Sonny Rollins
Tenor Sax Solo on
God Bless The Child

About

Sonny Rollins's tenor sax solo is the second solo on this recording, following Jim Hall on electric guitar. Spanning half a chorus of the 38-bar AABA form in A at a slow 52 BPM with a ballad feel, Rollins follows with his own half-chorus, his tenor saxophone tone warm and expansive as he shapes phrases that seem to breathe with the natural cadence of Holiday's original vocal. Rollins's tenor saxophone work reflects a balance of technical fluency and melodic storytelling, building intensity through the course of the improvisation.

Sonny Rollins was 31 to 32 years old at the time.