From two great tenor sax players to another, today’s post focusses on Joe Henderson’s politically titled track ‘Power To The People’ from his album of the same name, released on Milestone in 1969. Mainly compromised of Henderson originals, this album was the first in a string of political albums Henderson released in the late 60s and early 70s which were inspired by an increased awareness of black issues and the Black Power movement which reached its peak at the beginning of the 70s.
After a successful early career on Blue Note, Henderson signed in the late 60s to Milestone Records. Power To The People was his third album for the label, an exploratory album which saw Henderson begin to fuse hard bop with the newly emerging ‘fusion’ style that was becoming increasingly popular at the time. With Miles Davis’ pioneering fusion experiments In A Silent Way (1969) and Bitches Brew (1970), jazz artists were looking to update their sound to appeal to a wider audience, incorporating influence from rock and funk and experimenting with electronic instruments (much to some critics disdain!).
On this album, Henderson’s backed by what Orrin Keepnews in the new liner notes refers to as ‘quite close to a perfect rhythm section’, with Herbie Hancock on keys, Ron Carter on bass and Jack DeJohnette on drums. This was Henderson’s first album to feature electric instruments, no doubt inspired by Miles’ recent decision to move electric, with Hancock and Carter swapping to electric counterparts of their instruments on several tracks.
Much like another favourite album of mine, Bobby Hutcherson’s Happenings (1967), Power To The People is an incredibly satisfying and varied listening experience from start to finish. From the dark, brooding opener ‘Black Narcissus’ to the driving intensity of ‘Afro-Centric’, from the swinging hard bop of ‘Isotope’ to the fiery ‘Power To The People’ and beautiful version of ‘Lazy Afternoon’, this album has it all.
‘Power To The People’ is arguably the album’s best track, a politically themed and urgent composition which sees Henderson and rhythm section in full swing, accompanied by trumpeter Mike Lawrence. The track opens with a infectious bass line and groove from DeJohnette on top of which Lawrence and Henderson double up on a catchy, Eastern-inflected melodic motif. Henderson takes a solo, all the while flirting with freer forms but nevertheless remains restrained. Lawrence follows with a soulful solo after which he fades into the background as the rhythm section come to the fore, with Hancock taking over solo duties on the Rhodes. The band then reunite over the original opening motif before gradually bringing things to a sombre close.
What’s particularly striking is the sound and style of this album. As Tom Moon has noted, Henderson and his fellow musicians manage to produce a different sort of fusion to the extreme fusion that would be released the following year by contemporaries such as Miles and associated acts like the Mahavishnu Orchestra. The music here is a more subtle and arguably complex take on jazz fusion where acoustic and electronic textures are skilfully combined and the more traditional musical forms of hard bop are embellished with hints of free jazz, rock and funk. As critics have noted, this more restrained approach was probably why this album never received the commercial success enjoyed by other fusion albums released around the same time.
It was only after signing to Verve in the early 90s that Henderson finally received the critical acclaim he deserved. Having lead and contributed to many a classic Blue Note album, commercial and more avant-garde offerings both included, and recording a string of particularly strong albums on Milestone, Henderson remained a consistent force in jazz throughout his career and continued to push boundaries whilst never losing sight of his swinging, hard bop roots.
For more music from Henderson and other great saxophonists, have a listen to our ‘Sax Machines’ Spotify playlist.
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