”Power to the People” by Joe Henderson on Milestone MSP 9024

April 8, 2025

Post-bop masterpiece by Joe Henderson, featuring some electric instruments on some of the tunes, which is the first taste of electric accompaniment on a Henderson album.

The band is brilliant, with the leader on tenor, Mike Lawrence on trumpet, Herbie Hancock on piano/electric piano, Ron Carter on double bass/electric bass and Jack DeJohnette on drums.

This is jazz of the highest order, always engaging and the musicianship is outstanding. Besides the leader I’m especially impressed by Mike Lawrence. Can’t believe I’ve missed out on this great player. Will look into his work for sure. The other cats deliver what you would expect from such a top rhythm section, pure fire. Love the electric instruments. That was not always the case though. I shied away from that for a long time. But since exploring the 70’s and beyond more in depth, I’ve come to love it, and it has also widened my horizons when it comes to more funky elements as well.

This essential title was part of a package with 5 lovely albums which I will post in the coming days and weeks. Will throw in one or two other new arrivals as well. Stay tuned…

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"Joe Henderson in Japan" on Milestone MSP-9047

December 5, 2024

Great live date with Joe Henderson playing with an all Japanese rhythm section. It was recorded in 1971 at the Junk Club in Tokyo.

Interesting to me is that the pianist plays an electric piano, which I’m not used to. It sounds great. Top notch performances by all musicians and Henderson is at his very best here, incorporating both his lyrical and fiery sides of his style to great effect.

It’s quite a nice live recording as well, which isn’t always the case. Feels a bit like you’re in that club sitting at one of the tables sipping on a drink. Feels intimate.

Hoping to land a few more Henderson titles on Milestone cause there is plenty there to enjoy.

A highlight is the version of Kenny Dorhams ”Blue Bossa”, which of course is present on Henderson’s debut ”Page One” as well.

Highly recommended!

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"Barcelona" by Joe Henderson on Enja 3037

October 21, 2024

A Henderson title featuring a trio and a duo, with one tune recorded live in 1977 at Wichita State University and the other two at Trixi Tonstudios in Munich in 1978. The recording quality leaves much to be desired on the live date, but the music is great. They perform a long tune called ”Barcelona”, which stretches over the two sides actually. The whole of side one and the first 7 minutes of side two. Love Henderson in this kind of stripped down and more free setting. And although the recording quality is well below par, it leaves you with a organic and lo-fi energy, which I can appreciate. The sound colors the music and enhances the avant-garde style, and you’ll take it for what it is.

The studio date is a great one as well, with both tunes being performed in duo form, with tenor and double bass. Superb playing by Henderson on these tracks.

A less talked about session and seldom seen posted on social media. Could be one of Hendersons more obscure dates perhaps. If you enjoy him in a free mood live, and then doing some duets where he really is front and center, then this will perhaps be a title for you.

Favorite tune is one of the duets called ”Y Yo La Quiero”.

Have a package on it’s way currently containing four superb titles. Looking forward to that. Stay tuned.

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"In 'n Out" by Joe Henderson on Blue Note BLP 4166

March 26, 2023

A classic Henderson title not easy to find.

A clear favorite album for me. All the Henderson albums on Blue Note are great. This one has been a bit of a struggle to secure. Not seen many copies for sale. Mono pressings seems tough to find. I’m of course very happy to finally have been able to land this lovely copy and place it on the shelf. I’m still after a few other titles by Henderson on Blue Note, like Page One and Our Thing. Let’s see if I get lucky.

The music on this album is truly my kind of jazz. It’s post bop played with fire and soul. Can’t compare this to regular hard bop. It’s so much more interesting to me. Even though I still love my doses of hard bop. Great band on this one, with Kenny Dorham on trumpet, McCoy Tyner on piano, Richard Davis on double bass and Elvin Jones on drums backing Henderson. Pretty much as good as it gets.

All the tunes provide something unique and pleasurable. One of the great Blue Notes for me. And one of the most appealing cover arts that Reid Miles created.

Could this be Hendersons best session as a leader on Blue Note? Or is it maybe Inner Urge or perhaps another one? Have your say in the comments guys.

Have just received some new arrivals in great condition. Two Blue Notes, stay tuned for those. I have also won an auction were I won a wonderful free jazz album. Quite a rare bird for sure. Looking forward to receiving that one.

Have a great week, cheers!

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"Basra" by Pete La Roca on Blue Note BLP 4205

December 1, 2022

A tasty treat with drummer Pete La Roca.

Posted “Inner Urge” the last time and this is another one of those very special Blue Notes. The opening tune “Malagueña” has to be one of my absolute favorite jazz tunes. The dark, swaying oriental sounds that fills the room is a pleasure to soak in. Joe Henderson’s tenor offers so many things to enjoy and explore. I really enjoy the piano playing of Steve Kuhn as well. “Candu” is a bluesy excursion and a nice contrast to the opening tune. I always enjoy a good bluesy jazz tune. Diggin’ the short bass solo on this one. “Tears Come From Heaven” is a faster paced effort with some great chops from Henderson. The rest of the band is ticking along nicely and provides a steady foundation. Lovely, percussive and lyrical piano solo on this one.

The second side begins with a wonderful bass solo leading into “Basra” which also feels oriental, dark and shimmering. Brilliant playing by all members. Henderson steals the show though, with his searching and explorative approach to his improvising. Impressive that La Roca penned this one (he also composed the previous two). Another favorite. Next up is the light, feathery and tastefully executed slower paced “Lazy Afternoon”, which offers some beautiful and relaxing notes. The closing tune is the up-tempo “Eiderdown” penned by bassist Swallow. Great theme. Pulsating groove and top notch soloing from Henderson, Kuhn and Swallow.

An interesting thing about this session is that apparently Swallow and La Roca had taken LSD prior to recording this album at Englewood Cliffs. Could that be a reason why it turned out so great? Who knows…

Would be interesting to hear what you guys think of this masterpiece. Could this be Joe Henderson’s best outing? I haven’t explored his later stuff on Milestone but this must be hard to beat.

This album is up there on the list of favorite jazz albums. Highly recommended. For me it doesn’t get much better. I’m very happy to have been able to secure this original mono pressing, which is in top condition, both vinyl and cover. It seems that it’s quite rare and in high demand for sure. An outstanding last grab of the year.

Take care folks and enjoy your collections. Cheers!

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"Inner Urge" by Joe Henderson on Blue Note BLP 4189

November 26, 2022

This is one of the best Blue Notes and one of my favorite jazz albums period. The first three tunes are composed by Henderson. They are absolutely brilliant. The searching title tune sets the mood with it’s wonderful dark theme and outstanding solo by Henderson. The rhythm section is top notch with McCoy Tyner’s virtuoso piano chops, Bob Cranshaw’s smooth double bass work and the quite elegant and superbly withdrawn playing by Elvin Jones, except maybe for the drum solo where he a bit more of his whirlwind self. Next up is the tune “Isotope” which offers some medium tempo goodness and some bluesy aspects to it. Great and inspired tenor playing by Henderson.

Flipping the side and “El Barrio” begins with it’s dark, oriental flavors. This is stuff that I love. It doesn’t get much better than this for me. Duke Pearson’s “You Know I Care” is a nice ballad and a great contrast to what the album has offered up to this point. A welcome, soothing piece. “Night and Day” by Cole Porter is a nice up tempo tune with some nice rhythmical fills by Elvin which closes this masterpiece. But the masterful highlights on this album are the first three tunes by Henderson for sure, with “El Barrio” shining the brightest.

Took a while to secure this original mono pressing. It seems very scarce in it’s original form, at least that’s what I’ve found. Over the moon to file this one.

I can’t recommend this album enough. Jazz at it’s finest. Cheers!

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"Mode for Joe" by Joe Henderson on Blue Note 4227

May 14, 2022

This album is probably in my top 5 Blue Notes albums list of all time, that I’ve heard so far. Right now anyway. It always changes as we all know, but this one is probably on that list to stay, for good. The ensemble assembled for this outing is a stellar septet, featuring Henderson on tenor sax, Curtis Fuller on trombone, Lee Morgan on trumpet, Bobby Hutcherson on the vibes, Cedar Walton on piano, Ron Carter on double bass and the brilliant Joe Chambers on drums.

Chambers is a cat that I discovered quite late in my continuing jazz explorations. He is absolutely superb. Lovely technique blended with fiery passion and subtle finesse is what he’s all about. The sound of his drums is wonderful on this album. They just pop out of the speakers, like the rest of the band. This original mono pressing in like new condition plays like a dream and is one of my best sounding albums. Everything is crystal clear and each instrument blend well with each other. Everything is audible. The cymbal sound when I put on the first tune, oh my god… lovely. Extremely happy to have been able to add this masterpiece to the collection, ‘cause god knows, the Henderson original monos on Blue Note are ever so difficult to find. At least for me.

On “Caribbean Fire Dance” the hypnotic rhythms reigns supreme. The spot where Morgan comes in with his trumpet is one of the most other-worldly stuff I’ve heard, what a beautiful, piercing tone and what a sound on this original pressing! Pure fire, pure magic. The small drum solo in the end from Joe Chambers also blows the roof off my apartment. Amazing drumming, amazing sound. I can’t recommend this album enough. If you haven’t heard it, check it out today!

Couple of questions: Do you have a favorite Joe Henderson album? Could you give me your top 5? Thoughts on the album on display?

Have a great day, enjoy your collections and stay safe. Cheers!

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