The State Of The Tenor (Live At The Village Vanguard Volume 1) - Joe Henderson (1LP Vinyl) [Tone Poet Series]
Product details
- Label Blue Note
- Artist Joe Henderson
- Series Tone Poet Series
- Format 1LP
- Country United States
- Released Date 2020
- Genre Jazz
- Sealed Yes
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The State Of The Tenor (Live At The Village Vanguard Volume 1) by Joe Henderson.
Few settings in jazz carry the weight of The Village Vanguard, and over three consecutive nights in November 1985, Joe Henderson stepped onto that small Manhattan stage to make a statement about the very instrument he had spent decades mastering. The result, captured across the evenings of November 14, 15, and 16, is a document of a tenor saxophonist working without a net, exposed and utterly commanding in the intimate acoustics of one of the world's most storied jazz rooms.
The album's title says it plainly: this is the state of the tenor as Henderson heard it, a survey of the horn's expressive possibilities rendered in real time before a live audience. There is nowhere to hide in this kind of setting, and Henderson leans into that vulnerability, letting his tone breathe and his phrasing wander with the confidence of a player who knows exactly where he is going even when the path looks uncertain.
Side A opens with "Beatrice," a piece whose lyrical warmth sets the tone for the evening, before the mood shifts into the darker corners of "Friday The Thirteenth." The side closes with "Happy Reunion," a title that feels apt for a performance rooted in the communal energy of live jazz, the sound of musicians and listeners sharing the same charged air in a cramped basement club.
Side B carries that momentum forward through "Loose Change" and the reflective "Ask Me Now," where Henderson's ballad instincts come to the fore, his lines unspooling with patience and a singer's sense of pause. The record concludes with "Isotope," one of his own most celebrated compositions, a fitting capstone that brings the set back to the sharp, angular writing that has long defined his voice as both a player and a composer.
Issued on Blue Note, the label whose name is practically synonymous with the golden age of the music, this release sits comfortably in a lineage of great live recordings the imprint has championed. It is a Blue Note release, with ℗ 1985 Capitol Records, LLC and © 2020 UMG Recordings, Inc.; Blue Note is a registered trademark of Capitol Records, LLC. The matrices in the runouts are etched, a small detail that collectors and pressing enthusiasts will appreciate when they hold the record up to the light.
For anyone drawn to the sound of jazz as it actually happens, the false starts and triumphs of live performance distilled into six tracks, this is essential listening. It is Henderson at the Vanguard, unaccompanied by studio polish, offering a masterclass in tone, taste, and the enduring art of the tenor saxophone.
Pressing Details:
Recorded live at The Village Vanguard, New York City on November 14, 15 and 16, 1985.
A Blue Note release; ℗ 1985 Capitol Records, LLC © 2020 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Blue Note® is a registered trademark of Capitol Records, LLC.
Matrices in runouts are etched.
Track Listing:
A1. Beatrice
A2. Friday The Thirteenth
A3. Happy Reunion
B1. Loose Change
B2. Ask Me Now
B3. Isotope
Artist: Joe Henderson
Format: 1LP
Genre: Jazz
Label: Blue Note
Catalog Number: B0031578-01
Series: Tone Poet Series
Release Year: 2020
Country: United States
Condition: Sealed (New)
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