Tenor saxophonist
Joe Henderson recorded consistently for over four decades, starting with his early-'60s Blue Note sides through the Milestone years in the '70s and (along with
Dexter Gordon) as elder statesmen of jazz in the '80s and early '90s. With so much quality material to choose from, the annotators of
The Definitive Joe Henderson had their work cut out for them. The massive scope encompasses reworking of
Strayhorn and
Jobim tunes, straddling the avant garde, especially on the
Sam Rivers composition "Beatrice," and blowing hard bop with
Lee Morgan,
Kenny Dorham, and
Curtis Fuller. As a primer for those not familiar with this material,
The Definitive Joe Henderson will leave you wanting to hear more. ~ Al Campbell