Archives, Episode 53: The Jazz Solo, Part 2

Discovering Jazz

Another really fascinating episode from 5 years ago. This time I explore some of the controversies around two jazz solos.

The first one is Tommy Flanagan’s solo on Coltrane’s Giant Steps. One jazz writer stated ““With Giant Steps Coltrane supplanted Cherokee as the litmus test for aspiring improvisers, packing so many harmonic substitutions into one progression that at first blush, consummate pianist Tommy Flanagan could barely eke his way through the changes”. So how bad was Flanagan’s solo? And was Coltrane’s solo so powerful that it could cause us to experience vertigo?

Then there’s the controversy around Cannonball Adderly’s solo in Miles (aka Milestones). Fred Hersch said it ‘shone’. And another writer said he ‘struggled’ because he tried to play it like bebop rather than like modal music. You be the judge.

Other solos featured are by Elvin Jones, McCoy Tyner, Guido Basso, Ornette Coleman, Sarah Vaughan, Clifford Brown, and Charlie Christian.