John Coltrane
Tenor Sax Solo on
Half Nelson

About

John Coltrane's tenor sax solo is the second solo on this recording, following Miles Davis on trumpet. Spanning four choruses of the 16-bar form in C at a vigorous 254 BPM with a swing feel, Coltrane follows with four choruses of tenor saxophone, his more densely packed lines offering a compelling contrast to Davis's spare approach. "Half Nelson" is a contrafact built on the chord changes of "Lady Bird," requiring the soloist to navigate a familiar harmonic framework with a different melodic identity.

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