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The slow rise to prominence by tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson (1937) coincided
with the rise to popularity of the musicians whose style he assimilated.
His first quintet featured trumpeter Kenny Dorham and pianist McCoy Tyner.
The highlights of Page One (june 1963) were Dorham's Blue Bossa and La Mesha, besides Henderson's Recorda Me and Jinrikisha.
Tyner stole the show on most tracks, but was replaced by Andrew Hill for
Our Thing (september 1963), a rather uneven collection, partially rescued by
Dorham's Escapade.
The quality of musicianship increased dramatically on In 'n Out
(april 1964), with the piano again in the hands of McCoy Tyner and with
Elvin Jones on drums (both Coltrane sidemen):
Henderson's In 'N Out, Punjab and Serenity were flawless
hard-bop feasts enhanced with a strong Coltrane factor.
That factor was even more prominent on Inner Urge (november 1964),
containing Henderson's moody Inner Urge and atmospheric Isotope,
and boasting spectacular saxophone and piano solos.
Henderson's style had evolved towards a relatively free and somewhat incoherent
interpretation of time and tone, that often resulted in jarring sequences of
sounds and disorienting distortions of tempo.
Almost as successful was Mode For Joe (january 1966), featuring a supergroup with trumpeter Lee Morgan, trombonist Curtis Fuller, vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, pianist Cedar Walton, bassist Ron Carter and drummer Joe Chambers, and containing two gems such as Henderson's A Shade of Jade and Walton's Mode For Joe.
Henderson became more famous as a sideman for Horace Silver (1964-66) and Herbie Hancock (1969-70), but continued to assemble top-notch line-ups, slowly transitioning towards electric fusion:
a sextet with trumpeter Mike Lawrence, trombonist Grachan Moncur III, pianist Kenny Barron, bassist Ron Carter and drummer Louis Hayes for The Kicker (august 1967), but wasted on rather poor material;
a trio for Tetragon (september 1967);
a quintet with pianist Herbie Hancock, trumpeter Mike Lawrence, bassist Ron Carter and drummer Jack DeJohnette for Power To The People (may 1969), that contained Black Narcissus and the three-movement suite Foresight and Afterthought;
synth-man David Horowitz, Swedish guitarist Georg Wadenius, Brazilian percussionist Airto Moreira pianist George Cables, bassist Dave Holland and DeJohnette for the Miles Davis-influenced and heavily overdubbed Black Is The Color (april 1972);
a quintet/sextet with guitarist James Blood Ulmer, electronic keyboardist Larry Willis, bassist Dave Holland and DeJohnette for the funky Multiple (january 1973);
a sextet with violinist Michael White, bassist Charlie Haden, percussionist Kenneth Nash, an Indian table player, Alice Coltrane on piano, harp, harmonium and tamboura for the four-movement cosmic/spiritual suite The Elements (october 1973), one of his most abstract works with haunting treated saxophone;
a small ensemble for Canyon Lady (october 1973), in the vein of Herbie Hancock's funk-jazz fusion with a Latin touch;
Patrick Gleeson (Herbie Hancock's synthesizer) and a smooth rhythm section led by pianist Joachim Kuhn for Black Narcissus (october 1974);
a synthesized string section (by producer George Duke) and a horn section, plus guitarist Lee Ritenour, bassist Ron Carter and two percussionists, for the quasi-disco Black Miracle (february 1975);
a quartet with pianist Chick Corea, bassist Ron Carter and drummer Billy Higgins for Mirror Mirror (january 1980), that contains his Joe's Bolero.
He finally became a star with the live trio performances of
The State of the Tenor (november 1985), on which he sounded more like
Sonny Rollins.
Big Band (june 1996) arranged several of his classics for a large ensemble.
Also very successful were his concept albums dedicated to other jazz musicians.
Henderson died in 2001.
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