Pianist Andrew Hill's Blue Note Debut Black Fire

Andrew Hill's (1931-2007) 1963 debut for the Blue Note label is a modern jazz classic.

Amazing when you think about all the debuts on Blue Note that were stone classics.
 John Coltrane's Blue Train, Eric Dolphy's Out to Lunch, Wayne Shorter's Night Dreamer, and Johnny Coles' Little Johnny C. to name a few.

Andrew Hill is a clear Thelonious Monk disciple, but certainly more advanced and perhaps more quirky sounding?

I actually prefer Andrew Hill over Monk. Sacrilege perhaps, but I do enjoy the Hill's music more overall. I don't mean that as a slight to Monk.

Black Fire is a very fulfilling album, quartet and trio performances, with advances modal styles, with a hint of Afro-Cuban mixed in offering an exotic vibe.

Continually I marvel at how many great post bop Blue Note classics from the 60's tenor Saxophonist Joe Henderson played on. Black Fire is no exception, a muscular tone and searching.

You mustn't think of Black Fire as a pure avant-garde jazz record,  I don't think it is all that "out" there. Sure it's in the neighborhood, but it is not even remotely free jazz.

Black Fire is structured and composed, hardly atonal... it's in the vein of the Miles Davis second quintet, POST BOP rather.

 This music was recorded well before Wayne shorter joined that band; and 2 years before Miles Smiles was released. Imagine Hill with Davis instead of Hancock? I could dig it! Andrew can get a little funky too like Herbie.

The lead off track "Pumpkin" is very different, really gets a Miles Davis quintet vibe going, the Richard Davis bass line is very Ron Carter like, or Was Ron Carter Richard Davis like?

Andrew stretches out all over the map, this seems like free improvisation to me, very off the cuff, has a live vibe. The Roy Haynes drums are recorded remarkably well I might add, Stellar.

This RVG remaster I am listing to while writing this sounds very good, one of the best CD's I have heard lately. Admittedly some of these have had a tinny sound to me, sometimes distortion can bleed through, not this one.

 I have a hard time believing that the vinyl would sound that much better, and I am a vinyl nut. Black Fire happens to be one of the few 60's Blue Notes that I don't own as an original or at least 70's reissue. Always seems like the price tag for near mint copy, even the Liberty issues are well over 50 dollars plus.

I dig the trio track "Subterfuge" Bassist Davis is doing some pretty remarkable playing on this track, even a nice little solo turn, underrated apparently is Davis, never focused on the track like this before, bassist Davis is pretty darned good.

"Cantarnos" is a nice minor key track, that shows Henderson playing in the vein of John Coltrane on the track "Teo" off of the Miles Davis classic Someday My Prince Will Come.

Henderson is seaching and probing, but perhaps not hell bent on destroying Hank Mobley, as it sounds like Coltrane was attempting, and succeeding on that album where Mobley also appeared.

Anyway, that's how it sounds to me on that particular album. Henderson doesn't over do it here, but the vibe did remind of "Teo".

Overall Black Fire really is a stellar post bop record, and proves to me Andrew Hill was an all time great.  He should get more consideration as a one of the real advancers of the music at the same time John Coltrane's classic mid 60's band was taking shape.

As much as I like Davis and Coltrane, you could never convince me Andrew Hill's genius wasn't their equal. When I hear Black Fire, or Hill's Point of Departure for that matter, we are talking about some seriously groundbreaking jazz that today, 50 plus years later sounds like it has not aged at all.  That fact, the music of modern jazz sounding fresh and sometimes completely new 50 years after it was developed, speaks volumes to me. It's timeless, as much as a 200 year old symphony is.

Duke Pearson's Sweet Honey Bee on Blue Note: A Melody Filled Classic From 1966

Of all the musicians and arrangers in jazz history, Duke Pearson may be the most underrated.

Blue Note aficionados know Pearson, and perhaps in general jazz fans as well, but you don't hear his name mentioned as one of the all time greats. Not as an arranger or as a pianist.

Duke Pearson is one of my favorite composer/arrangers of all time. His compositions are always light and bouncy, with very memorable melodies.

I love the larger band records he's cut as well, big band or nonet. Sweet Honey Bee is a sextet session that surely has cast its spell on me.  The monster tenor of Joe Henderson, the alto sax and flute of James Spalding,  Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Ron Carter on bass, and Micky Roker on drums.

James Spaulding's flute, other than the Pearson melodies stand out the most on the album. He, "Spaulding" is also well versed on alto, plus his flute on the title track is sublime.

A happy up beat tune from Pearson, according to Nat Hentoff's original liner notes: The title track and the cover's inspiration was Duke's new wife Betty, much of the music was created with her in mind.

"Ready Rudy" a play on the name of enginer Rudy Van Gelder presumably, is a nice hard bop vehicle, with a little bit of Thelonius Monk woven in, what Monk tune does it sound like to you?

Comment below, I'd love to hear your thoughts. I like Pearson's tasty playing here, he's in the Monk mode of course, but also Horace Silver. You know, one of things that is so rewarding when you study music, being able to discern influences of other instrumentalists in their playing?

"Empathy" has a Middle Eastern vibe. Spaulding's flute once again owns this tune as well, Pearson reminds me of Horace Silver here with his comping, Hubbard breaks out the muted horn on this one, and it's nice, a different, and pleasant surprise. Henderson builds up a nice little solo on his tenor, staying down and subdued, and finally breaking out a little, but he never explodes.

"Big Bertha" bursts out of the gate with a nice little medium to fast paced Ron Carter bass strut, with Pearson and Roker playing support to his lead bass. Then the very nice classic hard bop theme kick in. Lots of great solos from all concerned. That Carter bass pulse is always there in the mind haunting every solo, I love it.

"Sudel" another upbeat number, it lets Hubbard and Henderson stretch out a little. But the strong melody is what wins here, a catchy  sing-a-long quality. That's how I would describe Pearson's work, catchy and memorable if not groundbreaking, just damn good and sometimes great music.

"After the Rain" is a real winner as well, a ballad, that creates a very ominous and spartan mood, another great showcase for the flute of Spauding near the end. I told you before that flute is a really player on this set,  I like it.

You can still get vintage original NY USA addressed vinyl copies for around 100 bucks, that's a pretty good deal honestly, I had a 21st century reissue that sounded OK to me. The remastered CD isn't bad to my ears, doesn't have that harsh tinny sound like some RVG remasters have had to my ears.

Joe Henderson's Final Blue Note Mode For Joe

Joe Henderson's final Blue Note album as a leader is a fine one.

Mode For Joe from 1966 does not rest comfortably in the hard bop vein, though fans of the genre will enjoy this record.

A probing bop style, not unlike the music Andrew Hill or Jackie McLean were releasing, but not quite as "out" there. 

I am a sucker for vibrophonist Bobby Hutcherson, I can't think of an album he's been on that didn't sound good.

I just love the sound of Bobby's vibes in a post bop context.  Eric Dolphy's Out to Lunch blows my mind every time. Cedar Walton on piano, Lee Morgan on trumpet, the great trombonist Curtis Fuller, bassist Ron Carter, and the underrated drummer Joe Chambers round out the men on this modern jazz masterpiece. 

Cedar Walton's title track tribute to the leader "Mode for Joe" is  a now a standard and one of the tracks I bet saxophonist  Joe Lovano in particular wore out when he was cutting his teeth on his old man Big T's collection.

These Henderson Blue Notes always make me think about Lovano's better albums, that's how good Lovano is, that's not hyperbole either.

Walton's title track I like, the latin vibe of the track not as overtly latin as "Caribbean Fire Dance".

Henderson does some odd stuff here: Out of the gate he is honking squawking, off kilter, might even make the jazz novice cringe. Then he goes on to just play the hell out of it.

A tasty light bounce from Hutcherson's vibes is also nice. Joe said in Leonard Feather's liner notes, : "We got the feeling for this one right away". "This was the first take."

The Basic "Black," another Walton composition is straight ahead, and typical of a Blakey or Silver session, in other words, kicks ass.

Joe also said that Cedar really burned his hands off on this track, I agree. I like Joe's quote of "Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise" at the 1:05 mark on the video below.  A real hard swinger this track is, enjoy.

You won't find a weak link on this album I can promise you. "Caribbean Fire Dance",  "A Shade of Jade", and "Granted" from the leader are all stellar, the first 2 being standards.

Also Lee Morgan's "Free Wheelin" was thrown together on the fly at the session. You wouldn't know it, Curtis Fuller blows the doors off on this tune too with his trombone. What a great album from some true classic jazz musicians.

Do yourself a favor, pay attention to the lesser known tracks here like "Black", and "Free Wheelin", you won't be disappointed.

Joe Henderson's Blue Note Debut Masterpiece Page One: 2 Bossa's, 2 Cookers, and a Ballad.

Tenor Saxophonist Joe Henderson's debut as a leader is a classic in every sense. 60's jazz, saxophone jazz, or Blue Note jazz, in every sense of the word it is just fantastic.

Of all the saxophonists who emerged in the late 50's and early 60's, Henderson is the one that sound the least like John Coltrane to me.

It's obvious to me that Joe sounds more like Sonny Rollins, or perhaps Dexter Gordon.

 Ironically enough, Dexter who was older than Coltrane, yet was influenced by  younger Trane judging by his own 60's Blue Note albums like GO and Our Man in Paris, Coltrane was the one who was most most influenced early Gordon. 

Henderson has his own husky sound, that while reminiscent of Rollin's or Gordon never comes off as a clone. In fact, his tone is pretty original and has influenced more than a few saxophonists of today. Joe Lovano is the one I always think of today that brings the Henderson influence to mind the most.

Page One, released in October of 1963 is quite simply a perfect hard-bop record. McCoy Tyner on piano, Kenny Dorham on trumpet, Butch Warren on bass, and Pete La Roca on drums offer some fine support.

Henderson plays what would be become 2 future jazz standards,  Dorham's "Blue Bossa", which pre-dates Horace Silver's  Song For My Father" by a couple of years, with it's gorgeous humble theme. and his own 'Recorda Me", both are hard-bop/bossa nova fusion at their best.

They don't have that forced over produced Bossa Nova sound; you know, trying to be what the consumer thinks is Bossa, instead of offering an authentic fee. This album never sacrifices the jazz for a homogenized brand of island music? Page One is hip, and it's hard-bop jazz.

I love the cookers "Homestretch" and "Out of the Night", these both display Henderson's stream of conscious, on-his-feet quick-whit style.  Dorham's ballad 'La Mesha" also displays the Lester Young/Dexter Gordon influence of Henderson.

LP, CD, OR Download:

You can get an original 1963 New York USA vinyl copy of Page One on eBay these day for around $500.00, it's a tough one to find right now in top condition. You can always find late 60's Liberty addressed issues though for around 50 bucks.

 No shame in collecting those by the way, they sound nearly as good in my opinion as the originals and cost a fraction of the price. The current reissues aren't that bad either, just stay away from the Scorpio pressings.

I do prefer vinyl over CD when it comes to acoustic jazz especially, but I am not a vinyl snob at all. I believe CD's and downloads serve a purpose, If you only want CD's, perhaps older non RVG editions would be your best choice.

 For what ever reason those RVG edition CD's can sound very brittle or tinny sounding, it's the darnedest thing, you would  expect those to be the top notch remasters?

They aren't all bad though, I haven't had the chance or lack of life to cross compare all of them. I do know that the Page One RVG edition sounded good

 You can always tweak your home system to sound  the way you want. I am right now listening to the RVG Page One that was ripped to my PC, I am now playing it on my iPod.

Mosaic Records puts out fantastic box sets that you can get on the secondary market that have the best sound on CD in my opinion, and the physical product is of the highest quality, with booklets full of commentary and photos. Page one, no matter what format, should be in your jazz collection.

Herbie Hancock: The Prisoner (1969)

Herbie Hancock's final album for the Blue Note Label was 1969's The Prisoner.

A concept album, a tribute to slain civil rights leader and American hero Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Herbie said he was able to be his real self on this album more than any other leading up to it for Blue Note.

Personally I feel the album has real maturity in it, sort of an even flow through out, hints at free jazz, and modal jazz.

For my money the star of this larger band is tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson. "Boy Joe sure does show up a lot on the best bop sessions of the mid to late 60's".

Joe's husky tone, owes nothing to Coltrane, a rarity by its self, Henderson really adds a lot of fire to the album. Herbie Composed all but one track on the album, "Firewater" is a buster Williams composition that I like rather well.

 The opening track "I Have a Dream" has a fast walking intro that reminds me of Wes Montgomery's "Four on Six" from The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery. Can't really find one complaint on the album, just a fantastic post bop modern jazz album.

McCoy Tyner: The Real McCoy (1967)

Elvin Jones sits behind the drum kit on The Real McCoy,and as usual, his power shines through.

 I always liked Elvin's ride symbol work, he and Tony Williams were the best I think in that regard.

The real star here is tenor Saxophonist Joe Henderson, his muscular tone a perfect replacement for John Coltrane, and he does have a muscular tone that compare well without trying to sound like him. Henderson was his own man.

My favorite track is "Contemplation", a track that pianist Tyner said reminded him of a lonely man walking down the street. It's a fantastic track to meditate to as well, as I a sure the composer had in mind, it works. Henderson searches and searches his own mind, I don't know if ever found any deeper meaning, but I know I sure feel enriched by the album.

 Interestingly enough, I had a similar mood come upon me when I heard the tune for the first time. Henderson really shines on the track. "Search for Peace" is another Modal piece that stretches out on a reflective mood.

"Passion Dance" really has a hectic exotic rhythm, sort of reminds of a Thelonious Monk on amphetamines, a real upbeat piece, and a winner. "Blues on the Corner" is another Monk style piece, that is sort of a sped up"Blue Monk".