Frank Morgan
Alto Sax Solo on
The Champ

About

Frank Morgan's five-chorus alto saxophone solo opens the improvisation on this blistering reading of Dizzy Gillespie's bebop blues, the longest individual statement on the track. At nearly 280 BPM over the 12-bar form in B-flat, Morgan weaves rapid bebop lines through the blues changes with virtuosic fluency, the kind of playing that first drew comparisons to Charlie Parker. Five choruses at this extreme velocity create a sustained burst of creative intensity, and Morgan's ability to maintain coherence and invention throughout demonstrates his formidable command at the time of his 1955 debut.

Frank Morgan was 21 to 22 years old at the time.