Note: the CD I listened to was the 2004 Rudy Van Gelder Edition which includes a bonus track.
As I've mentioned before, I'm not Henderson's biggest fan - I find him to be a overly busy soloist but, then again, I'm sure I'm just not hearing something I probably should. So why even bother to pick up this album? The presence of relatively overlooked Texas trumpeter Kenny Dorham, who was once called an “eternally underrated bebop trumpet icon.” by critic Will Friedwald.
Slowly breaking away from Horace Silver's group, Henderson wisely put together a great band (see below). With players like that, the music was never going to be unoriginal. The hard bop here is energetic sometimes cool, quirky sometimes hip. A good album that somehow becomes even better when I think of it as a Dorham's instead of Henderson's. Bias can be a cruel mistress.
Plus another essential Blue Note album cover from the mind of Reid Miles.
Henderson - tenor saxophone
Kenny Dorham - trumpet
McCoy Tyner - piano
Richard Davis - bass
Elvin Jones - drums
Original liner notes written by Don Heckman and reissue liner notes by Bob Blumenthal.
Reviews/ratings:
- Downbeat (★★★): "The major moments on this album are contributed by trumpeter Dorham"
- Billboard: ★★★
- The Penguin Guide to Jazz (5th ed., 2000): ★★★½
- The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★★★
- The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★★
Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart
Tracks: Tyner and Dorham shine on their solo work throughout. Compositionally, my favorite cuts are Punjab and Short Story. The bonus track is simply an alternate take of the the title track.
Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None
Previously revisited for the blog:
Mode For Joe (1966)
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