Joe Henderson Recommendations ("middle years"?)

[LouisvillePrez]

I love everything that I have by Joe Henderson, which is pretty much limited to 60s Blue Note albums and the 90s Verve ones.  So Near, So Far is a personal favorite.  I also have a Chick Corea album from the 70s, Live at Montreux, with Henderson, Roy Haynes, and Gary Peacock that I play often.

The other day I heard a Charlie Haden track on Pandora that had Henderson and Al Foster.   The track, "In the Moment," was from the Montreal Tapes, and I really liked it.  For the person wanting to explore more Joe Henderson, what do people recommend for the "middle years" (if that term is appropriate)?  Is the whole set with Haden something that is widely recommended?  Any recommendations, whether Henderson is the leader on the date or not, are appreciated!

[Olie Brice]

'An Evening with Joe Henderson', trio with Haden and Al Foster from 1985 is incredible.  I think that might be my favourite period for Henderson, there's loads of great trio recordings, generally with Al Foster, official and bootlegs.  'The Standard Joe', with Rufus Reid and Foster in 1991 is another good one, as is the classic 'State of the tenor' on Blue Note (Foster and Ron Carter, 1985).

There's some great 70s Joe as well - 'at the lighthouse' and 'tetragon'  are 2 I love - Invitation on tetragon is one of the all-time great Joe Henderson solos

and this, of course:

 

[bluesoul]

I really like the State of the Tenor 2-disc set from 1985.  Trio with Al Foster and Ron Carter.

[StarThrower]

Lotsa good stuff from his Milestone years, and that would be in the middle so to speak.

Power To The People

Tetragon

Multiple

In Japan

At The Lighthouse

[Gheorghe]

Joe Henderson has a special meaning to me because he was one of the tenor players who impressed me deeply when I was a young guy. From my point of view I had than (1977,1978), he was a link between straight ahead and newer stuff.

I´d recommend "Relaxin´ at Camerillo" from 1979 as a very good example of the Henderson I got to listen to closely. It´s a great little album, with Chick Corea, with Tony Williams on some tracks (Crimson Lake is great.....) .

Another album that has a special meaning to me, even if the setting isn´t necessarly my kind of stuff, is "Canyon Lady" done for an a bit larger ensemble, from 1973. But listen to Mighty Joe what he does on it, on Tres Palabres, on the title tune, just fanstastic.

Oh, he was great, I loved him, I was lucky to see him live on several occasions.

Edited March 16, 2016 by Gheorghe

[A Lark Ascending]

I prefer the 70s Henderson records to the 60s and 80s+ ones (though they too are marvellous). Not that they are 'better' played or anything, I'm just a sucker for that slightly electrified sound on some of the discs (especially when there are e-ps aboard). I came to Henderson backwards - the Strayhorn disc from the 90s (which was a poll topper in the UK [listeners of a nervous disposition will want to avoid that one as it includes He Who Shall Not Be Mentioned]), the Miles record and then back to the original Blue Notes. The mid-period came later but that's what I play most.  

I'm especially fond of:

1970 so not sure as it counts as 'mid' - stylistically seems to have more in common with the 70s records than the 60s. 

Edited March 16, 2016 by A Lark Ascending

[Joe]

Another thumbs up for RELAXIN' AT CAMARILLO. MIRROR MIRROR, another date with Chick (plus ROn Carter and Billy Higgins), is also fine

Also worth tracking down is BARCELONA, an "in concert" trio date on Enja. Maybe not names you would recognize on bass and drums (Wayne Darling and Ed Soph, respectively), but they help to inspire some tremendous extended performances by Joe.

And let's not forget those Griffith Park Collective records either...

Edited March 16, 2016 by Joe

[jlhoots]

I bought the Milestone box for about $15 years ago. Still enjoy it.

[felser]

39 minutes ago, jlhoots said:

I bought the Milestone box for about $15 years ago. Still enjoy it.

That's the way I would go also.  Very challenging, beautiful music on many of the albums.  8 CD set has something like 15 albums of material, so an incredible bargain at the current prices (around $55 shipped from Amazon marketplace).  "Joe Henderson in Japan" is a favorite of mine.

Edited March 16, 2016 by felser

[JSngry]

1 hour ago, jlhoots said:

I bought the Milestone box for about $15 years ago. Still enjoy it.

Yeah, a deal like that is a no-brainer, look for a deal like that and then carpe diem.

But everything being mentioned in this thread is solid.

Oh yeah, Charles Earland's Leaving This Planet on Prestige, some really fine loosey-goosey Joe jamming going on there.

[Joe]

I think it may technically be a bootleg, or at least "grey market," but if you are willing to do some Internet spelunking, this date is worth an audition as well.

 

[erwbol]

Don't forget this recent reissue: Joe Henderson and Kikuchi Hino in Concert (UCCJ-9208). Already OOP at CD Japan, but still available on eBay.

Recorded the day after Joe Henderson in Japan (Milestone) with a different lineup.

Also great, In Pursuit of Blackness. Contains a track from the lighthouse concert not on the CD release A Lark Ascending posted, though the real draw are the three studio tracks. 

Edited March 16, 2016 by erwbol

[CJ Shearn]

I love all the Henderson BN's and Milestone set, though for me the pick of that would be "Tetragon", "Live at the Lighthouse", "In Japan", and "Multiple"(the rhythm section of Larry Willis, Dave Holland and Jack DeJohnette is killer!).  There's so much good, interesting music on the Milestone set, the only really weak thing compared to everything else is "Black Miracle", but it's not nearly as bad as some of the CTI's, Blue Note albums of that vintage (1976).  Some fine Joe on "So Near , So Far", the aforementioned "State of the Tenor", and "Carnegie Hall Salutes the Jazz Masters".

Edited March 16, 2016 by CJ Shearn

[JSngry]

"Rush Hour" by Jerry Rush. Joe not on every cut, but so much fun where he is.

[CJ Shearn]

I gotta give props to the above mentioned Joe Henderson and Kikuchi/Hino in concert, gotta listen to it more often, got it a few months back on eBay, but it's wonderful.

[HutchFan]

On 3/16/2016 at 2:37 AM, Gheorghe said:

Another album that has a special meaning to me, even if the setting isn´t necessarly my kind of stuff, is "Canyon Lady" done for an a bit larger ensemble, from 1973. But listen to Mighty Joe what he does on it, on Tres Palabres, on the title tune, just fanstastic.

I with you, Gheorghe.  I think Canyon Lady is a terrific record. I love the Latin feeling. Luis Gasca did the arrangements.

Listen to what Joe does on "All Things Considered." So damn good.

 

BTW: I agree with others who have said that Joe's Milestone years are every bit as interesting as his BN records. I definitely play the Milestones more -- though I wouldn't want to be without any of them, of course!  

Edited March 17, 2016 by HutchFan