This never-before-released 1966 live recording features four jazz legends at a key moment in the music's history, as well as in each of... their individual careers. Saxophonist Joe Henderson was already a stalwart of the Blue Note label by this time, with several now-classic albums under his belt as leader, as well as appearances on widely acclaimed records by Kenny Dorham, Grant Green, and Andrew Hill. McCoy Tyner had been the pianist on most of Henderson's albums up to this point, but hadn't yet released his own landmark Blue Note debut The Real McCoy, which would come the following year (with Henderson on sax). Bassist Henry Grimes was playing with celebrated avant-gardists like Albert Ayler and Don Cherry around the time of this recording, but a couple of years later would go missing, only to re-emerge over three decades later. Meanwhile, Jack DeJohnette was mainly known as the drummer in Charles Lloyd's wildly popular quartet (but of course would go on to play a key role in Miles Davis's electric bands, and then work with basically everyone).
Jazz in 1966 was being pulled apart at the seams (in a good way) by pioneers like John Coltrane, Cecil Tayor, and Ornette Coleman, each of whom was expanding the music's emotional terrain in their own way. Tyner had left Coltrane's ground-breaking quartet the year before this recording, but the maximalist style of expression he had helped develop in that group is clearly in evidence here, especially on the burning opener (a nearly half-hour version of the title track from a Henderson album he'd played on a couple of years prior).
Listening to this quartet, it's easy to hear why Miles would tap DeJohnette as the great Tony Williams' replacement a few years down the line. The energy he brings to proceedings (for example, on the up-tempo group composition "Taking Off") is ferocious!
It's a treat to hear these giants of 20th century music really stretch out in a live setting. show more
