Joe Henderson Sextet, The Village Vanguard - April 24, 1985 First Set

The late great Joe Henderson remains one of my favorite saxophonists/jazz musician. His Blue Note albums from the 1960s included so many of Joe’s great compositions. It was a thrill and a privilege to see him live in the iconic Village Vanguard. This is one of two sets I saw. I will upload the second set as well. I was new to Fred Hersch when I saw this show, and I was so impressed by this then-30-year-old, who seemed to have absorbed McCoy, Herbie and a whole slew of other jazz piano giants, and mixed it into his own conception. Al Foster also impressed me beyond my expectations. I knew him from the 1970s Miles Davis bands, but this performance showed me a whole other more straight-forward jazz side of his playing. Ron Carter was his usual elegant nimble self throughout. Of course Joe Henderson was the main attraction, and he didn’t disappoint. In particular, his cadenzas (at 15:38 and 30:58) to begin and end Round Midnight were just marvelous. Seven months later, I saw Henderson, Carter and Foster again at the Vanguard, this time as a trio, which was recorded and parts of which were released on Blue Note as “The State of the Tenor“. Joe Henderson - tenor saxophone Fred Hersch - piano Pete Yellin - alto saxophone Curtis Fuller - trombone Ron Carter - bass Al Foster - drums. 00:00 introductions 00:34 A Shade of Jade (J Henderson) 15:38 Round Midnight (T Monk) 31:40 Relaxin’ at Camarillo (C Parker) I recorded this on a Sony Walkman Pro D6C with a Sony ECM-102 stereo microphone. Enjoy.