Afterbeat – Herbie Nichols

Built on a simple riff theme throughout, The Afterbeat seems initially to be a relatively straightforward song. However as is often the case with Herbie Nichols, there's plenty of subtle interest in the melody and harmony. The ABCD form does not repeat; though the A, B, and D sections begin with nearly the same first four measures, they each take a different direction in the pickup to the fifth measure. Though the first chord and key signature are B♭ minor, the key center gets a bit less obvious as the song progresses, with both melody and harmony increasingly suggesting E♭ minor (or at times E♭ major). The last chord of the D section (which is extended to 12 measures with a "tag") is E♭13, an ambiguous ending that could be a tonic E♭ or an implied B♭ minor in the upper structure. The beginning of the melody is complemented by a stepwise rising bass line, which is mirrored by descending changes at C.

Our audio excerpt of our exclusive solo piano recording by Jeb Patton begins with the melody pickup; on the recording he sets this up with his own four-measure intro. Jeb interprets this song with a gentle stride feel in the left hand, which works particularly well for the rising half-note bass line at the beginning of the A, B, and D sections. In an ensemble setting, this song would work equally well with a 2-feel or 4-feel.