Joe HENDERSON - Black Narcissus 1974

Joe HENDERSON - Black Narcissus 1974

Jazz

Inspirational, four-time Grammy-winner Joe Henderson influenced scores of jazz musicians with his smooth tenor saxophone tunes that would be recorded by a wide range of jazz musicians.
Born in Lima, OH, Henderson moved to Detroit in the late '50s to study music at Wayne State University, later moving to New York and recording on Blue Note, Milestone, and Verve labels. After working with such diverse acts as Miles Davis and Blood, Sweat & Tears through the 1960s, Henderson relocated to San Francisco in the mid-'70s and gained popularity on the West Coast as well.
In June of 2001, Henderson died in San Francisco of heart failure following a struggle with emphysema.
He was 64.
By Jason Buchanan, AMG.
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The story here is pianist Joachim Kuhn, who not only plays acoustic piano in an age of Fenders, but whose playing almost rivals McCoy Tyner, as far as Henderson albums go. There are still a few synth patches (hence the wide ranging overdub dates) and some reverb and echo tricks, but the music mainly focuses on Henderson, Kuhn, and a couple of different bass/drum teams. Given the chemistry between the players, one imagines that an unadorned quartet album would have ranked up there with Joe’s Blue Note classics. However, weird mixes and spacy effects aside, it’s still a decent LP on its own. (At present, it’s only available in the complete Henderson Milestone box. It deserves a reissue by itself.)

For one thing, I think this is the definitive version of the title track, synth waves and all. Henderson moves all over the melody, from high, soft beams of light to lower caresses. The modernized “Good Morning Heartache” sounds great, too. The swinging head of “The Other Side of Right” paraphrases “In ‘n Out”, but for some reason, the reverberating mix dilutes the visceral sound the music undoubtedly had when it was played. Nevertheless, it’s interesting that half of the album is basically straight jazz with contemporary decoration.

The remaining tracks go in different directions. “Hindsight and Forethought” is two and a half minutes of free improv with keen Kuhn piano and a nice transition in the middle that may or may not have come from studio post-production. “Power to the People” updates the 1969 groove piece from the album of the same name. The synth throbs at the beginning are a little robotic, but keep listening, because the rhythm eventually flares up and Kuhn takes an outstanding piano solo. Last and probably least is “Amoeba”, nothing more than Henderson riffing on tenor over percussion and a Moog bass vamp. It sounds cool, though.

I’m split on the synths and studio effects. At times, they aid the music, and at other times, they water it down. It’s as if the basic quartet was about to open the door to the world, when the producer came running up and said, “You’re not going out without a coat on, are you?”
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Bass- David Friesen (tracks: B2) , J.-F. Jenny-Clark (tracks: A1, A2, A3, B3)
Congas, Percussion- Bill Summers
Drums- Daniel Humair (tracks: A1, A2, A3, B3) , Jack DeJohnette (tracks: B1, B2)
Piano- Joachim Kühn (tracks: All except B1)
Producer- Joe Henderson , Orrin Keepnews
Saxophone [Tenor]- Joe Henderson
Synthesizer- Patrick Gleeson (tracks: A1, A2, A3, B2)
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A1. Black Narcissus   5:07
A2. Hindsight and Foresight   2:39
A3. Power to People   12:31

B1. Amoeba   5:37
B2. Good Morning Heartache   6:56
B3. The Other Side of Right   7:16
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