Carl Perkins
Piano Solo on
Milt's Tune

About

Carl Perkins's one-chorus piano solo is the fifth and final solo on this rhythm changes contrafact. At 237 BPM over the 32-bar AABA form in B-flat, Perkins's idiosyncratic approach to the keyboard brings a fresh perspective to the well-worn harmonic territory. The tune is a contrafact based on the chord changes of "I Got Rhythm," and Perkins's unorthodox left-hand technique and personal harmonic sense give his closing statement a distinctive character that sets it apart from the more conventional bebop approaches of the preceding soloists.

Carl Perkins was 26 to 27 years old at the time.