improvisation over a 12-bar blues in B-flat, his arco playing demonstrating the kind of melodic invention and technical command that revolutionized the role of the bass in jazz. Recorded for the album Paul Chambers Quintet in 1957, the performance captures Paul Chambers at 21 to 22 years old. "Four Strings" is a Benny Golson composition written specifically for Paul Chambers's 1957 self-titled Blue Note quintet album, its title a direct reference to the bass.

Paul Chambers was 21 to 22 years old at the time.