Art Blakey
Drums Solo on
Quicksilver

About

Art Blakey closes out the solos on drums with a quarter of the form, following Horace Silver at approximately 302 BPM. Set within a swinging rhythmic framework, the 64-bar AABA form and the key of A♭, the solo tests the player's command at high velocity. As a contrafact on "Lover, Come Back to Me," the underlying harmony is well-trodden territory, giving the soloist a sturdy platform for creative exploration. Coming last in the solo order, Blakey has the task of building on everything that came before while steering the performance back toward the closing head. "Quicksilver" is a high-velocity workout from A Night at Birdland Vol. 1, recorded live in 1954 by the Art Blakey Quintet.

Art Blakey was 34 to 35 years old at the time.