The second of two albums compiled from recordings made on the celebrated New York jazz membership Village Vanguard, State Of The Tenor: Dwell At The Village Vanguard, Quantity 2 captures the bearded and bespectacled Midwest tenor Joe Henderson on the nights of November 14-16, 1985.
Seven of Henderson’s performances from these nights – the place he obtained stellar accompaniment from bassist Ron Carter and drummer Al Foster, each ex-Miles Davis sidemen and legends of their respective devices – have been issued by Blue Notice Data on an album referred to as State Of The Tenor: Dwell At The Village Vanguard, Quantity 1, in 1986. It obtained such enormous acclaim from critics and followers that it was inevitable, maybe, {that a} second quantity would seem. Blue Notice duly obliged, releasing a second and closing instalment the next yr.
By the mid-80s, Joe Henderson, initially from Lima, Ohio, was 42 years outdated however already assured of a spot within the pantheon of nice jazz saxophonists. Famend for combining a husky growling tone with soulful sophistication, Henderson had made his debut as a pacesetter with Blue Notice again in 1963, with the album Web page One, which started a fertile four-year spell with Alfred Lion’s label, culminating with 1966’s traditional Mode For Joe. After that, Henderson loved an extended sting at Milestone Data, although the late 70s discovered him freelancing for a number of completely different smaller corporations.
Nonetheless a pressure to be reckoned with
The primary quantity of State Of The Tenor not solely reunited Henderson with Blue Notice (which at that time in its historical past had been spectacularly revived beneath the stewardship of Bruce Lundvall) however was additionally the primary album launched beneath Henderson’s personal identify after a four-year recording drought. The recordings from these Village Vanguard live shows in 1985 confirmed that Henderson was on the peak of his artistic powers. Whereas the primary quantity of State Of The Tenor confirmed that Joe Henderson was nonetheless a pressure to be reckoned with in jazz, the second quantity served to underline that impression whereas additionally satisfying the necessity of those that wished to listen to extra materials from the live shows.
But State Of The Tenor, Quantity 2 can’t be dismissed as a group of leftovers. The explanation why its six tracks have been omitted from Quantity 1 appears extra to do with the style of the album’s producer (and famous US jazz critic) Stanley Crouch.
Curiously, within the unique liner notes to the primary quantity, Crouch likens Henderson’s Village Vanguard live shows to “saxophone lessons”, on account of the variety of horn gamers that have been within the viewers that night time. Actually, Henderson provides a bona fide masterclass by way of saxophone improvisation. And, like one other tenor grasp, the good Sonny Rollins, who had recorded a dwell album for Blue Notice at the exact same venue 28 years earlier (1957’s A Night time At The Village Vanguard), Henderson discovered that the absence of a chordal instrument (comparable to a piano or guitar) allowed him better melodic and harmonic freedom.
That sense of liberty is obvious on Quantity 2’s opener, “Boo Boo’s Birthday,” Henderson’s retooling of a difficult composition by Thelonious Monk (which the pianist/composer had written for his daughter). Ron Carter and Al Foster create a gently undulating rhythmic backdrop over which Henderson takes Monk’s jagged, asymmetrical melodies and explores them absolutely with a sequence of snaking improvisations. Ron Carter additionally demonstrates his bass prowess with a solo that’s supple but eloquent, however which retains propeling the track ahead.
Soulful and versatile
One other cowl, Charlie Parker’s “Cheryl,” is given the Henderson therapy however initially opens with a brief Carter bass solo earlier than the tenor saxophone enters and states the principle theme. He then embarks on an extended passage of extemporization outlined by breathtaking melodic slaloms.
“Y Ya La Quiero” is a Henderson unique first recorded as “Y Todavia La Quiero” for his 1981 album, Relaxin’ At Camarillo. When it comes to its loping bass line and sequence of 4 repeated chords, the tune bears an uncanny resemblance to Pharaoh Sanders’ religious jazz traditional “Hum Allah Hum Allah Hum Allah” from his 1969 album Jewels Of Thought. It begins with a excessive fluttering tremolo from Henderson’s saxophone, earlier than he enunciates a dancing theme beneath Carter’s fulcrum-like bass and Foster’s pulsing hi-hat figures. Arguably the excessive level of State Of The Tenor, Quantity 2, “Y Ya La Quiero” reveals Henderson’s versatility and his means to play in a extra avant-garde model – utilizing shrieks and overtone-laden growls – with out dropping the inherent soulfulness of his sound.
That soulfulness – and flexibility – can be abundantly clear on “Soulville,” Henderson’s mellow however swinging tackle an outdated Horace Silver tune from the pianist/composer’s 1957 Blue Notice album, The Stylings Of Silver.
One other Silver tune, “Portrait,” co-written with jazz bass legend Charles Mingus, illustrates Henderson’s ability as a ballad participant. His method is mild to the purpose of being delicate, however you may also sense a pent-up energy that offers his melodic strains a strong muscularity.
Contemporary momentum
Joe Henderson first unveiled the self-penned “The Bead Game” on his 1968 album Tetragon. The dwell rendition on State Of The Tenor, Quantity 2 just isn’t as frenetic, maybe, as the unique, although because it develops it definitely transmits a high-intensity post-bop method to jazz. Henderson is nothing lower than magisterial.
State Of The Tenor, Quantity 2 has been remastered as a part of Blue Notice’s Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Collection however, considerably, it’s the one title that hasn’t been sourced from an analog grasp. It was recorded digitally, because the “Tone Poet” himself, Joe Harley, revealed to uDiscover Music in December 2018: “It was recorded on a Mitsubishi X-80 machine,” he stated, referring to a two-channel digital recorder that turned widespread within the early 80s. In accordance with Harley, nonetheless, the music on the brand new vinyl version of State Of The Tenor, Quantity 2 sounds superior to the unique. “It sounds amazing, even though it was initially recorded digitally,” Harley acknowledged.
State Of The Tenor, Quantity 2 helped to offer contemporary momentum to Joe Henderson’s profession within the 80s, aiding his recognition as one among jazz’s main saxophonists. He left Blue Notice quickly after the album’s launch and would see out the rest of his profession at Verve Data, between 1991 and 1997, earlier than dying from emphysema on the age of 64, in 2001.
Anybody doubting Joe Henderson’s significance, his place within the lineage of nice tenor saxophonists and the worth of his musical legacy ought to pay attention intently to State Of The Tenor, Quantity 2. It captures the tenor titan in blistering, spellbinding kind. Or, as Harley succinctly put it: “I think it’s Joe Henderson at his absolute peak.”
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