Mode For Joe

Performer: Joe Henderson
Artist: Lee Morgan; Curtis Fuller; Bobby Hutcherson; Cedar Walton; Ron Carter; Joe Chambers
Engineer: Rudy Van Gelder
Producer: Alfred Lion
Distributor: EMI Music Distribution

Notes: Personnel: Joe Henderson (tenor saxophone); Lee Morgan (trumpet); Curtis Fuller (trombone); Bobby Hutcherson (vibraphone); Cedar Walton (piano); Ron Carter (bass); Joe Chambers (drums). Recorded at the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey on January 27, 1966. Originally released on Blue Note (BLP 4227). Includes liner notes by Leonard Feather. This is part of the "Rudy Van Gelder Edition" series. Given the date of this release and the band lineup, one might assume that this is a straight-up hard-bop album. However, this 1966 Joe Henderson record--featuring trumpeter Lee Morgan, trombonist Curtis Fuller, vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, pianist Cedar Walton, bassist Ron Carter, and drummer Joe Chambers--is a great example of modern jazz at its best. MODE FOR JOE was recorded during a time of sweeping musical changes due to developments in free jazz, soul jazz, and even early experiments with fusion. It was a time when the bluesy and funky leanings of hard-boppers were giving way to more individualized contemporary approaches. One of the best examples of this shift, MODE FOR JOE sounds more like the experimental work of Branford Marsalis than the groovy musings of Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. The last track on MODE FOR JOE, "Free Wheelin'," is the only dyed-in-the-wool hard-bop tune heard here. Other than that, this outing's mostly up-tempo songs serve as vehicles for solos. Henderson himself proves that the template for players such as Marsalis, Joe Lovano, and Joshua Redman was invented a generation earlier, as evidenced on "A Shade of Jade," "Black," and others, making this one of the sax legend's most intriguing albums.

A remarkable tenor player and improviser for the last three decades, Joe Henderson's career began in the '60s on Blue Note. He played a prominent role in seminal records by the diverse likes of Horace Silver, Herbie Hancock, Eric Dolphy, Andrew Hill, and Larry Young, reflecting a talent that encompassed not only bebop tradition but avant garde and Latin influences as well. The breadth of his tone and his constant invention were finally recognized on a broad scale with the Verve label's support in the '90s.

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