Rejuvenate – Bobby Porcelli

This medium-up swinger is a good example of Bobby's melodic writing style. Its very singable melody shows the composer's hard bop and Latin jazz influences. Though most of the form swings, there is an intro with a Latin groove which reappears at the end of the head. The form is 40 measures long, with the first and fourth eight-measure phrases identical; because the second eight measures differ from the first, we have lettered the form as having a 16-measure A section with eight-measure B, C and D sections. Each eight-measure phrase resolves to G♭ major, using a variety of harmonic motion including several tritone substitute II-V7s. Despite the G♭ key center, we have the key signature notated with 5 flats instead of 6; it's easier to read and also fits with the B♭ minor chord that begins the head. The melody begins in more of a D♭ major tonality than G♭ major. On the head, the rhythm section has stop-time figures in the first half of the A section and in the C section.

Don Sickler: Over the many years of playing this great composition with Bobby, he's come up with a few different ways to interpret the rhythms and articulations of the melody. So as not to confuse you, we have created only one lead sheet, with the rhythms Bobby settled on when we did the T.S. Monk recording (see the second album cover, "The Charm." Note that the lead sheets under each album cover are identical; if you select one, it will appear as checked on all albums, but you will purchase only one copy.

In this first recording by Ralph Moore, the second half of the A section and the B section have a few different rhythms. For example, the first two notes of the tenth measure are anticipated by an eighth note; they are on beats 1 and 2 in the lead sheet, but here they are on the "and" of 4 of the previous measure and then on the "and" of 1. By contrast the first note in the twelfth measure is played on beat 2, not on the "and" of 1 as written. The quintet arrangement on this recording has the horns mostly in unison, harmonizing at the beginnings and ends of phrases on longer notes.

Don Sickler: Yes, we will be making Bobby's great sextet arrangement available, but first, the lead sheets. It's a great piece to play with a quartet, with one melody instrument. Bobby's performed it that way many times.

This sextet arrangement has the melodic rhythms and articulations played the way they are notated in the lead sheet. The horns are mostly harmonized, with the non-melody parts occasionally catching the hits with the rhythm section, for example on the fourth measure. At the B section the alto has the melody. The Latin groove on the intro and D section is slightly more swung than in the original recording.

Yet another arrangement, this one with a Latin band and a really genuine salsa groove. The rhythm section only plays swing for the in and out heads, and for Bobby's solo. The melodic rhythm is mostly as notated, with some sections slightly unclear; one notable difference from the lead sheet is in the first measure of the B section where the second note, A♭, is played on the "and" of beat 2 instead of on beat 3. The horns play mostly unison, harmonized at the ends of some phrases.

Bobby solos with the rhythm section swinging (except for the last eight measures), followed by a piano solo with the Latin groove throughout. The second piano chorus ends with the C section; it is followed by a vamp on the first four measures of the intro/D for a conga solo. The second half of the D section is used to cue in the out head. At the end of the out head, the D section is first vamped for a drumset solo without the horns, then played one last time with the horns as on the in head.

Don Sickler: I have been blessed to play and record with so many of the great alto saxophonists (Jackie McLean, Phil Woods, Frank Wess, Jerry Dodgion, Lee Konitz, Gary Bartz, James Spaulding, Bobby Watson, Kenny Garrett, Jon Gordon and many more). But there's another great alto saxophonist and flutist I've been fortunate enough to play with the most, and for longest period of time, who has inspired me every time I played with him. He is one of the true giant musicians in my life: Bobby Porcelli.

I heard about and met Bobby in the late 1960s through the great composer/pianist Rodgers Grant. I can still hear Rodgers' first mention of him: "Wait until you hear Bobby Porcelli!" Hearing him with Rodgers completely blew me away. The three of us started playing together; since that time I've tried to play with Bobby every chance I can. He is such a inspirational player!

Putting together the recording date information for Rejuvenate, and seeing that Ralph Moore was the first one to commercially record it in 1988 (I remember telling Ralph about the song, and giving him the music), I remembered I'd been playing Rejuvenate with Bobby for years before that. I got lucky, and in my tape archive I found this 1977 rehearsal tape where we played Rejuvenate. For this presentation on jazzleadsheets.com, I've edited the rehearsal performance: just the melody, Bobby's six-chorus solo and the out melody.

In all my years of playing with Bobby, he has always been the perfect soloist. If we were on a record date, and I said "Take two choruses," he'd always play a great two-chorus solo. Rehearsing, you can obviously stretch out if you want, but what I learned from Bobby was, only stretch out if you can continue to make sense. If your solo is building and you feel it's happening, keep it up! Once you've reached the climax and stopped growing, it's time to figure out how to bail out. Bobby has mastered that art.

Sustaining real interest over six solo choruses of a 40-measure song is very challenging. At my very best, I'd probably bail out after three choruses. Usually two choruses would be fine for me. Too many soloists play way too long, and I lose interest. Bobby's solos always make sense and are a great inspiration for the rest of the band.

Plus, Bobby's soloing is instantly recognizable. His elastic, always seemingly effortless phrasing immediately captures my attention, puts a smile on my face and gets my foot tapping. Everyone should take the time to check him out!

Note: the clip above contains the melodies plus Bobby's entire solo.