About
John Lewis's piano solo is the 3rd of 4 on this recording, spanning one chorus at approximately 307 BPM. Set within a swinging rhythmic framework, the 32-bar AABA form and the key of B♭, the solo tests the player's command at high velocity. The tune borrows its harmonic structure from "I Got Rhythm," a set of changes that generations of improvisers have used as a testing ground for new ideas. Positioned between Miles Davis and Max Roach, Lewis bridges the conversation between the two. Merry-Go-Round is the final track on The Complete Savoy and Dial Master Takes and serves as a fitting conclusion to this body of work, capturing Parker and his associates at the peak of their powers in a performance of extraordinary energy and technical mastery.
John Lewis was 27 to 28 years old at the time.
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