Walter Smith III
Tenor Sax Solo on
Adam's Apple

About

Opening the solo section, this tenor sax improvisation spans four choruses of the 24-bar blues at a medium-up swing tempo of 178 BPM. Walter Smith III's version on his 2018 album Twio takes this iconic piece at approximately 178 beats per minute in A-flat, faithfully capturing the tune's funky, rhythmically infectious character. This is the most concise solo on the recording, making every phrase count within a compact space. The 24-bar form provides a defined harmonic landscape for the improvisation. Following this solo, Eric Harland takes over on drums.

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