Joe Henderson
The State Of The Tenor Volume 1 & 2

Saxophone, bass, and drums. Maximum harmonic freedom. A nightmare for beginner saxophonists, painfully lost without the piano as a reference point, but a real dream for the leading exponents of the instrument. It brings to mind the ventures of Sonny Rollins at the Village Vanguard and in some of his studio albums; or the beautiful 'Motion' by Lee Konitz, the famous infernal blues 'Chasin' The Trane' by John Coltrane, or some pianoless solos by Wayne Shorter in Miles Davis's Second Quintet. Playing in these conditions is a truly challenging attitude for a wind player because they solely bear the responsibility for the improvisational, melodic, rhythmic, harmonic result, and therefore for the piece's success. It's like being without a safety net. The absence of the pianist's comping leaves a void that must be filled, and at the same time, it doesn't provide the soloist with musical cues to draw inspiration from. In short, the brave one has to manage on their own!

In this case, taking the tenor saxophone is a great musician, the veteran Joe Henderson, who made his entry into the Blue Note artist roster in the early '60s to produce significant albums like 'Page One', 'Our Thing', 'In 'N' Out', and 'Inner Urge'. Parallel to his activities as a leader, he boasted excellent appearances as a sideman in both hard bop albums like 'The Sidewinder' by Lee Morgan and 'Song For My Father' by Horace Silver, as well as in modernism contexts ('The Real McCoy' by McCoy Tyner and 'Unity' by Larry Young) and the avant-garde ('Black Fire' and 'Point Of Departure' by Andrew Hill). His solos, especially in his colleagues' projects, are often of an extraordinarily high level, and they express a rare instrumental maturity for a 'beginner'.

Twenty years later, our Joe finds himself here in the company of Ron Carter, who needs no introduction. With him on double bass, the album could have been called 'The State Of The Bass'! Completing the trio is the excellent Al Foster on drums, also a former adventure companion of Miles, and possessing an anti-spectacular, essential style that is very suitable for a situation like this, where the varied nuances of the other two require particular emphasis and sometimes silence to be appreciated to the fullest. This magnificent double CD, recorded live in '85 at the Village Vanguard (as one might expect), was defined by Alfred Lion, the historic patron of Blue Note, as 'one of the most important albums I've ever listened to. It's definitely one of the best ever published by Blue Note, and I don't mean the new Blue Note. It's one of the best ever, including all those we made in the '50s and '60s'.

These high-sounding words are well justified by listening to this music, truly different from the usual! The repertoire, first of all, consists of not overly familiar pieces, juxtaposing lesser-known compositions by Thelonious Monk, Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus, Charlie Parker, and Horace Silver with original compositions by Joe Henderson and Ron Carter. Opening Volume 1 is also a piece by the great saxophonist Sam Rivers, 'Beatrice', a delicate ballad present in his 'Fuchsia Swing Song' from '65, a Blue Note album in which Ron Carter played. And closing the two discs, inevitably, are two very famous standards: 'Stella By Starlight' and 'All The Things You Are'.

Second to the choice of material, what astonishes is the approach: the three adopt very sparse and minimalist arrangements in which, however, their individual voices stand out greatly. The space is expanded, the pauses are fully exploited, and it's the sound that reigns supreme! Joe Henderson and Ron Carter, over Al Foster's percussive tapestry, draw memorable melodies. And Ron plays so much music on his bass that it makes you forget the 'spartan' instrumentation. Forget about the typical four-four time keeping... here the bass produces real melodic lines, repeated motifs, contrapuntal inventions in real time, sometimes overlapping an alternative meter, interesting rhythmic variations, and so on. And then his is one of the most beautiful sounds in all of jazz! As for Joe, on many occasions what he plays is incredible! Music of staggering perfection, with some rare moments of tension drop, small errors from which the three recover with such instrumental mastery that they are completely forgotten. But if you're looking for fast and fiery jazz, look elsewhere! Here you will find well-thought-out and savored note choices, by three old wise men of the tribe.

NOTE: this DOUBLE CD has been recently offered at 9.90 EUROS. It's up to you...