Miles Davis
Trumpet Solo on
Anthropology

About

Miles Davis's trumpet solo is the first of three improvisations on this early version of one of the defining rhythm changes contrafacts of the bebop era. Taking one chorus of the 32-bar AABA form in B-flat at 227 BPM, Davis opens the solo section over the chord changes of "I Got Rhythm" with a statement that captures the young trumpeter navigating the demanding tempo with growing confidence. The contrafact, which would later become known as Anthropology, provides a challenging harmonic framework at this brisk pace.

Miles Davis was 18 to 19 years old at the time.