Bessie’s Blues
John Coltrane (tenor sax), McCoy Tyner (piano), Jimmy Garrison (bass) and Elvin Jones (drums). From the album Crescent (1964).
Bessie is a short for Elizabeth or Beatrice, and among the prominent people who have this name are: Bessie Smith, famous black American blues singer from the 1920s and 1930s who influenced notably other jazz singers. Bessie Abbot, an operatic soprano whose career developed in the early 20th century and specialized in the Romantic Period. Bessie Barriscale, a film actress who started acting in the theater. He began her career in filmmaking 1913 until he announced his retirement in the early 1930s. And Bessie Christie, a New Zealand painter who, while drawing several landscapes, preferred to paint vibrant social scenes.
This blues is dedicated to Bessie, probably some friend of Coltrane’s. It starts immediately at medium-fast tempo. It has a slightly different harmonic structure than traditional blues. Tyner starts to develop his solo with subtlety, but raising his voice from time to time and following the guidelines. Now Coltrane presents his solo in a more lively way. The choirs follow one another without interruption. To conclude, they re-expose the theme.
© Impulse! Records
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