Bemsha Swing: Difference between revisions
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"Bemsha Swing" (also called "Bimsha Swing") is a jazz standard co-written by [[Thelonious Monk]] and [[Denzil Best]]. The name "Bimsha" comes from a phonetic spelling of "Bimshire," meaning "Little Bimshire," a nickname for Barbados, which is where Best was born<ref>''Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original,'' by Robin D. G. Kelley. New York: Free Press, 2009, p. 161.</ref> |
"Bemsha Swing" (also called "Bimsha Swing") is a jazz standard co-written by [[Thelonious Monk]] and [[Denzil Best]]. The name "Bimsha" comes from a phonetic spelling of "Bimshire," meaning "Little Bimshire," a nickname for Barbados, which is where Best was born<ref>''Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original,'' by Robin D. G. Kelley. New York: Free Press, 2009, p. 161.</ref>. |
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The tune is 16 bars in the form of AABA. It is in 4/4 meter but is often played with a 2-feel<ref>''The Thelonious Monk Fake Book,'' Steve Cardenas (transcriber), Don Sickler (editor). Hal Leonard, 2002, p. 9.</ref>. The melody consists of a motif around a descending C Spanish [[Phrygian]] scale (the A section) and a chromatic [[Sequence_(music)|sequencing]] of the same motif a fourth higher on an F Spanish Phrygian scale (the B section). The chordal movement by contrast suggests a C Major tonality rather than C Spanish Phrygian, its relative minor f (melodic or harmonic), or its relative Major, A♭ Major. However, the song ends on a D♭maj7(#11) rather than a C chord, a displacement which is characteristic of Monk compositions. |
The tune is 16 bars in the form of AABA. It is in 4/4 meter but is often played with a 2-feel<ref>''The Thelonious Monk Fake Book,'' Steve Cardenas (transcriber), Don Sickler (editor). Hal Leonard, 2002, p. 9.</ref>. The melody consists of a motif around a descending C Spanish [[Phrygian]] scale (the A section) and a chromatic [[Sequence_(music)|sequencing]] of the same motif a fourth higher on an F Spanish Phrygian scale (the B section). The chordal movement by contrast suggests a C Major tonality rather than C Spanish Phrygian, its relative minor f (melodic or harmonic), or its relative Major, A♭ Major. However, the song ends on a D♭maj7(#11) rather than a C chord, a displacement which is characteristic of Monk compositions. |
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Revision as of 01:09, 11 December 2009
"Bemsha Swing" (also called "Bimsha Swing") is a jazz standard co-written by Thelonious Monk and Denzil Best. The name "Bimsha" comes from a phonetic spelling of "Bimshire," meaning "Little Bimshire," a nickname for Barbados, which is where Best was born[1].
The tune is 16 bars in the form of AABA. It is in 4/4 meter but is often played with a 2-feel[2]. The melody consists of a motif around a descending C Spanish Phrygian scale (the A section) and a chromatic sequencing of the same motif a fourth higher on an F Spanish Phrygian scale (the B section). The chordal movement by contrast suggests a C Major tonality rather than C Spanish Phrygian, its relative minor f (melodic or harmonic), or its relative Major, A♭ Major. However, the song ends on a D♭maj7(#11) rather than a C chord, a displacement which is characteristic of Monk compositions.
References
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