John Coltrane's 90-Note Break on "Russian Lullaby"

Having picked up a copy of Soultrane (1958) the other day, I was listening casually today when I heard "Russian Lullaby." This track is on the same level, tempo-wise, as "Countdown" or "Limehouse Blues" or any of the other straight-ahead Coltrane burners from the late '50s and early '60s. The break at the very end was what got me, though. It's like the Olympic 100 m. dash: 90 notes in under 10 seconds. Usually, it's really not about the numbers in jazz, but in light of Usain Bolt's recent victory, I thought this might be appropriate. Check out the recording (the break happens around 4:57) and the transcription:





Location: New York, NY, USA

Comments

  1. AnonymousMarch 1, 2014 at 7:24 PM

    Is this transcription written for the sax? In other words, a C Instrument would have to transpose down a second, right?

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    Replies
    1. Kevin SunMarch 1, 2014 at 8:16 PM

      Right, it's written for Bb tenor, so you'd have to transpose down a major 9th to play it in the same octave as it's written for saxophone.

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