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 210 BPM over the 12-bar Blues in B♭, the improvisation moves with confident, driving energy. Chambers again opens with four bass choruses, his arco playing taking different pathways through the blues while maintaining the same high level of melodic invention. Recorded for the album Paul Chambers Quintet in 1957, the performance captures Paul Chambers at 21 to 22 years old. This alternate take of "Four Strings" from Paul Chambers's 1957 self-titled Blue Note quintet album provides an illuminating comparison with the issued version.

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