Listening Room – “Idle Moments”

Posted on June 13, 2009 by Jazz Sermon

After posting “Shades of Green” the other day, I figured I would preview some vintage Grant Green. The guitarist is in prime form on this 1963 Blue Note release. The Duke Pearson penned title track is a stone-cold classic, as is the sextet’s take on the Modern Jazz Quartet’s timeless Django. Green and Pearson are joined by Blue Note stablemates Joe Henderson and Bobby Hutcherson, and while this is a rather large group session for Green at this point in his career, the players and song selection result in one of the great records of the hard bop era.

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Released 1963 : Blue Note Records : Catalog # BLP 4154

Players:
Grant Green – Guitar
Joe Henderson – Tenor Sax
Duke Pearson – Piano
Bobby Hutcherson – Vibes
Bob Cranshaw – Bass
Al Harewood – Drums

Grant Green – Idle Moments from “Idle Moments”

Grant Green – Django from “Idle Moments”

Listening Room – “In Japan”

Posted on May 17, 2009 by Jazz Sermon

This 1971 release was recorded in Tokyo and finds Joe Henderson fronting a quartet of Japanese jazz players. Clocking in at 45 minutes, the 4 tracks are all extended takes and the band plays with an intensity rarely captured on record. Considered a must own masterpiece by followers of Henderson, the album showcases him at the peak of his creativity.

In Japan
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Released 1971 : Milestone Records : Catalog # ????

Players:
Joe Henderson – Tenor Sax
Hideo Ichikawa – Electric Piano
Kunimitsu Inaba – Bass
Motohiko Hino – Drums

Joe Henderson – Out ‘n’ In from “In Japan”

Joe Henderson – Blue Bossa from “In Japan”

“Cantaloupe Island – 1985″

Posted on May 3, 2009 by Jazz Sermon

This is a performance of “Cantaloupe Island” from the “One Night with Blue Note” film celebrating the historic concert in 1985 that brought together Blue Note Records legends to celebrate the revival of the label by Bruce Lundvall and Michael Cuscuna. This performance certainly features legendary players: Herbie Hancock, Freddie Hubbard, Joe Henderson, Ron Carter and Tony Williams!

Listening Room – “Brown Sugar”

Posted on April 8, 2009 by Jazz Sermon

This 1964 album marked a bit of a change in the sound of Freddie Roach in that he fully embraces the soul-jazz sound. Joe Henderson is masterful on the recording as is guitarist Eddie Wright and Roach’s longtime drummer Clarence Johnston. Very bluesy at times, Roach and company find the groove and stay in it. This record keeps going in and out of print, as far as I know the great re-issue label Water was the last to bring this gem (and it’s classic cover) back into circulation.

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Released 1964 : Blue Note Records : Catalog # BP-4168

Players:
Freddie Roach – Hammond B3
Joe Henderson – Tenor Sax
Eddie Wright – Guitar
Clarence Johnston – Drums

Freddie Roach – Brown Sugar from “Brown Sugar”

Freddie Roach – All Night Long from “Brown Sugar”

Listening Room – “Straight Life”

Posted on March 26, 2009 by Jazz Sermon

Released in 1970, “Straight Life” came out in between the more well known Hubbard albums “Red Clay” and “First Light”. While I will always be partial to “Red Clay” for personal reasons (it is one of the first jazz albums I ever bought), “Straight Life” may be Hubbard’s greatest CTI recording. The all-star group (Joe Henderson, Herbie Hancock, George Benson, Ron Carter and Jack DeJohnette) were all very familiar with each other by this point in their careers and play off each other with ease. All are on the same page playing the post-bop fusion selections that Hubbard chose for these sessions including his own classic compostition, the title track Straight Life.

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Released 1970 : CTI Records : Catalog # 6007

Players:
Freddie Hubbard – Trumpet
Joe Henderson – Tenor Sax
Herbie Hancock – Piano
George Benson – Guitar
Ron Carter – Bass
Jack DeJohnette – Drums

Freddie Hubbard – Straight Life from “Straight Life”

Freddie Hubbard – Mr. Clean from “Straight Life”

Joe Henderson & Herbie Hancock – “Lush Life”

Posted on March 20, 2009 by Jazz Sermon

This is video from 1993 with Joe Henderson and Herbie Hancock performing a great version of Billy Strayorn’s Lush Life. The occaision was a celebration of the 40th anniversery of the Newport Jazz Festival held on the lawn of the White House. Very nice stuff.

Listening Room – “All Blues”

Posted on March 5, 2009 by Jazz Sermon

Ron Carter – A Feeling

Ron Carter – All Blues

From “All Blues” : 1973 : CTI Records # 6037

A great release by bassist Ron Carter from 1973 while he was recording for Creed Taylor’s CTI Records. A quartet recording featuring Joe Henderson, Roland Hanna and Billy Cobham, much of the music is laid back (even for the blues) and the group’s take on Miles’ famous All Blues is exceptional. For some reason this album is out of print (as are many of the great CTI recordings) on CD.

Players:
Joe Henderson – Tenor Sax
Roland Hanna – Piano
Ron Carter – Bass
Billy Cobham – Drums

Listening Room – “Tetragon”

Posted on February 28, 2009 by Jazz Sermon

Tetragon

Joe Henderson – Invitation

Joe Henderson – First Trip

From “Tetragon“: 1968 : Milestone MSP 9017

Released in 1968 on Milestone Records, “Tetragon” is credited to the Joe Henderson Quartets, as it features two different rhythm sections over the course of the record. Henderson and Ron Carter are featured on all tracks, while Kenny Barron and Don Friedman trade off on piano as do Jack DeJohnette and Louis Hayes on drums. Invitation features DeJohnette and Friedman, while Carter’s composition First Trip features Barron and Hayes.

Players:
Joe Henderson – Tenor Sax
Ron Carter – Bass
Kenny Barron – Piano
Don Friedman – Piano
Louis Hayes – Drums
Jack DeJohnette – Drums

Listening Room – “Power To The People”

Posted on February 22, 2009 by Jazz Sermon

Power To The People

Joe Henderson – Afro-Centric

Joe Henderson – Power To The People

This 1969 release by Joe Henderson on Milestone Records is a fantastic example of early jazz fusion. Featuring some of the top progressive players of the era, including Ron Carter, Herbie Hancock, Jack DeJohnette and of course Joe Henderson, “Power To The People” stands up with the best fusion albums that Hancock and Miles Davis produced during this creative period in jazz.

Players:
Joe Henderson – Tenor Sax
Mike Lawrence – Trumpet
Herbie Hancock – Piano, Fender Rhodes
Ron Carter – Bass
Jack DeJohnette – Drums

Listening Room – “Hand in Hand”

Posted on February 13, 2009 by Jazz Sermon

Mulgrew Miller – “Grew’s Tune”

Mulgrew Miller – “Hand in Hand”

From “Hand in Hand” : 1992 : Novus Records

Pianist Mulgrew Miller put together a great band for this 1992 release on Novus Records. It was also no small feat that album featured exclusively Miller originals and there is not weak moment on the record. This is modern post-bop at its finest.

Players:
Mulgrew Miller – Piano
Kenny Garrett – Alto Sax
Joe Henderson – Tenor Sax
Eddie Henderson – Trumpet
Steve Nelson – Vibes
Christian McBride – Bass
Lewis Nash – Drums