Walter Smith III
Tenor Sax Solo on
Ask Me Now

About

The sole improvisation on this recording, this tenor sax improvisation spans one chorus of the 32-bar AABA form at a relaxed swing tempo of 65 BPM. Thelonious Monk's "Ask Me Now" is one of the most harmonically challenging and emotionally profound ballads in the jazz canon. The 32-bar AABA form, a staple of the Great American Songbook, offers both structural clarity and ample harmonic terrain for improvisation.

Walter Smith III was 37 to 38 years old at the time.