John Coltrane
Tenor Sax Solo on
So What

About

Taking the 2nd solo, this tenor sax improvisation spans two choruses of the 32-bar AABA form at a medium swing tempo of 139 BPM. John Coltrane follows with two choruses of tenor saxophone that hint at the harmonic explorations he would soon pursue in his own work, his sheets of sound approach already becoming evident. The 32-bar AABA form, a staple of the Great American Songbook, offers both structural clarity and ample harmonic terrain for improvisation. Situated between Miles Davis's trumpet solo and Julian "Cannonball" Adderley's turn on alto sax, it occupies a pivotal spot in the arrangement.

John Coltrane was 32 to 33 years old at the time.