Bobby Timmons
Piano Solo on
Crescendo Blues

About

Bobby Timmons's two-chorus piano solo is the fourth of five solos on this relaxed blues. At 120 BPM over the 12-bar form in B-flat, Timmons's soulful, blues-drenched approach foreshadows the funky hard bop style he would become famous for with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. At 19 to 20 years old, like his bandmate James Clay, Timmons was already developing the percussive, gospel-inflected piano style that would define his later career. His two choruses bring rhythmic vitality and bluesy conviction to the performance.

Bobby Timmons was 19 to 20 years old at the time.