Bemsha Swing
Bemsha Swing (also known as Bimsha Swing) is a jazz standard co-written by Thelonious Monk and Denzil Best.
The tune is 16 bars in the form of AABA. It is in 4/4 meter but is often played with a 2-feel.[1] 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.
The song was first recorded by Monk on the sessions for the album Thelonious Monk Trio in 1952. It was later recorded with Monk as a sideman on the Miles Davis album Miles Davis and the Modern Jazz Giants. Monk revisited the song on his acclaimed 1957 LP Brilliant Corners.
In 2002, jazz fusion guitarist Larry Coryell covered the song from his album "Cedars of Avalon."[2][3]
References
- ^ The Thelonious Monk Fake Book, Steve Cardenas (transcriber), Don Sickler (editor). Hal Leonard, 2002, p. 9.
- ^ "Cedars of Avalon overview". Allmusic.com.
- ^ "Cedars of Avalon". All About Jazz.
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