Joe Henderson - Power to the People

Milestone 30130

Inexplicably ignored for years, Joe Henderson's populist-minded classic finally receives the royal reissue treatment with this 24-bit remastered edition. The disc is part of the newly launched Keepnews Collection, kindred to Concord's RVG series in inviting an original architect to revisit music he had a hand in shaping. Aside from the handy alliteration conveyed by its title, the series also allows Keepnews to pontificate at predictable length on his pivotal role in stewarding various sessions for his Riverside and Milestone labels. Modesty has never been among his virtues and the liner notes, while undeniably informative, soon falter through obfuscating self-referential excess.

Henderson was several years into his Milestone contract, creatively fresh and hungry for a hit record. He kept estimable company and the cast of sidemen borrows heavily from Miles' stable with the Davis dream team of Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Jack DeJohnette convening for the variety-spiced set. Trumpeter Mike Lawrence guests on the pair fusion-oriented cuts that contain the album's most politically charged titles. Carter and Hancock switch to electric instruments for those numbers, the pianist also plying Rhodes for the opening "Black Narcissus" where his keys tap the tonal mutability of a vibraphone and enhance the spatial depth of the piece. "Afro-Centric" works off a verdant modal vamp, the rhythm section irrigating a groove that blooms beneath the forward pull of Henderson's incessant tenor. The title track is similarly propulsive with Henderson once again rifling through an incisive array of trilling reed effects.

Carter is categorical throughout, his strings amplified in just the right proportion and his pellucid harmonic patterns flawless in execution. His lush ballad "Opus One-Point-Five" exposes Henderson’s amorous side, the saxophonist gliding through a solo that blends assertiveness with tenderness. DeJohnette propels and colors behind his kit, parsing the time with leonine rhythms that mirror the leader's blend of vigor and tractability. "Foresight and Afterthought" makes the most of a premature departure by Hancock, paring down to trio dimensions and exploring several freer episodes sans a formally stated theme. The edits separating segments are shoddy and intrusive, but Henderson compensates with a string of limber improvisations. Also on the docket is a jaunty incarnation of "Isotope," a tune from Henderson's Blue Note tenure, and a brief stroll through the breezy standard "Lazy Afternoon." Despite its militant, dashiki-garbed overtones, this music remains emblematic of the popular tastes of its period while still providing the players with the means to subtly push the envelope.

~ Derek Taylor