John Coltrane
Tenor Sax Solo on
Cousin Mary

About

John Coltrane's tenor sax solo is the opening of 3 solos on this recording, followed by Tommy Flanagan on piano. Spanning ten choruses of the 12-bar Blues form at a bright 222 BPM with a swing feel in A♭, the solo runs approximately 2:12. The composition's deceptively simple structure belies the sophisticated approach Coltrane takes to improvisation, finding endless melodic possibilities within the conventional 12-bar framework. John Coltrane was 32 to 33 years old at the time of this 1959 recording.

John Coltrane was 32 to 33 years old at the time.