Mode For Mabes – Eric Alexander & Jim Rotondi

Though not strictly a modal song, Mode For Mabes is in a style associated with Harold Mabern and others who were combining modal jazz and soul-jazz in the 1960s. It's a comparatively simple song, yet subtly detailed in its dynamics and articulations. The groove is equal parts Latin and rock, with a 2-feel in the bass. The changes are generally one every two measures, relatively tonal to F minor with slightly more modal-sounding G♭maj7 to Gm7 in the bridge.

There is an intro that starts with a series of rubato chords for a soloist to blow over. The piano then sets up tempo with a rhythmic two-measure vamp, alternating Fm7 and Gm7, and the bass and drums enter after four measures. This vamp reappears after the solos as a background for a drum solo, as well as after the head (repeated and fading out) where a horn soloist can continue. Our audio excerpt fades in on the second to last measure of the rubato chords, just before the piano starts the vamp.

Horn parts are available for the original sextet arrangement, as well as a Concert Condensed Score; rhythm section players can read the latter or the C lead sheet. Because the tenor sax (2nd part) solos over backgrounds on the intro and coda, we have 1st parts, separate from the lead sheets, which show the top line of these backgrounds. The horns play in octaves in the first A section but harmonize on the second A and C.

In the bridge of the head, there are rhythm section hits (in a two-measure pattern) that fill in around the melody. If you listen to this recording you will hear that the hits aren't exactly the same as shown on our lead sheets and horn parts. On the recording, pianist Harold Mabern (and the rest of the rhythm section) play beats 3 and 4 of the second measure instead of syncopating with the melody. These rhythms are shown in the Concert Condensed Score; they're quite hip when played with the melody, but they weren't what Jim Rotondi wrote in the original manuscript. Jim really indicated to have the rhythm section hit the "ands" of beats 2 and 3 with the melody in these measures, which is what we show in the lead sheets and parts. On Jim's later recording, the rhythm section hits with the melody as shown, but articulated short—click on the second album cover for more details.

This quintet recording is a bit faster and features a slightly different groove based on the intro vamp. The intro begins on the vamp without the rubato section, with the entire rhythm section playing from the beginning. The hits on the bridge syncopate with the melody, as shown in our lead sheets and parts, but the phrasing is different: each note is short except for the dotted quarter note at the end of each two-measure phrase. As in the original arrangement, the first A section is in octaves and the second A and C go to harmony. In the fifth measure of both the second A and C sections, the eighth notes in the melody are stretched out to a quarter-note triplet. The coda vamp does not fade but is only eight measures long, with the horns harmonized.

The album is available here.