Art Blakey
Drums Solo on
The Way You Look Tonight

About

Art Blakey closes out the solos on drums with one chorus, following Horace Silver at approximately 314 BPM. Set within a swinging rhythmic framework, the 64-bar AABA form and the key of F, the solo tests the player's command at high velocity. 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. "The Way You Look Tonight" is a high-octane romp through Jerome Kern's beloved standard from A Night at Birdland Vol. 2, performed live by the Art Blakey Quintet in 1954. The 64 bar form is extended an extra 4 bars to make 68.

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