Baptiste Brings Fresh Belief To Joe Henderson's Hefty Hard-Bop Canon

Introducing ‘Inner Urge’, saxophonist Denys Baptiste half-jokingly complains, “It’s really hard!” He’s not wrong. Focusing on the string of classic albums tenor titan Joe Henderson made for Blue Note from his 1963 debut Page One through to 1966’s Mode For Joe, tonight’s show reminds how the ‘hard’ in hard bop refers not just to muscular firepower but also to the fiendish complexity of some of the compositions – and especially Henderson’s. 

Pieces like ‘Jinrikisha’ are a perfect illustration, with Baptiste and trumpeter Byron Wallen navigating the tricky, geometrical head in perfect unison before the whole band slides into a deep, nocturnal swing. Wallen is on top form throughout, with a tough yet tender tone and phenomenal chops that make him ideal to occupy the role that Kenny Dorham inhabited as Henderson’s second horn for much of the period. Pianist Bruno Heinen – alternating between acoustic and electric keyboards – builds strangely blocky, Monkish solos that feel more like architectural constructions than linear storytelling, while drummer Rod Youngs succeeds in exuding a vibe that is both fiercely intense and laid-back at the same time, dropping into fathomless vamps punctuated with sudden snare and cymbal rifle cracks.

During a funky take on ‘Short Story’, from 1964’s In 'n Out, the band drops down to a heated sax/drum face-off, with Youngs whooping with sheer delight. But, despite the bandstand exuberance on display, Henderson’s stellar compositions are the star of the show: with its pinging bassline and sighing, end-of-the-world melancholia, ‘Black Narcissus’ (which makes an appearance despite not strictly fitting the chronology) must surely dwell in the same zone of perfection as Coltrane’s ‘Naima’. Wrapping things up with ‘Inner Urge,’ Baptiste proves that he’s the equal to these devilishly ‘hard’ tunes, unleashing a stupendous solo of cascading sheets of sound that brings to mind his 2017 tribute to Coltrane, The Late Trane. This Henderson celebration is a hugely entertaining project that seriously needs to be recorded.