John Coltrane’s Solo on “Take The Coltrane” Transcription & Analysis by Seth Carper In 1962 John Coltrane and Duke Ellington went into the studio to record an album for Impulse!, simply titled Duke Ellington & John Coltrane. The bassist and drummer from both men’s groups rounded out the quartet on various tracks. One of the most exciting numbers on the record is Ellington’s riff blues, “Take The Coltrane.” Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones, both from Coltrane’s quartet, play bass and drums on the cut. Ellington plays only two choruses, leaving the bulk of the improvisation to Coltrane. Ellington obviously wanted Coltrane to feel free to stretch, choosing not to comp behind Coltrane’s solo. Coltrane tempers this freedom with one of his clearest solos of this period. As with many of Coltrane’s solos, there is a sparse amount of motivic material present. This recording simultaneously displays Coltrane’s deep sense of the blues tradition, while pushing toward a more open, modal sound over the blues progression. Motives The opening phrase can be thought of as the seed of the entire solo. Much of what follows derives from the first two measures. Rhythmically, the cell starts on a strong beat (1 or 3), and consists of a quarter note and two eighth notes, followed by another quarter note. This motive is easy to follow through the first eight measures as Coltrane sequences it through the G7 and C7 (Fig. 1). The motive returns in this relatively pure form in mm. 334, 63, 8183, 8990 and 167168 (Fig.2ae). Measures 9091 also contain a rhythmic compression of the figure (Fig. 3).
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John Coltrane’s Solo on “Take The Coltrane”
Transcription & Analysis by Seth Carper
In 1962 John Coltrane and Duke Ellington went into the studio to record an
album for Impulse!, simply titled Duke Ellington & John Coltrane. The bassist and
drummer from both men’s groups rounded out the quartet on various tracks. One of
the most exciting numbers on the record is Ellington’s riff blues, “Take The
Coltrane.” Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones, both from Coltrane’s quartet, play bass
and drums on the cut. Ellington plays only two choruses, leaving the bulk of the
improvisation to Coltrane. Ellington obviously wanted Coltrane to feel free to
stretch, choosing not to comp behind Coltrane’s solo. Coltrane tempers this freedom
with one of his clearest solos of this period. As with many of Coltrane’s solos, there
is a sparse amount of motivic material present. This recording simultaneously
displays Coltrane’s deep sense of the blues tradition, while pushing toward a more
open, modal sound over the blues progression.
Motives
The opening phrase can be thought of as the seed of the entire solo. Much of
what follows derives from the first two measures. Rhythmically, the cell starts on a
strong beat (1 or 3), and consists of a quarter note and two eighth notes, followed by
another quarter note. This motive is easy to follow through the first eight measures
as Coltrane sequences it through the G7 and C7 (Fig. 1). The motive returns in this
relatively pure form in mm. 33-‐4, 63, 81-‐83, 89-‐90 and 167-‐168 (Fig.2a-‐e). Measures
90-‐91 also contain a rhythmic compression of the figure (Fig. 3).
Fig. 1 Motive 1
Fig. 2
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Fig. 3
The second motive, found in Figure 4, is related to the first motive, but
replaces the initial quarter note with two eighth notes, resulting in a total of four
eighths on a strong beat followed by a quarter note. This idea is usually built on one
of the triadic or pentatonic figures seen below. The motive begins to take shape in
mm. 9-‐10, and is heard fully formed by m. 29 (Fig. 4).
Fig. 4: Second motive
Bb Coltrane's Solo
Tenor Sax
G7
q=240
2 3 4
C7 G7
5 6 7 8
D7 C7 G7
9 10 11 12G7 D¨7
13 14 15 16
C7 G7 B7
17 18 19 20
Take the CoLtrane Composed by Duke Ellington
Transcribed by Seth CarperJohn Coltrane's Solo
Bb Coltrane's Solo
Tenor Sax
G7q=240
2 3 4
C7 G7
5 6 7 8
D7 C7 G7
9 10 11 12
G7 D¨7
13 14 15 16
C7 G7 B7
17 18 19 20
D7 C7 G7
21 22 23 24
G7 D¨7
25 26 27 28
C7 G7
29 30 31 32
V.S.
A‹7 D7 G7
33 34 35 36
Take the CoLtrane Composed by Duke Ellington
Transcribed by Seth CarperJohn Coltrane's Solo
G7 C7 D¨7
37 38 39 40C7 B7 B¨7
41 42 43 44A‹7 D7 G7
45 46 47 48
G7
49 50 51 52
C7 G7
53 54 55 56
D7 C7 G7
57 58 59 60G7 C7 C‹7 G7 G&7
61 62 63 64
C7 C‹7 G7
65 66 67 68AD7 C7
C E¨ A¨G7
D7A‹7 D7
69 70 71 72
G7 D¨
73 74 75 76
Tenor Sax2
C7 G7
77 78 79 80
D7 C7 G7 D7
81 82 83 84G7 C7 D¨7
85 86 87 88C7 B7 B¨7
89 90 91 92
A C F A¨
93 94 95 96
G7 C7 G7
97 98 99 100
C7 G7
101 102 103 104
D7 C7 G7
105 106 107 108
G7
109 110 111 112
V.S.
C7 G7
113 114 115 116
3 3
Tenor Sax3
C7 G7
77 78 79 80
D7 C7 G7 D7
81 82 83 84G7 C7 D¨7
85 86 87 88C7 B7 B¨7
89 90 91 92
A C F A¨
93 94 95 96
G7 C7 G7
97 98 99 100
C7 G7
101 102 103 104
D7 C7 G7
105 106 107 108
G7
109 110 111 112
V.S.
C7 G7
113 114 115 116
3 3
Tenor Sax3
G7 C7 G7
159 160 161 162
C7 G7
163 164 165 166
D7 G7
167 168 169 170
Tenor Sax5
C7 G7
77 78 79 80
D7 C7 G7 D7
81 82 83 84G7 C7 D¨7
85 86 87 88C7 B7 B¨7
89 90 91 92
A C F A¨
93 94 95 96
G7 C7 G7
97 98 99 100
C7 G7
101 102 103 104
D7 C7 G7
105 106 107 108
G7
109 110 111 112
V.S.
C7 G7
113 114 115 116
3 3
Tenor Sax3
Coltrane periodically extends the eighth notes in this second motive, usually
with the sequencing or juxtaposing of pentatonic and triadic melodic material.
Figure 5a shows an example of the sequenced triads, while Figure 5b shows an
example of the pentatonic and triadic material in tandem.
Fig. 5 a-‐b
a.
b.
This second version is taken one step further to a third variation, wherein
both quarter notes are replaced with eighth notes. This would seem unrelated to
the original motive if not for the fact that the first two eighth notes of each group of
four eighth notes are the same pitch. The repeated pitch gives the sense of a single
quarter note, referencing the sound of the original motive. This version appears in
mm. 103-‐107 and mm. 155-‐158 (Fig. 6a-‐b).
Fig. 6: Third variation of motive
Bb Coltrane's Solo
Tenor Sax
G7q=240
2 3 4
C7 G7
5 6 7 8
D7 C7 G7
9 10 11 12
G7 D¨7
13 14 15 16
C7 G7 B7
17 18 19 20
D7 C7 G7
21 22 23 24
G7 D¨7
25 26 27 28
C7 G7
29 30 31 32
V.S.
A‹7 D7 G7
33 34 35 36
Take the CoLtrane Composed by Duke Ellington
Transcribed by Seth CarperJohn Coltrane's Solo
T. Sax
G7q=240
2 3 4
C7 G7
5 6 7 8
D7 C7 G7
9 10 11 12G7 D¨7
13 14 15 16
C7 C7 G7 B7
17 18 19 20
D7 C7 G7
21 22 23 24
G7 D¨7
25 26 27 28
C7
(C) (C) (G)
G7
(C) (D)29 30 31 32
V.S.
A‹7 D7
C Pentatonic
G7
(G)33 34 35 36
Take the CoLtrane
Composed by Duke EllingtonTranscribed by Seth Carper
John Coltrane's Solo from Duke Ellington & John Coltrane, Impulse! A-30
T. Sax
G7q=240
2 3 4
C7 G7
5 6 7 8
D7 C7 G7
9 10 11 12G7 D¨7
13 14 15 16
C7 C7 G7 B7
17 18 19 20
D7 C7 G7
21 22 23 24
G7 D¨7
25 26 27 28
C7
(C) (C) (G)
G7
(C) (D)29 30 31 32
V.S.
A‹7 D7
C Pentatonic (D)
G7
(G)33 34 35 36
Take the CoLtrane
Composed by Duke EllingtonTranscribed by Seth Carper
John Coltrane's Solo from Duke Ellington & John Coltrane, Impulse! A-30
C7 G7
77 78 79 80
D7 C7 G7 D7
81 82 83 84
G7 C7 D¨7
85 86 87 88
C7 B7 B¨7
89 90 91 92
A C F A¨
93 94 95 96
G7 C7 G7
97 98 99 100
C7
101 102
G7 D7 C7 G7
103 104 105 106 107 108
3 3
Tenor Sax3
Triads, Scales, & Arpeggios
Throughout the solo Coltrane straddles the line between a modal approach
and tonal approach to the blues. His first chorus begins with a modal sound,
addressing the G7 and C7 chords of the first eight measures with Mixolydian pitch
content. In the ninth bar of the first chorus, Coltrane plays up the D Mixolydian
scale from the third, seamlessly connecting the improvised line to a C pentatonic
(also pitches of D Mixolydian), and then returns to the first four pitches up an
octave. This could be looked as V-‐ii-‐V back pedaling, or as all D7 material. Either
way, he ends the line with a second inversion G triad followed by a C pentatonic
pattern (Fig. 7).
Fig. 7: G triad and C pentatonic, mm. 11-‐12
This combination of triads and pentatonic scales is used liberally throughout
the solo. The three triads used are G major, C major, and D major, outlining the
three primary chords of the blues, and the combined the pitches of these triads
account for six of the seven pitches in the home key of G. The triads are usually used
in first and second inversions, which creates the interval of a fourth, resulting in a
more open and modal sound. Figure 8 shows one of the longest uses of the pairing
of the three triads in mm. 29-‐37.
Fig. 8: G, C, and D triads
C7 G7
151 152 153 154D7
155 156 157 158
G7 C7 G7
159 160 161 162
C7 G7
163 164 165 166
D7 G7
167 168 169 170
Tenor Sax5
Bb Coltrane's Solo
Tenor Sax
G7q=240
2 3 4
C7 G7
5 6 7 8
D7 C7 G7
9 10 11 12
G7 D¨7
13 14 15 16
C7 G7 B7
17 18 19 20
D7 C7 G7
21 22 23 24
G7 D¨7
25 26 27 28
C7 G7
29 30 31 32
V.S.
A‹7 D7 G7
33 34 35 36
Take the CoLtrane Composed by Duke Ellington
Transcribed by Seth CarperJohn Coltrane's Solo
Coltrane made ample use of the pentatonic scale throughout his career. In
this solo, it can be heard in the classic 1-‐2-‐3-‐5 pattern (heard mostly with C-‐D-‐E-‐G)
as well as other less obvious variations (Fig. 9). Other distant key related uses of the
pentatonic scale and triads are discussed later in this paper.