Red Garland
Piano Solo on
I Could Write a Book

About

Red Garland's piano solo is the last of three solos on this recording, following John Coltrane on tenor sax. Spanning two choruses of the 32-bar ABAC form in E♭ at a vigorous 227 BPM with a swing feel, the rhythm section of Garland, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Philly Joe Jones drives the performance with effortless swing, their collective time feel creating a rhythmic foundation so solid that the soloists can take any risk with complete confidence. All soloists on this recording ended their solo by repeating the last 4 bars of the form as many times as they wanted. Red Garland did it 5 times for 20 total extra bars.

Red Garland was 32 to 33 years old at the time.