Emmet Cohen
Piano Solo on
Dear John

About

Emmet Cohen's piano solo is the first of three solos on this performance. Spanning eleven choruses of the 16-bar form in E♭ at a blazing 269 BPM with a swing feel, Cohen delivers extended solos throughout, including an eleven-chorus statement on the Hubbard piece. "Dear John" is a contrafact built on the chord changes of "Giant Steps," requiring the soloist to navigate a familiar harmonic framework with a different melodic identity. Cohen's extended piano improvisation builds gradually through the choruses, developing melodic ideas with increasing complexity and rhythmic intensity.

Emmet Cohen was 30 to 31 years old at the time.