BLP 4140

Joe Henderson - Page One

Released - September 1963

Recording and Session Information

Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, June 3, 1963
Kenny Dorham, trumpet; Joe Henderson, tenor sax; McCoy Tyner, piano; Butch Warren, bass; Pete La Roca, drums.

tk.6 Recorda-Me (Remember Me)
tk.12 Jinrikisha
tk.14 Blue Bossa
tk.18 La Mesha
tk.20 Out Of The Night
tk.25 Home Stretch

Session Photos

Photos: Francis Wolff

Track Listing

Side One
Title	Author	Recording Date
Blue Bossa	Kenny Dorham	03 June 1963
La Mesha	Kenny Dorham	03 June 1963
Homestretch	Joe Henderson	03 June 1963
Side Two
Recorda Me	Joe Henderson	03 June 1963
Jinrikisha	Joe Henderson	03 June 1963
Out of the Night	Joe Henderson	03 June 1963

Liner Notes

JOE HENDERSON was born in Lima, Ohio, on April 24, 1937. Lima is fifty miles south of Toledo. Ohio, sixty miles north of Dayton, Ohio, sixty miles east of Ft. Wayne, Indiana, and about a hundred and twenty miles from Detroit — which is probably the reason why Joe went to Detroit to live and study.

He finished high school in Lima, and gives credit to a home town drummer, John Jarette, who advised him to listen to musicians like Lester Young, Dexter Gordon, Stan Getz and Charlie Parker, among others. Getz was the one who got through to him first because of his sound, taste and simplicity; however, later, Charlie Parker become his greatest inspiration.

There were a couple of piano players around Lima who gave him a working knowledge of the piano, namely Richard Patterson and Don Hurless. They were older fellows who went to school with his older brothers and sisters. Incidentally, there were fifteen brothers and sisters, and there being no night baseball or T.V., this might have possibly accounted for such a large family.

Joe’s first saxophone teacher, Herbert Murphy, was responsible for his embryonic understanding of the instrument. Joe was still in high school, and he did quite a bit of writing for the school concert band and also for various “rock” groups that came through Lima.

"I’d like to dedicate this first album of mine to my mother and father, Joe Henderson told me, for being so understanding and tolerant during my formative years. Also, my older brother James T. encouraged me to go to college to cultivate the talent he thought I had. I went to Kentucky State College for one year, then to Wayne University in Detroit where I met Yusef Lateef, Hugh Lawson, Donald Byrd and all the other motor city musicians."

In Detroit, Joe studied with Larry Teal at the Teal School of Music, learning theory, harmony and the finer points of saxophone playing. He also studied flute and string bass at Wayne University. During the latter part of 1959, he formed his own group. Prior to his army induction, he was commissioned by "UNAC", an organization similar to NAACP or the Urban League, to do a suite called Swing and Strings which showcased some originals arranged by him, played by an orchestra comprised of ten members from the Detroit Symphony Orchestra combined with the local dance band of Jimmy Wilkins, the brother of Ernie Wilkins.

1960 found Joe Henderson in the United States Army Band at Fort Benning, Ga. He had competed in the army talent show and won first place with a 4 piece combo, which qualified him for the all army entertainment contest. Later he was chosen at Fort Belvoir. Virginia, to tour with a show around the world to entertain troops. He is thankful to Miss Margaret Lynn, a civilian in charge of the contest. Thu tour led him to Õkinawa, Korea, Japan, Panama, Italy, Spain, Germany, France, England and other countries. While in Paris, he sat in with Kenny Clarke and Kenny Drew.

In the late summer of 1962, a bearded young 25 year old tenor saxophonist, slight of build, with might in his fingers, rolled into New York town in a sleek black Mercedes-Benz. He was just discharged from the United States Army in Maryland where he had concluded a two year hitch. The first stop was at a party at o friends’s place (saxophonist Junior Cook) where I was introduced to this bearded, goateed astronaut of the tenor sax. Later I suggested that we go down to see Dexter Gordon who was headlining the Birdland Monday night “Jazz Jamboree”. Boarding the “A” train, we were at 52nd Street and Broadway some twenty five minutes later. Once inside Birdland, Henderson was introduced to one of the “swingingest swingers" in jazzdom’s history, Dexter Gordon. “Long tall Dexter" asked the young man if he’d like to play some.

Minutes afterword, the musical astronaut was on the launching pad and the count down was in progress with a three man crew (rhythm section) behind him. There was a thunderous (Art Blakey type) roar from the battery man, and the saxophonist was off and soaring his (lyrical) way to new heights on a Charlie Parker blues line. At the end of the chorus (and I do mean 15 to 20), there was a warm and exhilarating applause for Joe, and as for Dex, sitting on the side, he looked "gassed".

Blue Bossa — a mystic Kenny Dorham original with an authentic feeling of melancholy and buoyancy, an easy structure to follow, has one of the best of Joe Henderson’s solos.

La Mesha — a 16 bar ballad named after my three year old daughter. The saxophonist deviates from the melody gradually in his second chorus, and is completely uninhibited in the third chorus. There’s a long ad lib piano intro in the beginning, with the tempo only suggested in the piano’s last few bars.

Homestretch — up tempo, 12 bar B-flat blues line of the type which jazz men play when coming off the stand, concluding a set or evening. Nothing more than a blues — lively and invigoroting, horizontal improvising, concluding with a repetition of the original "double play" of the first 12 bars.

Recorda-Me — which in Portuguese means "remember me", is a 16 plus 16 bar composition which was written by Joe Henderson in 1955 right after he came out of school. It is a Bossa Nova tune using jazz techniques in design which maintain the Brazilian feeling and buoyancy.

Jinrikisha — is a Chinese cart used to pull people along. It is, in places, Oriental in sound, and might make one think of the “Dragon Lady”. Joe, the young demon of the saxophone, really gives this one a workout and displays a different angle of vertical improvisation.

Out Of The Night — written in 1957, is a twelve bar funky minor blues with a tag on the end. It hos a mystic chorus to it where its “pedal points” (or points of rest) ore major 7th half diminished chords, except far at the end where there is that dark minor chord reminiscent of “blue notes” or "night".

Pete La Roca, out of New York City, is 25 years old and attended Music and Arts High School. He storied on drums around 1948 in high school, and continued through two years of college at CCNY. Pete hos played with Getz, Slide, Rollins, Coltrane and myself. He is at some of his very best in this album. An enjoyable experience.

Butch Warren of Washington, D.C., who made his debut in New York with me in 1958, is 24 years old. Butch recently recorded “Una Mas" with the Kenny Dorham Quintet on Blue Note BLP4127. He is especially at home on Bossa Nova, blues and up-tempos, and is the very best bassist I know of, in his age bracket.

McCoy Tyner of Philadelphia, in 1957, while only 18 years old, was recommended to Max Roach while Max was working of the Showboat. When Tyner walked on the bandstand after an introduction to Rollins, myself and George Morrow, Max asked him if he knew Just One of Those Things, and he said yes. He must hove really meant “yes" because when he finished playing everyone was “gassed”. Listen to him on the Jinrikisha and Homestretch open choruses, as well as on Out of the Night. Just listen. Surely one of the greatest young pianists in jazz (year for year).

Here’s hoping that the young gentleman from Lima, Ohio, con cash in on all of his wonderful talents — his arranging, composing and tenor “saxophoning" extraordinary. Here’s hoping that his skies remain blue and his horizon clear, and that he receives his due, and that all who hear him will support the boy from Soulsville”.

Joe Henderson is the name. Playing saxophone is his game. After a double listen to this one, the writer is convinced that year for year, this is indubitably one of the most musical young saxophonists to show since Charlie Porker.

McCOY TYNER performs by courtesy of Impulse Records. Cover Photo by FRANCIS WOLFF Cover Design by REID MILES Recording by RUDY VAN GELDER —With music in mind KENNY DORHAM Users of Wide Ronge equipment should adjust their controls for RIAA curve.

RVG CD Reissue Liner Notes

A NEW LOOK AT PAGE ONE

Kenny Dorham was a multi-gifted man, and this album displays Several of his gifts. His eloquence on the trumpet, which has finally received some of the respect it deserved in recent years, tan be heard on each of the six tracks. Dorham was also a brilliant composer as well as one of the very best at orchestrating melodies for a small group, and helped write the book for modern combo arranging as an original Jazz Messenger. His music writing is represented here by the immortal "Blue Bossa" and the haunting short-form ballad "La Mesha" (the latter a 20-bar affair, to correct a misstatement in the original liner notes). As a prose writer, Dorham reviewed records briefly for Down Beat, which also published an excerpt from his unfinished autobiography. These liner notes are Dorham's, and they add to our feeling for his warmth, wit and intelligence.

Then there is Kenny Dorham the talent scout, who encouraged and championed an untold number of young musicians in his three decades on the jazz scene. He mentions introducing Butch Warren to New York audiences in the liner notes, and could make the same claim for two of the bassist's mates in the 1960 Dorham quintet, Charles Davis and Steve Kuhn. Herbie Hancock and Tony Williams partnered up on a Dorham recording session, Una Mas from April 1963, several weeks before their more fateful union in the Miles Davis quintet. And no musician benefited more clearly or deservedly from Dorham's coat-pulling efforts than Joe Henderson, who made his Blue Note debut on Una Mas, then found himself back at Rudy Van Gelder's studio with Alfred Lion in the booth for Grant Green's Am l Blue? in May before cutting the present album, Henderson's own bow as a leader. The results he achieved here were so impressive, and the resulting need to highlight this then-unknown tenor saxophonist so compelling, that Page One was issued prior to Dorham's date.

So Page One is actually the second of what would ultimately be five classic Henderson/Dorham quintet albums, recorded for Blue Note over a 17-month period and issued under one or the other's name. The pair, who were also part of the Andrew Hill sextet that cut the equally classic Point Of Departure, sustained a working partnership into the late '60s that also found them fronting a rehearsal band in New York and making occasional road trips with a small group. This writer was fortunate enough to hear a 1966 edition of the Dorham/Henderson quintet at Boston's Jazz Workshop, and fondly recalls the exceptional sound of their two horns and the bulldozer impact of Henderson, who had also been heard as a regular touring member of Horace Silver's quintet at that point. The singular tone, attack and mix of decorative detail and furious flurries heard here quickly stamped the saxophonist as a major tenor voice of the new transition (bop-to-free, rather than the swing-to-bop of two decades earlier). Of course, Henderson and Dorham were still playing "Blue Bossa" and "Recorda Me," the compatible classics that were introduced on this album, as well as other tunes from their recordings.

One aspect of the Dorham / Henderson discography that is especially fascinating is the way in which they assembled distinctive rhythm sections for each album. While no two of the five dates features the identical supporting cast, four musicians (the three heard here plus Richard Davis) appear twice. Warren was also on Una Mas, La Roca returned for Henderson's Our Thing, and Tyner made the Henderson date In 'n' Out. These players were not so much interchangeable as extremely compatible, creating a distinctive foundation for the music determined by the collective sound and sense of time generated by each specific trio. This unit sounds especially relaxed, and offers a warm and more intimate slant on innovations that Tyner was busy uncovering as a member of the John Coltrane quartet. After appearing on three Freddie Hubbard Blue Note albums in 1960 and '61, Tyner had signed a contract with Impulse! (Coltrane's label), which explains the listing of four musicians and "Etc." on the front cover. This first reappearance on Blue Note was the start of a slow but sure move back into the Lion orbit that led Tyner to more important sideman work with Henderson, Wayne Shorter and several others, and ultimately to his own recording contract and the similarly timeless The Real Mccoy (with Henderson on tenor) in 1967.

-Bob Blumenthal 1999

Blue Note Spotlight - September 2013

http://www.bluenote.com/spotlight/joe-hendersons-auspicious-page-one/

On October 28, 1990, the San Francisco Jazz Festival presented tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson and tabla player Zakir Hussain in one of its renowned Sacred Space concerts at Grace Cathedral, the stained glass Gothic place of worship on Nob Hill. During the sublime show, Henderson left the stage and, unbeknownst to the audience, ascended to an upper level of the cathedral and reappeared in a passageway opening in the back. There he rejoined his duo partner from on high as the startled crowd turned around and saw him with a spotlight trained on his tall, slender body. It was an awe-inspiring moment where Henderson appeared as a god-like figure majestically and buoyantly praying on his boldly rich tenor. This took place shortly before his career was resurrected with a series of critically acclaimed albums in the ‘90s and a little over a decade before he died at the age of 64.

Henderson’s illustrious recording life began in the early ‘60s with Blue Note. He launched as a leader in 1963 with his Blue Note debut, Page One, a remarkable quintet session featuring trumpeter Kenny Dorham, his collaborator, who contributed two originals to the six-track album as well as penned the liner notes where he claimed the “goateed astronaut of the tenor sax” was “one of the most musical young saxophonists to show since Charlie Parker.” It was high praise that Henderson fully exhibited on Page One, which included the stellar rhythm section of bassist Butch Warren, drummer Pete LaRoca and pianist McCoy Tyner, who is referred to as “etc.” on the album cover since he had just signed a contractual record deal with Impulse!.

The hard bop-steeped album not only opened ears in the jazz world to Henderson’s ebullient tenor saxophone voice, but it also helped to establish him as a go-to session man for other Blue Note recordings, most notably classic albums by Horace Silver (Song for My Father), Lee Morgan (The Sidewinder) and Andrew Hill (Point of Departure), all released in 1964.

Page One opens with a Dorham doubleheader: the upbeat, bossa-tinged “Blue Bossa,” where the trumpeter and tenor play the infectious lead with harmonic beauty before Henderson delivers a smoky, spirited solo, and the balladic “La Mesha,” played with soulful tenor grace.

The rest of the album features Henderson’s impressive originals including the driving blues “Homestretch” with fiery solos by both front-liners as well as a rollicking break by Tyner and a splashing drum run by LaRoca, and the swinging “Jinrikisha” that Henderson sings through with his energetic tenor improvisations. The highlight of the collection is Henderson’s bossa-tinged “Recorda Me,” not only a jazz standard today but also a tune that he never tired of playing, evidenced by him keeping it in his repertoire throughout his leader days. Page One closes with the blues creeper, “Out of the Night,” brilliantly swung into action by the rhythm team and showcasing arguably the strongest Henderson improvisational stretch.

Page One is Henderson’s “Call me Ishmael,” the auspicious beginning of the tenor saxophonist’s heralded narrative of top-tier jazz.

Blue Note Spotlight - February 2021

http://www.bluenote.com/spotlight/joe-henderson-kenny-dorham-a-profound-pairing/

Kenny Dorham was a multi-gifted man, and Page One—the 1963 debut by Joe Henderson—displays several of his gifts. His eloquence on the trumpet, which has finally received some of the respect it deserved in recent years, can be heard on each of the six tracks. Dorham was also a brilliant composer as well as one of the very best at orchestrating melodies for a small group, and helped write the book for modern combo arranging as an original Jazz Messenger. His music writing is represented on Page One by the immortal “Blue Bossa” and the haunting short-form ballad “La Mesha.” As a prose writer, Dorham reviewed records briefly for DownBeat, which also published an excerpt from his unfinished autobiography. The original liner notes for Page One are Dorham’s, and they add to our feeling for his warmth, wit and intelligence.

Then there is Kenny Dorham the talent scout, who encouraged and championed an untold number of young musicians in his three decades on the jazz scene. He introduced Butch Warren to New York audiences, and could make the same claim for two of the bassist’s mates in the 1960 Dorham quintet, Charles Davis and Steve Kuhn. Herbie Hancock and Tony Williams partnered up on a Dorham recording session, Una Mas from April 1963, several weeks before their more fateful union in the Miles Davis quintet.

And no musician benefitted more clearly or deservedly from Dorham’s coat-pulling efforts than Henderson, who made his Blue Note debut on Una Mas, then found himself back at Rudy Van Gelder’s studio with Alfred Lion in the booth for Grant Green’s Am I Blue? in May before cutting Page One, Henderson’s own bow as a leader. The results Henderson achieved here were so impressive, and the resulting need to highlight this then-unknown tenor saxophonist so compelling, that Page One was issued prior to Dorham’s date. So, it was actually the second of what would ultimately be five classic Henderson/Dorham quintet albums, recorded for Blue Note over a 17-month period and issued under one or the other’s name. (The pair were also part of the Andrew Hill sextet that cut the equally classic Point of Departure in March 1964)

One aspect of the Dorham/Henderson discography that is especially fascinating is the way in which they assembled distinctive rhythm sections for each album. While no two of the five dates features the identical supporting cast, four musicians (the three heard here plus Richard Davis) appear twice. Warren was also on Una Mas, La Roca returned for Henderson’s Our Thing, and Tyner made the Henderson date In ‘N Out. These players were not so much interchangeable as extremely compatible, creating a distinctive foundation for the music determined by the collective sound and sense of time generated by each specific trio.

The unit on Page One sounds especially relaxed and offers a warm and more intimate slant on innovations that Tyner was busy uncovering as a member of the John Coltrane quartet. After appearing on three Freddie Hubbard Blue Note albums in 1960 and ’61, Tyner had signed a contract with Impulse! (Coltrane’s label), which explains the listing of four musicians and “Etc.” on the front cover. This first reappearance of Blue Note was the start of a slow but sure move back into the Lion orbit that led Tyner to more important sideman work with Henderson, Wayne Shorter and several others, and ultimately to his own recording contract and the similarly timeless The Real McCoy (with Henderson on tenor) in 1967.