A new jazz style emerged in the late 1960s that wasn't an extension of hard bop or free jazz. For a brief period—following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in April 1968 and the onset of fusion in the mid-1970s—a new Black power expression wrapped in pan-Africanism appeared in the works of Black journalists, books on the Black condition by Black intellectuals, folk paintings by Black artists and music by Black jazz artists.
During these years you could hear in the music by jazz musicians an embrace of African culture and aspirations and the idealism of African countries free from colonialism. The list artists included Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis, Charles Lloyd, Pharoah Sanders, McCoy Tyner, Alice Coltrane, Archie Shepp, Freddie Hubbard, Woody Shaw, Jack DeJohnette, Larry Willis, Bennie Maupin and many others.
Among them was Joe Henderson, whose Power to the People (Milestone) was and remains a landmark album. Recorded in May 1969, the album included Mike Lawrence (tp), Joe Henderson (ts), Herbie Hancock (p,el-p), Ron Carter (b,el-b) and Jack DeJohnette (d).
Five of the seven tracks were by Henderson, one was by Ron Carter (Opus One-Point-Five) and another was the standard Lazy Afternoon.
Most exciting was Hancock's dynamic and sensual piano and electric piano topped the dry, forceful tone of Henderson, and the zig-zagging drums of DeJohnette. You can hear the social restlessness and political anger in the music at a time of enormous political disappointment and upheaval following the assassinations of King and Bobby Kennedy. But you can also hear the embrace of Africa as a promised land through songs of sorrow and hope.
The tracks:
And hats off to Orrin Keepnews, who produced the recording on Milestone. Orrin co-founded Milestone with pianist Dick Katz in 1966 following the death of his former partner in Riverside Records, Bill Grauer, and Riverside's subsequent bankruptcy.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find the digital version of Joe Henderson's Power to the People (Milestone) here and on most streaming platforms.
If you want the vinyl format, you're in luck. Earlier this year, Concord's Craft Recordings in cooperation with Jazz Dispensary reissued the LP here. It's the first reissue of the LP in more than 50 years. This Jazz Dispensary reissue was mastered from the original analog tapes by Kevin Gray, pressed on 180-gram vinyl at RTI, and comes packaged in a gatefold jacket.
JazzWax clips: Here's Black Narcissus...
And here's Lazy Afternoon...
During these years you could hear in the music by jazz musicians an embrace of African culture and aspirations and the idealism of African countries free from colonialism. The list artists included Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis, Charles Lloyd, Pharoah Sanders, McCoy Tyner, Alice Coltrane, Archie Shepp, Freddie Hubbard, Woody Shaw, Jack DeJohnette, Larry Willis, Bennie Maupin and many others.
Among them was Joe Henderson, whose Power to the People (Milestone) was and remains a landmark album. Recorded in May 1969, the album included Mike Lawrence (tp), Joe Henderson (ts), Herbie Hancock (p,el-p), Ron Carter (b,el-b) and Jack DeJohnette (d).
Five of the seven tracks were by Henderson, one was by Ron Carter (Opus One-Point-Five) and another was the standard Lazy Afternoon.
Most exciting was Hancock's dynamic and sensual piano and electric piano topped the dry, forceful tone of Henderson, and the zig-zagging drums of DeJohnette. You can hear the social restlessness and political anger in the music at a time of enormous political disappointment and upheaval following the assassinations of King and Bobby Kennedy. But you can also hear the embrace of Africa as a promised land through songs of sorrow and hope.
The tracks:
- Black Narcissus
- Afro-Centric
- Opus One-Point-Five
- Isotope
- Power to the People
- Lazy Afternoon
- Foresight and Afterthought (An Impromptu Suite in Three Movements)
And hats off to Orrin Keepnews, who produced the recording on Milestone. Orrin co-founded Milestone with pianist Dick Katz in 1966 following the death of his former partner in Riverside Records, Bill Grauer, and Riverside's subsequent bankruptcy.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find the digital version of Joe Henderson's Power to the People (Milestone) here and on most streaming platforms.
If you want the vinyl format, you're in luck. Earlier this year, Concord's Craft Recordings in cooperation with Jazz Dispensary reissued the LP here. It's the first reissue of the LP in more than 50 years. This Jazz Dispensary reissue was mastered from the original analog tapes by Kevin Gray, pressed on 180-gram vinyl at RTI, and comes packaged in a gatefold jacket.
JazzWax clips: Here's Black Narcissus...
And here's Lazy Afternoon...
This story appears courtesy of JazzWax by Marc Myers.
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