Recorded on January 30 - 31, 1973 and in February & April 1973
Joe Henderson's Milestone recordings remain grievously overlooked, especially compared with his Blue Note titles, which most fans regard as masterpieces. Let's look closely at just one year during Henderson's tenure on Milestone: 1973. Recording-wise, I wouldn't hesitate to describe the year as superb. Within a twelve-month period, he made three excellent LPs for Milestone: Multiple (mostly recorded in January); The Elements, featuring Alice Coltrane (recorded in October); and Canyon Lady (also recorded in October). I think two of these -- Multiple and Canyon Lady -- should be counted among the best albums that Henderson ever made. During the same year, Henderson also contributed as a sideman to several LPs that remain high points in the artist's discographies, including:
- Babatunde Olatunji - Soul Makossa (Paramount)
- Ron Carter - All Blues (CTI)
- Johnny Hammond - Higher Ground (Kudu)
- Flora Purim - Butterfly Dreams (Milestone)
- Charles Earland - Leaving This Planet (Prestige)
But has anyone ever lauded 1973 as a "banner year" for Joe Henderson? I don't think so. Has anyone ever hailed Multiple as "a masterpiece"? I'm not familiar with anyone who has, but I think it is!
Just take a look at that rhythm section. Larry Willis is fantastic on electric piano. Just a few years earlier, Dave Holland and Jack DeJohnette were the backbone of Miles' famous "Lost Quintet" and were already regarded as young giants. Percussionist Arthur Jenkins wasn't as well-known, but his credits tell the story. During the 1970s, he also appeared on albums by Sonny Rollins, Harold Vick, Charles Earland, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Hank Crawford, Robin Kenyatta, Ron Carter, Johnny Lytle, and many others. Obviously, saxophonists liked him.
The band is amazing, but Joe is the star of the show. He composed three of the five titles on the album, and he plays wonderfully. Listen to the opening cut, a ten-and-a-half minute track, titled "Tress-Cun-Deo-La." If that doesn't convince you, this album may not be your cuppa Joe.
One suggestion for those who have Henderson's The Milestone Years (Milestone, 1994) box set: Create playlists or burn CD-Rs that mirror the LPs, so you can listen to the music in the order that it was meant to be heard originally. I think the music on this set has much more impact if it's heard as it was originally programmed. In my experience, this is true for nearly all box sets that compile music from the LP era, but I think it's especially instructive in this particular case.
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