Thinking Of You – Charles McPherson

A gentle, laid-back Latin song with a lyrical melody. The form is AABC, but the the two A sections have many subtle differences in the melody; C starts similar to A but goes in a different direction. The changes stay on one chord for several measures at a time; in fact E♭ major (E♭6 and E♭maj7) is held almost throughout the two A sections. However, this song does not have a modal sound. The A section melody is mostly pentatonic, establishing a tonal E♭ major quality, and follows the occasional passing chords: E♭m7 in the sixth measure and E7 in the eighth. The bridge goes to G minor for four measures, followed by dominant chords descending in half steps to resolve back to the tonic. The fourth measure of C uses a transposition of the same melody phrase as the fourth measure of B, leading to a bluesy IV-V-I cadence which is delayed by chromatically ascending 6th chords (D♭6-D6-E♭6) in the second to last measure.

Charles McPherson often writes for the whole rhythm section. This song has simple piano figures which fill in the long notes of the melody, and bass rhythms which complement the melodic rhythm. The first measure of the piano figures is shown in our first and second horn parts. In the 5th and 6th measures of the bridge, the bass plays a quarter-note triplet figure which on the recording is sometimes accompanied with a 12/8 feel in the drums. There are unison rhythm section hits with the melody at the end of the B and C sections. Our rhythm section part shows the entire bass line, as well as the piano responses to the melody. There is an intro: eight measures of Bmaj7 (written here as C♭maj7), with bass figures that pedal on G♭.

First and second parts are available for the quintet arrangement, as well as a concert horn score. The two parts (alto sax and guitar on the recording) are mostly in unison in the A sections, harmonizing only in the third measure; they are harmonized also on most of the bridge. On the recording, the guitar harmonizes also in the third measure of the C section; Charles’ original arrangement is unison in that measure.

The first part is the lead sheet. Our C bass clef first part is written an octave lower, as a lead sheet for a bass clef instrument in a quartet setting. The bass clef second part has harmony notes in the same range as the other second parts, so that can be played in a quintet lineup like the others; in this situation the non-harmonized sections will be in octaves rather than unison.