Looking For Some Kin of Coltrane's "Bessie's Blues"

March 1, 2012 11:57 AM

Looking for tunes in the realm of Coltrane's "Bessie's Blues"

I love this piece and am looking for others with the same swinging, pouncing, moving quality that catches my attention and knocks me on my ass like this one did. Monk, Roland Kirk, etc. Anyone from this era.

posted by goalyeehah to Media & Arts (5 answers total)

This may be a cop-out answer, but have you tried creating a Pandora station using that song as the one indicator? They'll throw a bunch of stuff at you, and I bet some of it will fit the bill. I've built many stations there using single songs as starting points.
posted by Doctor Suarez at 5:38 PM on March 1, 2012

Off the top my head, check out the albums Juju by Wayne Shorter and Inner Urge by Joe Henderson. Like Bessie's Blues, they were both recorded in 1964, and both include McCoy Tyner and Elvin Jones, Coltrane's pianist and drummer. Also Sonny Rollins.
posted by Jode at 5:55 PM on March 1, 2012

I meant, Also, check out Sonny Rollins.
posted by Jode at 5:57 PM on March 1, 2012

Bessie's Blues reminds me of "Well You Needn't" by Thelonious Monk. The version on Monk's Music is pretty great....
posted by alexfw at 7:21 PM on March 1, 2012

So, here are a few tunes which do the same sort of playing with a simple riff, which I think is what you're looking for. Monk's music in general is great for this.

Oleo
Straight No Chaser
Billie's Bounce (this one less so than the others, but it just has a similar feeling to me, plus it's a great tune).
posted by Gygesringtone at 10:08 AM on March 2, 2012