Aperitif – Hank Mobley

An Aperitif is a great example of the snappy, driving hard bop style Hank Mobley excelled at. After an introduction by Billy Higgins, the A section melody begins with bouncy staccato rhythms which are contrasted by a smoother, downward spiraling phrase in the last three measures. The bridge develops a single phrase that descends in fourths, over minor 11th chords. The changes are very simple, with C minor for basically the entire A section.

This is not a modal C minor—our lead sheet has turnarounds in parentheses on the second and fourth measures of the head, which are occasionally played in the solos as well. The bridge goes to F minor twice, the second time descending in minor thirds to A♭m7 for a tritone substitute II-V7 back to C minor.

The bass walks throughout the head, but the piano and drums play a few hits that line up with the melody. These are shown in our piano and drum parts. Our drum part also has a couple of fills that Billy Higgins plays on the recording. Drummers also have the option of reading the C lead sheet if they would rather see the melody and changes.

Second and third parts are available for the 3-horn arrangement—really a sextet arrangement rather than a septet; on the recording, guitarist Sonny Greenwich only solos and does not comp or play the melody. The horns are in unison and octaves except in the second half of the A section, where they are voiced in triads.