Once Forgotten – Pamela Baskin-Watson
This warm, relatively simple bossa is associated with Roy Hargrove; he played it on his first recording with the octet Superblue, and it became part of his quintet's repertoire.
- Recording: Don Sickler - Superblue
- Recorded on: April 26, 1988
- Label: Somethin' Else (RJ28-5501)
- Concert Key: F
- Style: Latin (Bossa)
- Trumpet - Don Sickler
- Flugelhorn - Roy Hargrove
- Trombone - Frank Lacy
- Alto Sax - Bobby Watson
- Tenor Sax - Billy Pierce
- Piano - Mulgrew Miller
- Bass - Robert Hurst
- Drums - Kenny Washington
The octet arrangement from this original recording is available as a print publication only.
-- from MusicDispatch.com 5 Horns plus Rhythm (Grade 4-5)
-- from ejazzlines.com
-- from your favorite music distributor
For lead sheets and quintet parts, click on the Roy Hargrove album cover above right.
A warm, bright bossa with a relatively simple melody. The distinctive warmth of this song comes from the frequent occurrence of E♭7(♯11), a chord with the tonic F major triad in its upper extension. The A section melody of this AABC form has really only one motif, a two-measure diatonic phrase which is developed a little in the third and fourth measures, and then repeated with its last note held out for three measures. E♭7(♯11) is the first chord; the changes generally stick around this chord and Fmaj7, with a brief modulation to B♭ into the fifth measure and E♭7 again to connect back to the tonic.
The bridge features a contrasting melody with its long notes filled in by a rhythmic bass line. It's really a four-measure phrase repeated twice, starting with an A7 quality and modulating first to E♭ and then to D. The first melodic phrase of the bridge is slightly bebop-ish, landing on the flat fifth of A7; when it reappears in the fifth and sixth measures, it's resolved to the fifth.
The ending vamps Fmaj7 and E♭7(♯11), with a melody based on the end of the head. Our lead sheets show the ending as it is played on the Superblue recording. Roy's own "Tenors Of Our Time" version repeats this phrase four times instead of three. For the quintet arrangement and lead sheets, click on the second album cover.
-- from MusicDispatch.com 5 Horns plus Rhythm (Grade 4-5)
-- from ejazzlines.com
-- from your favorite music distributor
For lead sheets and quintet parts, click on the Roy Hargrove album cover above right.
A warm, bright bossa with a relatively simple melody. The distinctive warmth of this song comes from the frequent occurrence of E♭7(♯11), a chord with the tonic F major triad in its upper extension. The A section melody of this AABC form has really only one motif, a two-measure diatonic phrase which is developed a little in the third and fourth measures, and then repeated with its last note held out for three measures. E♭7(♯11) is the first chord; the changes generally stick around this chord and Fmaj7, with a brief modulation to B♭ into the fifth measure and E♭7 again to connect back to the tonic.
The bridge features a contrasting melody with its long notes filled in by a rhythmic bass line. It's really a four-measure phrase repeated twice, starting with an A7 quality and modulating first to E♭ and then to D. The first melodic phrase of the bridge is slightly bebop-ish, landing on the flat fifth of A7; when it reappears in the fifth and sixth measures, it's resolved to the fifth.
The ending vamps Fmaj7 and E♭7(♯11), with a melody based on the end of the head. Our lead sheets show the ending as it is played on the Superblue recording. Roy's own "Tenors Of Our Time" version repeats this phrase four times instead of three. For the quintet arrangement and lead sheets, click on the second album cover.
"Superblue" was Roy Hargrove's very first recording. Just five days later, the 18-year-old Hargrove recorded with Bobby Watson and Frank Lacy again, on Bobby's album "No Question About It". Roy and Bobby also recorded together on the collective 1992 Blue Note album "New York Stories", as well as bassist Curtis Lundy's album "Against All Odds" in 1999. Both Roy and Billy Pierce were guests on Antonio Hart's debut album as a leader, 1991's "For The First Time", but "Superblue" is the only recording where Roy and Billy play together.
A solo piano arrangement by Pamela Baskin-Watson is available. This arrangement has an eight-measure intro that vamps the first two chords, with a repeated four-measure melody. In the head there are several fills around the long notes of the melody, either in inner voices or the bass line. The ending vamps the last phrase only two times; it starts on beat 3, unlike in the recordings where it starts on the "and" of 2.
- Recording: Roy Hargrove - With The Tenors Of Our Time
- Recorded on: January 16-17, 1994
- Label: Verve (314-523019-2)
- Concert Key: F
- Style: Latin (Bossa)
- Flugelhorn - Roy Hargrove
- Tenor Sax, Soprano Sax - Ron Blake
- Piano - Cyrus Chestnut
- Bass - Rodney Whitaker
- Drums - Gregory Hutchinson
Video
- Roy Hargrove playing Once Forgotten Montreux Jazz Festival 1994: Trumpet - Roy Hargrove; Tenor Sax - Ron Blake; Piano - Peter Martin; Bass - Rodney Whitaker; Drums - Greg Hutchinson
- Roy Hargrove quintet Live in Brussels, 2017: Trumpet - Roy Hargrove; Alto Sax - Justin Robinson; Piano - Sullivan Fortner; Bass - Ameen Saleem; Drums - Quincy Phillips
The two-horn arrangement on this recording is by jazzleadsheets.com's Don Sickler. The opening theme of the melody is voiced in thirds; the tenor sax then continues with a simple countermelody, occasionally filling in the long notes of the trumpet melody. A similar counterpoint begins the bridge, while the horns are again in thirds in measures 3, 4, 7, and 8 of the bridge. On this recording the two-measure coda figure is played four times (the first recording has it three times). In one place Roy plays the melody slightly different from the way it's written: on the seventh measure of the bridge, he plays B♮ on the "and" of beat 3 and A on beat 4, instead of, respectively, A and F♯. Tenor saxophonist Ron Blake switches to soprano to play the last solo and the out head, where he plays the same part as the tenor part on the in head.
Video notes: Two videos are available of Roy Hargrove's quintets playing this song. One is from the 1994 Montreux Jazz Festival. This version is rather similar to the "Tenors Of Our Time" version recorded earlier the same year. The video doesn't include the beginning or end of the performance; it starts at the end of the intro, and cuts off during Ron Blake's soprano solo. This solo goes into a swinging reggae groove, but the rest of the performance is a subdued bossa as in the studio version. The later video is of Roy's last quintet, in Brussels in 2017. It's considerably slower, with the intro twice as long. The coda figure is repeated only three times as in the very first version from "Superblue."
Video notes: Two videos are available of Roy Hargrove's quintets playing this song. One is from the 1994 Montreux Jazz Festival. This version is rather similar to the "Tenors Of Our Time" version recorded earlier the same year. The video doesn't include the beginning or end of the performance; it starts at the end of the intro, and cuts off during Ron Blake's soprano solo. This solo goes into a swinging reggae groove, but the rest of the performance is a subdued bossa as in the studio version. The later video is of Roy's last quintet, in Brussels in 2017. It's considerably slower, with the intro twice as long. The coda figure is repeated only three times as in the very first version from "Superblue."
For more from "Tenors Of Our Time" check out Soppin' The Biscuit, Mental Phrasing, Across The Pond, and Johnny Griffin's When We Were One
Roy Hargrove and pianist Cyrus Chestnut recorded quite a lot together. Both played on Christian McBride's first album as a leader, 1994's "Gettin' To It." In 2008 Roy and Cyrus were members of the Dizzy Gillespie Alumni All-Stars big band on the album "I'm Beboppin' Too"; the next year they played on trombonist Michael Dease's album "Grace." The last recording of Roy with Cyrus was bassist Ameen Saleem's debut as a leader, "The Groove Lab," in 2013; Saleem played in Roy's last quintet, as shown in the second video of Once Forgotten.
Roy Hargrove and pianist Cyrus Chestnut recorded quite a lot together. Both played on Christian McBride's first album as a leader, 1994's "Gettin' To It." In 2008 Roy and Cyrus were members of the Dizzy Gillespie Alumni All-Stars big band on the album "I'm Beboppin' Too"; the next year they played on trombonist Michael Dease's album "Grace." The last recording of Roy with Cyrus was bassist Ameen Saleem's debut as a leader, "The Groove Lab," in 2013; Saleem played in Roy's last quintet, as shown in the second video of Once Forgotten.
Composer Pamela Baskin-Watson is a pianist herself, and a vocalist. Her solo piano arrangement is available. This arrangement has an eight-measure intro that vamps the first two chords, with a repeated four-measure melody. In the head there are several fills around the long notes of the melody, either in inner voices or the bass line. The ending vamps the last phrase only two times; it starts on beat 3, unlike in the recordings where it starts on the "and" of 2.
Pamela Baskin-Watson
born on July 22, 1953
Kansas-born Pamela Baskin Watson is a versatile pianist, vocalist, composer, arranger and educator. She began studying the piano during her high school years at the Conservatory of Music at the University of Missouri. She continued her music education studying piano and accompaniment at the University of Miami. In 1976, upon moving to New York City, she developed a strong reputation as a freelance accompanist. A number of Pamela’s compositions and arrangements have been recorded by major jazz musicians such as Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, Betty Carter, Bobby Watson, Roy Hargrove, Victor Lewis, Terrell Stafford, James Williams and Kevin Mahogany. Read more...