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Joe Henderson: The Elements
by Mike Jurkovic
Whatever era Henderson you champion or pine for--his dazzling side work with Horace Silver and Lee Morgan or, as a leader, the 60's defiant Inner Urge or Page One, the 70's fusion/funk explorer of Multiple or the revered elder statesman of his later years--The Elements delivers some damn fine head music. With its shifting atmospheres, dynamics, world music palette --harp, horn, piano, percussion; bass, violin; and all the bells and whistles of studio wizardry circa '73, Henderson and company presciently ...
Continue ReadingJoe Henderson: Mirror, Mirror
by Glenn Astarita
As anticipated, Germany-based MPS' famed audio engineering expertise--besides its tenure as a prominent jazz record label-- lives up to expectations with a superb remastering effort of the 1980 LP led by tenor sax great John Henderson and a band featuring jazz giants, pianist Chick Corea, bassist Ron Carter and drummer, Billy Higgins. The packaging includes the original liners and a photo of the original master tape box. The 180-gram vinyl offering boasts a detailed soundstage, but more importantly ...
Continue ReadingJoe Henderson: Page One – 1963
by Marc Davis
Joe Henderson is one of those jazz guys who made such a spectacular comeback late in life that you tend to forget how good he was in the beginning. Page One is all the evidence you need of Henderson's early heroics. Let's start at the end. The last four albums of Henderson's long, outstanding career were arguably his very best. Each was a tribute to music's past and each was amazing. In 1992, there was So ...
Continue ReadingJoe Henderson: Mode for Joe
by Greg Simmons
Recorded and released in 1966, Mode for Joe was Joe Henderson's last session as a leader for Blue Note Records until 1985's State of the Tenor.True to form for the period, the recording features a cast of legendary players in peak form. In this case Henderson shares front line duties with a fiery Lee Morgan on trumpet and a young Bobby Hutcherson on vibes. Curtis Fuller's trombone adds low-end heft to the melodic statements. Forget that ...
Continue ReadingPete La Roca: Basra
by Greg Simmons
Pete La Roca was one of those musicians with a long but under-sung career. He was a sideman to some great Blue Note leaders including saxophonists Sonny Rollins, Jackie McLean, and Joe Henderson, but he only ever recorded one date (1965's Basra) under his own name during the label's heyday, and indeed only three records total as a leader over a fifty-year career. He was a drummer in the background in almost every sense.According to La Roca's obituary ...
Continue ReadingJoe Henderson: In 'N Out
by Greg Simmons
Music Matters is extending its reissue run of classic Blue Note records, which has led them to tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson's 1964 session In 'N Out. His third album as a leader for the label, In 'N Out mixes aggressive hard bop with more searching ballads on its way to turning into a musically diverse, first-rate performance. The rhythm section of the opening title track has John Coltrane written all over it, and with drummer Elvin Jones and ...
Continue ReadingKenny Dorham: Una Mas
by Greg Simmons
Trumpeter Kenny Dorham's Una Mas was one of 1963's best records. The thought of hearing it reissued on ultra-high quality vinyl by the good folks at Music Matters should make jazz heads swoon. With its melding of hard-bop, bossa nova, and the blues, Una Mas is a prime example of the memorable vamps that Blue Note favored at the time, finding ultimate success later that year with Lee Morgan's The Sidewinder. Dorham was a prolific recording artist for ...
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