Art Blakey
Drums Solo on
Quicksilver

About

Art Blakey closes out the solos on drums with one chorus, following Curly Russell at approximately 317 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. Built on the chord changes of "Lover, Come Back to Me," the harmonic foundation is a familiar one in the jazz repertoire, inviting inventive melodic departures. 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" (Alternate Take) from A Night at Birdland Vol. 2 is a second look at Horace Silver's contrafact on "Lover, Come Back to Me," performed live by the Art Blakey Quintet in 1954.

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