Flip – Hank Mobley

Hank Mobley's last six Blue Note albums all had at least one song with a funky medium-tempo groove; The Flip is a classic example. It's based on a two-measure pattern in the piano and bass, alternating E♭7 and A♭7; this pattern runs through the entire head even as the chords change. This song has a 40-measure AABBC form; the two B sections have slightly different melodies and C is the same as A. The melody is quite simple but fun, full of those snappy rhythms that define the Mobley style. The changes are again very simple: the A section alternates E♭7 and A♭7, with B♭7 in the last two measures, while the B section stays on B♭7 throughout. Several of these chords have a sharp 9th, which in this setting implies a blues-scale sound rather than an "altered" chord quality. In the A section the melody stays on the E♭ blues scale; the B section is mostly in the B♭ blues scale.

There is an eight-measure intro setting up the groove. Our C treble clef lead sheet shows the piano figure here, while the B♭ and E♭ lead sheets show the piano rhythms below the staff; the C bass clef lead sheet has the bass line. For the ending on the recording, the rhythm section returns to the intro, vamps and fades out. There is no three-horn arrangement on the recording; the horns play in octaves throughout the head.

Check out the recording to get a sense of the rhythmic feel. A lot of songs in this funky '60s Blue Note style have an even-8ths feel, but this one is swinging; drummer Philly Joe Jones plays a shuffle-like groove throughout the head and solos.