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A medium-slow swinger in the soul-jazz tradition, Last Call has a laid-back feeling but keeps the groove going with a rhythmic bass ostinato. The melody alternates short bursts of 16th-note triplets with longer, more relaxed phrases; it's a blues-infused song throughout though the blues scale is only used at the end of the head. The form is slightly unusual: 28 measures, divided into a first A section of 12 measures and a second A section extended to 16 measures. Basically it's an eight-measure theme alternated with a four-measure first ending and eight-measure second ending.
The ostinato, which alternates G7 and F7 chords, continues until the 7th measure where the rhythm section goes to 4-feel. The harmonic pattern continues with E♭7, going up to E7 to lead into a slightly disguised II-V7 back to G. In the second A section these changes are extended with a chromatically descending "tag" from Bm7, with more added secondary dominant chords in the last cadence. Solos use a 4-feel throughout. The changes in the ostinato sections of the head are written the way they appear in the solos, with G7 on the first beat; on the head it's delayed until the second beat.
A Concert Condensed Score and second parts are available for the quintet arrangement. The horns switch between unison and octaves, harmonizing in thirds only in the first, seventh, and eighth measures. On the recording the tenor sax plays a different harmony note (the seventh of the chord) in the seventh and eighth measures of the second A, but in the out head—which is the second A only—the tenor plays the same as the first A. The coda continues the ostinato vamp and fades out; on the recording Jim Rotondi solos on this vamp, with tenor sax backgrounds coming in after the first two measures.
Besides pianist Harold Mabern, the lineup heard on "Jim's Bop"—Jim Rotondi's second album as a leader—is essentially the current personnel of the sextet One For All minus Steve Davis and David Hazeltine. Eric Alexander also played on Jim's first and third albums as a leader: "Introducing Jim Rotondi" in 1996 and "Excursions" in 1998, the latter featuring the original One For All lineup except with Kenny Washington on drums. Jim and Eric appear together in a quintet setting on a total of five of the former's and two of the latter's albums; Jim is also a guest on three more of Eric's albums. Other quintet recordings with the same horn lineup are three by Charles Earland and one each by Mike LeDonne, Irene Reid, and a one-off lineup issued as "Meeting Point-Quintessence" (check out Eric's Little Lucas from this session).
A straight-ahead jazz saxophonist, Eric Alexander is known for his sophisticated hard- and post-bop style. Born in Illinois, he began as a classical musician studying alto sax, but quickly began an obsession with the tenor saxophone at Indiana University at Bloomington. Inspired to pursue his musical pursuits further, Eric transferred to William Paterson College in New Jersey, where he studied with jazz legends like Harold Mabern, Joe Lovano, Norman Simmons and Rufus Reid. After receiving his degree, he moved back to the Midwest, where he became a fixture in the Chicago club scene touring with Charles Earland. Read more...
A major straight-ahead trumpeter and flugelhornist worldwide for twenty years, Jim Rotondi has charmed the jazz world with his warm tone, versatility and soulful improvisation. Born and raised in Montana—an unlikely place for a jazz musician—Jim was inspired by his musical family to take up the piano at age eight. At twelve, he switched to the trumpet. There was very little musical community to speak of in his hometown of Butte, but like many trumpeters, early exposure to a Clifford Brown vinyl set captured Jim's imagination and kindled within him a lifelong passion for jazz. Read more...
