John Coltrane
Tenor Sax Solo on
If I Were A Bell

About

John Coltrane's tenor sax solo is the second of three solos on this recording, following Miles Davis on trumpet. Spanning two choruses of the 32-bar ABAC form in F at a driving 190 BPM with a swing feel, Coltrane follows with two tenor saxophone choruses that contrast sharply with Davis's cool approach, his intense, exploratory style already hinting at the revolutionary developments to come. All soloists on this recording ended their solo by repeating the last 4 bars of the form as many times as they wanted. Coltrane did it 5 times for 20 total extra bars.

John Coltrane was 29 to 30 years old at the time.