It’s hard to delve too much into 1960s jazz without coming across tenorman’s Joe Henderson’s name both as a leader and a sideman. He was there on pivotal releases like Larry Young’s Unity and Freddie Hubbard’s Red Clay, while his Page One debut album as a leader landed a spot on my Five Fantastic Debut Albums of Jazz list. As succinctly put elsewhere by Nick DeRiso, Henderson’s horn was “a dash of Coltrane and Rollins, but with a heavy dose of welcome romanticism.”
Joe was particularly active in 1969, recording Power to the People with Herbie Hancock in May and then later appearing on Fat Albert Rotunda as a member of Hancock’s sextet. It had been two years since Henderson released his own record, and he was complemented here by a full array of top-tier musicians: The appearance of Ron Carter (bass), Jack deJohnette (drums) and Mike Lawrence (trumpet), Joe Henderson assured that Power to the People wouldn’t be wanting for musicianship.
Top-notch support, however, was already a given on Henderson records. Rather, the distinguishing feature of Power to the People is that Joe Henderson began to deviate from the hard-bop formula that served as the template for all his prior releases.
Being that this was the late ’60s, the times were rapidly changing, and songs titles like “Power to the People” and “Afro Centric” were indicative of the shifting attitudes of that time – especially with the younger generation, though Henderson was already over 30 at the time of these recording sessions. Likewise, the music itself was updated: Electronic instruments were used on some tracks, marking a first on a Henderson album. This came in the form of Herbie Hancock’s Fender Rhodes and Ron Carter’s electric bass.
In truth, however, Henderson only cautiously dipped his toes in the waters of contemporary music. This isn’t the full plunge into fusion taken in recording sessions for Miles Davis’ In A Silent Way, which Hancock participated in just four months earlier. Instead, Henderson treats us to a wide palette ranging from proto-fusion to bop to free jazz. And why not? He was equally capable of handling it all.
Starting with the delicate waltz “Black Narcissus,” Joe Henderson employs a gentle touch on the tenor while Hancock provides pastel figures on the Rhodes and Carter flutters to the upper register of his acoustic bass in his trademark style. The shuffling “Afro-Centric,” another Henderson original, again has Hancock on electric piano and here he provides a thoughtful solo.
The Carter composition “Opus One-Point-Five” is all acoustic, and it’s a low-key, dark mood piece that sounds like an outtake from Davis’ Nefertiti. Following that is “Isotope,” a delightful straight bop number in its original form, and a showcase for Joe’s Sonny Rollins influence. Henderson would go on to feature this song for many years in his live performances, including the widely acclaimed 1985 renaissance recordings found on The State of the Tenor.
The title track on Power to the People is similar in style of “Afro-Centric” but more urgent sounding. Henderson, Lawrence and Hancock all turn in competent solos. A straightforward rendition of “Lazy Afternoon” – the only standard of the set – then follows.
The album closes with a bit of a curveball: Henderson sent Hancock away and came up with a totally improvised piece with the rest of the band, titled “Foresight and Afterthought (An Impromptu Suite in Three Movements).” Jack DeJohnette’s drumwork is impressive in the fast-paced first section; Henderson displays his ‘Trane side and then his recognizable “outside” technique in the next one.
It was nice to see this crew stretch out, even if Hancock wasn’t around. The piano-less format foreshadowed Joe Henderson’s more frequent use of a rhythm section without chordal instruments. I always thought you have to be a phenomenal sax player to get away with doing that, and Joe does so handily.
Like every release Joe Henderson recorded prior to his late-career stint with Verve Records in the ’90s, Power to the People failed to have much commercial impact. But even the belated interest in his work didn’t revive sales of this album, because Fantasy Records inexplicably left it off their initial compact-disc release list, save for being a part of the eight-disc Joe Henderson: The Milestone Years box set.
Finally, original producer Orrin Keepnews took matters into his own hands and released Power to the People as part of his Keepnews Collection series. And thus, in a nicely remastered form, Joe Henderson’s lost classic from 1969 was finally available to those not fortunate to have scored an old vinyl copy after all these years.
Power to the People might not be the first Joe Henderson to seek out, but you’ll never find a more varied track listing or a better backing band. It’s well worth the wait.
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