A brand new recording options pianist McCoy Tyner and saxophonist Joe Henderson in a live performance taped in New York Metropolis in 1966. The music here’s a prelude to later iconic information by every chief.
DAVE DAVIES, BYLINE: That is FRESH AIR. Point out of the label Blue Notice Information will evoke a sound acquainted to most jazz followers – pristine, heat, as if the best musicians of the ’60s have been taking part in in your front room. But only a few reside recordings exist of the celebrities from the label’s golden period. However that is been altering. A brand new recording options two giants of jazz – McCoy Tyner and Joe Henderson – in live performance from 1966. Visitor jazz critic Martin Johnson says you possibly can hear jazz altering in a number of methods.
(SOUNDBITE OF MCCOY TYNER AND JOE HENDERSON’S “ISOTOPE”)
MARTIN JOHNSON: All through the historical past of jazz, there have been many well-known duo collaborators – Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis and John Coltrane, Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, simply to call three, and I am certain avid jazz followers can add many extra with out a second thought. The partnership of pianist McCoy Tyner and saxophonist Joe Henderson will not be on the identical stage of these legends, however they did important work collectively within the ’60s. McCoy appeared on three of Henderson’s first 4 recordings as a frontrunner, and the saxophonist returned the favor on Tyner’s “The Actual McCoy,” his debut recording for Blue Notice and one in all his best-loved albums. On the just lately launched “Forces Of Nature,” you possibly can hear their potent combine ignite in a New York landmark for nice jazz within the’ 60s and ’70s, the gritty, long-gone membership often known as Slugs’.
(SOUNDBITE OF MCCOY TYNER AND JOE HENDERSON’S “IN ‘N OUT”)
JOHNSON: That is the tune “In ‘N Out.” Henderson is likely one of the greats of the post-war tenor saxophone, however within the mid ’60s, he is the youngest member of that crowd. You possibly can hear John Coltrane’s thunderous feelings, Sonny Rollins’ lean ardour for frolicsome melody and Wayne Shorter’s naughty complexity. Henderson synthesized these influences into a novel sound. When paired with Tyner, who had just lately accomplished a five-year stint with Coltrane, he discovered an ideal foil. Hear how the pianist stops framing the sax solo and pushes Henderson on “In ‘N Out.”
(SOUNDBITE OF MCCOY TYNER AND JOE HENDERSON’S “IN ‘N OUT”)
JOHNSON: By 1966, Tyner had redefined the function of the pianist as an accompanist, and that shines on this live performance. However he additionally asserts a young facility with ballads. On “We’ll Be Collectively Once more,” he poignantly captures the sense of longing.
(SOUNDBITE OF MCCOY TYNER AND JOE HENDERSON’S “WE’LL BE TOGETHER AGAIN”)
JOHNSON: 1966 is a pivotal time for jazz, and the music right here exhibits mainstream jazz incorporating the open constructions proposed by the avant garde wing whereas remaining in a straight-ahead vein. The up-tempo tunes are pressing and forceful. It is just like the change from a cushty drive within the metropolis to a skittering race on a rustic highway.
(SOUNDBITE OF MCCOY TYNER AND JOE HENDERSON’S “TAKING OFF”)
JOHNSON: That is the tune “Taking Off.” The recording options an ace rhythm part – bassist Henry Grimes, who was higher identified for his work with free jazz stalwarts, and drummer Jack DeJohnette. And it is the drummer who’s answerable for the recording’s existence. He had an engineer tape the occasion, and it was in his residence archive. He rediscovered it a number of years in the past and set plans in movement for the discharge. DeJohnette is barely 23 years outdated right here and nonetheless very a lot within the throes of up to date greats like Coltrane drummer Elvin Jones. However you possibly can hear a particular voice rising on these tracks. He would go on to play with Miles Davis, Keith Jarrett and construct a formidable discography as a frontrunner. This is “The Believer.”
DAVIES: (SOUNDBITE OF MCCOY TYNER AND JOE HENDERSON’S “THE BELIEVER”)
JOHNSON: The music here’s a prelude to iconic information by every chief. Just a few months after the live performance, Joe Henderson recorded “Mode For Joe,” one in all his most beloved ’60s disc, and Tyner recorded his album “The Actual McCoy,” his first for Blue Notice and one in all his finest. After that, the 2 hardly ever work collectively once more, making this doc a winding down of a helpful alliance.
(SOUNDBITE OF MCCOY TYNER AND JOE HENDERSON’S “ISOTOPE”)
DAVIES: Martin Johnson writes about Jazz for The Wall Road Journal. He reviewed “McCoy Tyner & Joe Henderson – Forces Of Nature: Reside At Slugs.'” Arising, movie critic Justin Chang critiques Mike Leigh’s new movie “Arduous Truths.” That is FRESH AIR.
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