Joe Henderson: Mode For Joe (Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series) [BLUE NOTE]

Why you'll love it

This Classic Vinyl Series edition is cut by Kevin Gray from the original analog tapes onto 180g vinyl. AllMusic gives the album 4.5 stars and calls it modern jazz at its best.

This edition

• Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series
• 180g vinyl
• Mastered by Kevin Gray from the original analog tapes
• Pressed in Germany
• Stereo mix

About the album

Joe Henderson usually led a quartet or quintet. For this date he went bigger, assembling a seven-piece band that reads like a who's who of mid-60s Blue Note: Lee Morgan on trumpet, Curtis Fuller on trombone, Bobby Hutcherson on vibes, Cedar Walton on piano, Ron Carter on bass and Joe Chambers on drums.

The extra horns and Hutcherson's shimmering vibraphone give the record a rich, layered sound, and Henderson's tenor cuts right through it. "A Shade of Jade" opens with a twisting, modal theme, Walton's title track and his moody "Black" stretch out beautifully, and "Caribbean Fire Dance" rolls along on a lilting rhythm. Morgan's "Free Wheelin'" closes with a bluesy strut, and "Granted" gives everybody room to take a turn. Every one of the six pieces runs past six minutes, so the soloists are never rushed.

It turned out to be Henderson's last studio album as a leader for Blue Note, and it still sounds like a band at the height of its powers. Seven of the label's finest in one room, which must have made finding enough chairs the toughest job of the session.

Also at Kops: more Joe Henderson on vinyl · browse Classic Jazz

Tracklist

Listen

On Blue Note (cat# 5524256), a reissue of the 1966 album.