Joe Henderson, Dave Holland, Jack DeJohnette, Larry Willis: Multiple

Straightahead / Mainstream Jazz
premiera polska: 04.03.2022
kontynent: Ameryka Północna
kraj: USA
opakowanie: Jewelcaseowe etui
opis:
opis wydawcy
"Multiple" to niesamowity album dla fanów jazzu. Jeśli lubisz elektryczne zespoły Milesa Davisa, Mwandishi i Headhunters Herbiego Hancocka, wczesne albumy Eddiego Hendersona, albumy Freddiego Hubbarda CTI lub wczesne albumy Weather Report, spodoba ci się to. Joe Henderson - zdobywca nagród Grammy - jest absolutnie w czołówce wielkich saksofonistów tenorowych, a wszystko wydane pod jego własnym nazwiskiem jest zawsze interesujące.

allmusic.com
Multiple is a bellwether album for jazz fans. You can tell a lot about listeners' ear and where their tastes reside based on whether they're big fans of Multiple, indifferent toward it, or don't like it at all. Joe Henderson's career arc has three major nodes -- his hard bopping '60s era, his '70s fusion stint, and his later reincarnation as a Grammy-winning, critically acclaimed, standard-blowing sage. Of these three, Henderson's '70s run is often underappreciated or, in some cases, dismissed and even mildly maligned. The detractors are usually those with more traditional and, at times, stodgy ears. Hip cats -- "with-it cats," as they said in the '70s -- loved Multiple Joe, Afrocentric Joe, semi-militant Joe, grooving Joe, burnin' Joe. Multiple is probably Henderson's greatest album from this era and its fans share a cult-kinship. Whereas most fusion artists of the day were spiking their jazz with rock guitar and "elements" of funk, there was a certain set (Gary Bartz, for example) who offered concentrated, pungent funk. You won't find a bassline like Dave Holland's "Turned Around" on a Return to Forever album. It's the Multiple rhythm section (Holland, a maniacally drumming Jack DeJohnette, and pianist Larry Willis) that makes it such a nasty set. The album's classic cut, "Tress-Cum-Deo-La," doesn't walk or bop; it struts with a pronounced limp, like the fellas who swaggered up urban avenues with tilted fedoras. And then there's Henderson, blowing some of the most impassioned solos of his career. There's an activism to his phrasing; you could hear it on Sly Stone records, but you could feel it here. That songs as majestic as "Bwaata" almost feel like afterthoughts is a tribute to this album's thorough mean streak. Those ignorant to the import of Henderson's Milestone albums -- especially Multiple -- might scoff at such high praise for what is viewed by some as a nonessential album thrown into the Henderson discography. Such is life for the unhip.
by Vincent Thomas

jazzmusicarchives * * * * 1/2
Just like Mode For Joe is considered by many Joe’s best work in the 60’s, many think the same for Multiple for the next decade. Not much in common between the two (outside Joe himself, of course), but the latter was released in early 73 on the great Orin Keepnews-run label Milestones. Of course, like many others 60’s icons, by this time Henderson had also veered towards fusion, and this is a very convincing shot in that particular genre. Of course names like Larry Wallis or James Ulmer are instrumental (sort of speak, because some tracks are not)

Opening on the 10-mins+ magnum opus Tress-Cun-Deo-La, the fusion modal tone is set right from the first notes, and Joe’s dubbed vocals are surprisingly good. Wallis’ Rhodes is a major ingredient for the melting pot fusion, but Holland and DeJohnette’s contributions are definitely spicing the stew as well, though the much-quieter 11-mins sensual but too-lengthy Bwaata (JDJ’s composition) is giving it a sweet aftertaste as well.

On the flipside, Joe sings again (well he “chants”, really) in Song For Sinners, and just like in the Tress track, he invites a guitarist (this time John Thomas) and we find the modal trance once again. Holland’s Turned Around has a hard time living up to its predecessor’s spellbinding powers, but its much funkier nature compensates easily in energy what it lacks in finesse. The closing Among Others is offering a fairly dissonant soundscape over a pedestrian bass, but Wallis’ Rhodes smokes and soars in the stratosphere.

A magnificent album with no flaws (except the occasional length) where Henderson shows everyone that he’s still a force to be reckoned with in the 70’s. Obviously, his brief encounter with Blood Sweat & Tears left an indelible mark on him, while Wallis would join that very same combo after this album. You won’t find much better a JR/F album recorded during that decade.
by Sean Trane

muzycy:
Joe Henderson - tenor sax (1-5), soprano sax (1), percussion (1, 3), flutes (1), vocals (1, 3)
Larry Willis - electric piano, ring modulator, Echoplex
James Blood Ulmer (1), John Thomas (3) - guitar
Dave Holland - bass, electric bass
Jack DeJohnette - drums
Arthur Jenkins - congas, percussion

utwory:
1. Tress-Cun-Deo-La
2. Bwaata
3. Song For Sinners
4. Turned Around
5. Me, Among Others

wydano: Nov 9, 2006 (1973)
nagrano: Recorded at Mercury Sound Studios, New York City, on January 30 and 31, 1973, additional recording in February and April, 1973.

more info: www.concordmusicgroup.com