Joe Henderson's "If"

[Big Wheel]

Anyone know the changes? This tune has always intrigued me.

[Late]

Don't know the changes, but wanted to add that this is one of my favorites as well. Great, sort of dangling, intro.

[Chuck Nessa]

So now we have a David Gates/Joe Henderson thread.

[Uncle Skid]

Oh great, thanks Chuck -- now I have that stupid song in my head.

[Alexander Hawkins]

Don't have it with me at the moment, but from memory it's just a pretty straight 12-bar blues. Don't know about the head. Harder to 'hear' that off-pat!

[Joe G]

It's twelve bars, but according to the liners, with different changes.

[Free For All]

It's a regular all-dominant-chord blues in Ab except for the turnaround (last four bars) which consists of (one bar each) Eb7 - Db7 - B7 - A7.

EDIT: This progression is from "THe Kicker". The "Unity" version is a straight blues.

Edited December 9, 2004 by Free For All

[Big Wheel]

Thanks!

Is that for both the head and the blowing? There sure seems to be some wacky stuff going on around bars 4-5 of the head.

[Free For All]

Is that for both the head and the blowing? There sure seems to be some wacky stuff going on around bars 4-5 of the head.

Those were the blowing changes- the head is a different animal. As with many Joe tunes, the head is often based on its own set of changes which are frequently simplified (or altered in some way-harmonically or formally) for the blowing section.

Sounds to me (and I'm basing this on the "Kicker" version) that during the head the rhythm section is comping a regular blues, but they aren't doing the descending whole-step turnaround over the last four bars, just what sounds to me like an Ebsus13-type of chord. The horn voicings create some very interesting dissonances, however (like in bars 7-8).

Edited December 8, 2004 by Free For All

[Big Wheel]

I wonder if the blowing changes on the Unity version are different. I played through it tonight and it doesn't really remind me of the one in my head (I'd just sit down and transcribe the damn thing, but my copy of the album is sitting at home about 1000 miles away right now...)

OTOH, maybe Larry is just playing some funky voicings...

Edited December 9, 2004 by Big Wheel