Joe Henderson – In Japan / Original Jazz Classics Audio CD 2000 / OJCCD-1040-2

UPC 090204915729

It's a recording of a 1971 in Tokyo, and it ranks right up there with the great live jazz recordings of Parker, Coltrane, Dolphy, Davis, Mingus and others. Henderson, backed by a group of Japanese musicians, blasts through 45 minutes of music that will leave you wondering why this release ever went out of print.
His solo entry on Monk's "'Round Midnight" sets the release off, and after pianist Hideo Ichikawa joins him, Henderson shows why why he's the best living saxophonist since Coltrane. He honks, he bleats, but he never loses the essential beauty of the tune. It's a wonderful tribute to Monk, equal to Coltrane's great solo on the tune while he was with Miles.
Throughout, the Japanese band mates prove equal to the task of playing with Henderson. Ichikawa, in particular, is powerful on electric piano, particularly on the set closer, "Junk Blues."
Henderson is the rare player who managed to listen to all of the major influences -- Parker, Young, Hawkins, Coltrane -- and absorb them all without losing his own voice. Thankfully, as of this writing, he is still with us. Everyone should listen to this release as a tour-de-force of tenor sax playing, released at a time when people were ready to dismiss jazz as a viable form. Not so quick, the Japanese said. They finally reminded us that some of our best products -- such as jazz and Joe Henderson -- are homegrown.

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