Although pianist
Jon Ballantyne is the leader on this quartet outing and contributed four of the compositions, the Justin Time CD is very much
Joe Henderson's date. The always-distinctive tenor is in consistently passionate form and comes up with one rewarding and intense improvisation after another. The reissue (augmenting the original LP by a previously unissued version of
Ornette Coleman's "Blues Connotation") is highlighted by the
Monkish "BYO Blues" (the most memorable of
Ballantyne's originals), the cooking "You and the Night and the Music" and
The Coleman tune.
Ballantyne, whose style is influenced a bit by (but not imitative of)
McCoy Tyner, takes excellent solos of his own and works well with bassist
Neil Swainson and drummer Jerry Fuller, but one's attention constantly shifts during this postbop date to
Henderson, a true modern master. ~ Scott Yanow