Charlie Parker
Alto Sax Solo on
Embraceable You

About

Charlie Parker opens the solo section on alto sax, stretching out for one chorus at approximately 76 BPM. Set within a ballad setting, the 32-bar ABAC form and the key of F, the solo allows for nuanced, expressive phrasing. As the first voice heard after the head, Parker sets the improvisational tone before passing to Miles Davis. Charlie Parker's one-chorus alto saxophone solo on George Gershwin's standard, played in the key of F at approximately 76 BPM over a 32-bar ABAC form, is a paradigm of ballad improvisation. The slow tempo creates space for expressive, carefully shaped phrases.

Charlie Parker was 26 to 27 years old at the time.