First, there has to be a disclaimer about this recent release that captures how jazz was supposed to sound like in the 1960s-
The title might imply that this limited edition set by Mosaic Records is EVERYTHING tenor sax titan Joe Henderson recorded for Blue Note Records. If that were the case, this 5 cd (2,500 copy) limited-edition set would be about 4x larger than it presently is, as he played on over 30 sessions for the famed label during the 1960s. The main focus of this essential collection is on the classic albums that Henderson recorded under his own name as a leader, although there are a few selections from his work as a sideman with Blue Mitchell, Bobby Hutcherson, Johnny Coles, Horace Silver and Larry Young. There are also a couple albums with his long term associate, the cool-toned trumpeter Kenny Dorham, but what you get to experience here is what the “Blue Note Sound” was all about during its halcyon days of the 1960s, and it was about a lot!
His 1963 Page One is one of the greatest jazz debuts of all time, with Dorham, McCoy Tyner/p, Butch Warren/b and Pete La Roca/dr swinging gloriously on the lovely and lyrical “Blue Bossa” and the pulsating “Recorda Me,” both of which have become standards. That same year, his next album (Our Thing) kept La Roca and Dorham, but included the more harmonically complex pianist Andrew Hill and bassist Eddie Khan for the sublime “Our Thing” and the clever “Teeter Totter”. The melding of Henderson’s dark subtones and Dorham’s sweet Mozartian lyricism is a delight throughout. 1964’s Inner Urge is a definitive Blue Note session, as Henderson takes some time off from his gig with Horace Silver to team up with Coltrane alumni Tyner and drummer Elvin Jones along with bassist Bob Cranshaw in a sizzling quartet session that resulted in two Henderson staples with “Inner Urge” and the clever “Isotope” as the leader rides Jones’ wave like a long-boarder. The next year Henderson reunites with Dorham, Jones, Tyner and brings in one-time Coltrane bassist Richard Davis for the intricately swinging title tune “In ‘N Out” and harmonically clever “Punjab”. Mode For Joe was Henderson’s last 60s album for Blue Note, and it was a bit of an adventurous one with Ron Carter/b, Chambers, Curtis Fuller/tb, Bobby Hutcherson/vib, Lee Morgan/tp and Cedar Walton/p. The album is more focused on up-tempo vehicles for stretched out solos as on “A Shade of Jade,” and “Black” with “Free Wheelin’” the only bona fide hard bopper in the set.
Also included here are two further albums with his favorite collaborator Dorham, who leads Una Mas and Trumpeta Toccata. The former, another essential, includes the relentless and infectious title track that is the background for many a movie, while the team of Butch Warren/b, Herbie Hancock/p and Tony Williams/dr is sublime on “If Ever I Would Leave You”. For what was essentially Dorham’s last album as a leader, he and Henderson are joined by Davis, Albert “Tootie” Heath/dr and Tommy Flanagan/p for the catchy Latin grooved “Mamacita” and title opus “Trompeta Toccata” showing what the best of hard bop can sound like. These were heady days!
There is a group of single releases led by Johnny Coles (“Hobo Joe”), Blue Mitchell (“Step Lightly”), Bobby Hutcherson (“The Kicker”), Horace Silver (“Mo’ Joe”) and Larry Young (“If”) just to show how Henderson was essentially the sound of the hard bop tenor for Blue Note as a sideman as well. Not exactly a bad moniker to live with!.
As with all things Mosaic, you get a few previously unreleased tracks as well as an insightful booklet with hip vintage photos and an essay and song-by-song analysis by Bob Blumenthal. If you haven’t heard Henderson, who seems to have been undeservedly forgotten lately, here’s the ultimate introduction