Joe Henderson – Tress-Cun-Deo-La
Joe Henderson – Bawaata
Joe Henderson – Turned Around
Super super busy this week with classes beginning again over at CSU-Long Beach, so just very quickly let me say that this record remains my favorite of Joe Henderson’s extremely solid 1970s output (a close second though would be The Elements, also from 1973 and with guest work from Alice Coltrane and Charlie Haden). A major reason for that is the track that leads it off, “Tress-Cun-Deo-La,” which is not only one of my favorite Joe Henderson tracks from this period, but one of my favorite Jazz Funk tracks of all time, especially in the early going as the rhythm settles and a soul clap comes out of nowhere, before things get a little spacey. On “Tress” Joe Henderson is almost a one-man band, overdubbing his vocals (in Portuguese?), sax and flute together with a super tight rhythm section consisting of Jack DeJohnette and Dave Holland plus guitar work from James “Blood” Ulmer. “Bwaata” has a very “Bitches Brew” fusion funk feel to it whereas “Turned Around” is pretty much just straight funky. Seriously deep, through and through.
Cheers,
Michael