Earl May
Acoustic Bass Solo on
Trane's Slo Blues

About

Earl May's acoustic bass solo is the 2nd of 3 on this recording, following John Coltrane's tenor sax and followed by Art Taylor on drums. Spanning two choruses of the 12-bar Blues form at a moderate 126 BPM with a swing feel in B♭, the solo runs approximately 48 seconds. May follows with two choruses of acoustic bass that showcase his melodic approach to the instrument, his warm tone and rhythmic assurance providing a compelling solo voice in the pianoless trio context. Earl May was 29 to 30 years old at the time of this 1957 recording.

Earl May was 29 to 30 years old at the time.