Every time I listen to Joe Henderson I think, “Why haven’t I
listened to this cat more often?” Joe Henderson was a superb tenor sax player. He
was admired by many of the jazz greats but didn’t really get the attention he
deserved until he signed with Verve in the early 80s. By then he’d already
recorded several albums, composed, and appeared as a sideman on some huge
albums. For example, Horace Silver’s Song
for My Father would not be what is now: pure magic, without Henderson’s ever-present
strength and virtuosity.
I chose Isotope from Henderson’s
classic State of the Tenor 1&2 for
you to hear. This album, recorded 35
years ago is still so hot it will burn your hands. I honestly believe Ron
Carter sounds better and sharper here than almost any recording before or since
Tenor. He is always on with such
insistence and almost clairvoyant about where Henderson is going. And Al Foster on drums is as he always was and
is: strong, unflagging, demanding, ahead of the beat just enough to keep Carter
and Henderson reaching for more. He is the jazz drummer par excellence…
When you listen to this 10 minute cut, hold onto your seat:
it moves and moves hard. Listening to it I feel like a cartoon character
grasping the back of a fire truck as it goes around curves in the road, up and
down hills, about to crash but turning at the last minute. At the end I am
breathless…
Sometimes the sound of a trio can be too spare, too austere;
I’m left looking to make it a quartet. But on Tenor I forget it’s just 3 guys making music. The sound is so full,
so dynamic. Henderson plays wise music that is deep and sincere. Make no
mistake: this is not jazz 101. Henderson is mature post-bop music. Listen and
go for the ride.
