Third Season – Hank Mobley

Several of Hank Mobley's late '60s compositions experiment with modal harmonic structures in a hard bop setting, and Third Season is a great example. The catchy rhythmic riff theme is classic hard bop à la Mobley, while the changes are quite unique. In the A section the chords alternate basically between two measures each of B♭7♯5 and B♭maj7 (the latter with the 6th in the melody and top of the piano voicing). While not quite a pedal point, this shift on the same root creates a static, perhaps floating sound, especially since the switch between these chords in the third measure occurs at beat 3 instead of the downbeat. The first of these chords comes from the whole-tone scale; though the melody doesn't use this scale exclusively it is prominent in the horn and piano voicings. The bridge goes to E♭ minor and then B♭ minor, followed by descending dominant chords mostly in thirds.

The rhythmic melody at A is complemented by tutti rhythm section hits. At the beginning of the bridge the rhythm section goes to 4-feel; more hits fill in around the melody in the second half of the bridge. Solos are on the same 32-measure AABC form as the head, but with a 4-feel throughout. There is a rhythm section intro, similar to the A section but with slightly different rhythms and harmonies, shifting between B♭ Lydian dominant and Lydian tonalities (both with a ♯11 or ♭5). The top line of the intro piano voicings are cued in our lead sheets and horn parts.

About the arrangement: Full score and parts are available for the recorded arrangement. It's really a sextet arrangement as guitarist Sonny Greenwich only solos on the septet recording without comping or playing the head. Our lead sheet is the first horn part. The rhythm section hits are nearly fully notated, with intro and A section piano voicings condensed into one staff. The horns are harmonized throughout, alternating between thirds on the B♭7♯5 and fourths on B♭maj7. In the second half of the bridge, the alto and tenor sax catch the hits with the rhythm section behind the trumpet melody.