3 For Carson – Grant Stewart

This song looks back to one of the first jazz compositions in 3/4 meter: Sonny Rollins' Valse Hot. 3 For Carson is not a contrafact of Valse Hot but shows the influence of the latter song in its stop-and-go rhythms and some of the harmonic structure. Unlike the 16-measure Valse Hot, 3 For Carson has a 32-measure form. The A and C sections start the same, differing in the sixth measure. The melody is mostly angular with a lot of skips, and strongly outlines the changes. These are mostly II-V7-based, and start similarly to the Rollins title but modulate to the relative minor (A minor) in the seventh measure. The B section has a series of descending II-V7s and "walk downs" ultimately leading to E major. Though the sixth measure of the C section has the same melody as that of the A section, the chord here is G7 rather than E7, leading to a turnaround to another descending sequence that finishes on the tonic at the end. The melody gets simpler at the end of the B and D sections. Measures four through six of the D section have slightly different changes on the solos, with a more standard turnaround rather than the "Tadd Dameron turnaround" that appears in the head. There is a coda that tags this turnaround three times.

About the arrangement: The two tenor saxes play some unison and some harmony; most of the harmony occurs at the ends of phrases. Many different intervals are used in the harmonies, and contrary motion appears in certain measures such as the third and seventh measures of the A section. Rhythm section players should get the Condensed Score.