Joe Henderson Question

Gheorghe · November 5, 2015

Needless to say I´m a big fan of Joe Henderson. From the first moment I fell in love with his playing. I think it was around summer 1978. I still didn´t know about all the musicians, and during summer ´78 there was a live concert on Austrian TV ORF 2, that´s when I started really to pay attention to him. IMHO he was a link between hard bop and post bop.....

Now my question: I saw him "live" on several occasions during that time, but can´t remember the others involved. I´m not sure if he had a regular touring band, or if he picked up musicians for tours.

I remember in late ´78 a concert and I´m sure the great Joanne Brackeen was on piano, but who could have been on bass and drums ????

On that concert on TV, it might have been also ´77, 78......, he had a longhaired bespectacled bass player who was a gas......

The, it might have been in the early 80´s once he had Tete Montoliu. On that Occasion I remember most people in the audience where disappointed with the Bassist and the Drummer. At one moment, Tete waved the bass player off and nailed things down playing the bass line himself with the left hand and everybody went nuts......

I tried to check out discographies but couldn´t find enough informations about the musicians he toured with during that time, late 70´s ......

If somebody here has better memories than me ?

soulpope · November 5, 2015

2 hours ago, Gheorghe said:

Needless to say I´m a big fan of Joe Henderson. From the first moment I fell in love with his playing. I think it was around summer 1978. I still didn´t know about all the musicians, and during summer ´78 there was a live concert on Austrian TV ORF 2, that´s when I started really to pay attention to him. IMHO he was a link between hard bop and post bop.....

Now my question: I saw him "live" on several occasions during that time, but can´t remember the others involved. I´m not sure if he had a regular touring band, or if he picked up musicians for tours.

I remember in late ´78 a concert and I´m sure the great Joanne Brackeen was on piano, but who could have been on bass and drums ????

On that concert on TV, it might have been also ´77, 78......, he had a longhaired bespectacled bass player who was a gas......

The, it might have been in the early 80´s once he had Tete Montoliu. On that Occasion I remember most people in the audience where disappointed with the Bassist and the Drummer. At one moment, Tete waved the bass player off and nailed things down playing the bass line himself with the left hand and everybody went nuts......

I tried to check out discographies but couldn´t find enough informations about the musicians he toured with during that time, late 70´s ......

If somebody here has better memories than me ?

In 1978 it`s a fair bet the bassplayer was Clint Houston .... and the drummer Billy Hart being a possibilty ....

Gheorghe · November 5, 2015

oh yes, thats quite possible. I remember the group was a gas.

And years later I saw JoBrackeen again and on that occasion I´m sure Clint Houston was on bass, I even remember it was scheduled as "Chet Baker-Joe Farrell" with the Rhythm-Section JoAnne Brackeen, Clint Houston and ........ah.......a Drummer....

Chet missed the gig, and so it was the Joe Farrell Quartet.

Back to Joe Henderson: Is it possible, that it was at the at the Audimax WU, in the 18th district ? I was there, and few weeks later was George Coleman with Hilton Ruiz, Ray Drummond and Billy Higgins. I remember that, because being some Kind of Ornette Coleman Freak I was eager to see Billy Higgins .

The next time I saw Henderson, it was in summer 1979 at Velden, but I don´t have any memories who was on p., b. and dm........, sure it was not JoAnne on piano

soulpope · November 5, 2015

1 hour ago, Gheorghe said:

oh yes, thats quite possible. I remember the group was a gas.

And years later I saw JoBrackeen again and on that occasion I´m sure Clint Houston was on bass, I even remember it was scheduled as "Chet Baker-Joe Farrell" with the Rhythm-Section JoAnne Brackeen, Clint Houston and ........ah.......a Drummer....

Chet missed the gig, and so it was the Joe Farrell Quartet.

Back to Joe Henderson: Is it possible, that it was at the at the Audimax WU, in the 18th district ? I was there, and few weeks later was George Coleman with Hilton Ruiz, Ray Drummond and Billy Higgins. I remember that, because being some Kind of Ornette Coleman Freak I was eager to see Billy Higgins .

The next time I saw Henderson, it was in summer 1979 at Velden, but I don´t have any memories who was on p., b. and dm........, sure it was not JoAnne on piano

No clue about the location and unfortunately neither reg Velden 1979 ....

Gheorghe · November 5, 2015

Thanks, Soulpope !

Anyway, I´m glad for any Kind of Infos about musicians that toured with Joe Henderson.

The most representative Album he recorded during that time, could be "Relaxin at Camerillo" with Chick Corea and Tony Dumas/Eddie Gomez on bass and "Tony Williams/Peter Erskine on drums, but that´s an All Star Thing, a touring band of that caliber would have costed a fortune........

Niko · November 5, 2015

Did you check this discography?

http://www.jazzdiscography.com/Artists/Henderson/JoeHenderson.php

There are two German concerts and a Dutch in late 1978 with the following band:

Joe Henderson (ts), Joanne Brackeen (p), John Lockwood (b), Danny Spencer (d)

no info on Velden 1979 but two weeks earlier and three days later (Ljubljana and Lugano), the band was

Joe Henderson (ts), Mal Waldron (p), John Lockwood (b), Makaya Ntoshko

in early 1981 in Vienna, the band was

Joe Henderson (ts), Tete Montoliu (p), John Lockwood (b), Mike Hyman (d)

while Velden 1981 had

Joe Henderson (ts), Chick Corea (p), Gary Peacock (b), Roy Haynes (d)

Niko · November 5, 2015

the band

Joe Henderson (ts), Joanne Brackeen (p), John Lockwood (b), Danny Spencer (d)

apparently evelved from

Joe Henderson (ts), Steve Erquiaga (g), Ratzo Harris (b), Mike Hyman (d)

via

Joe Henderson (ts), Joanne Brackeen (p), Ratzo Harris (b), Danny Spencer (d)

(that said: some details in the discography do not really make sense but we have some more people in there Lockwood, Spencer, Hyman... which are not exactly household names)

clifford_thornton · November 5, 2015

2 hours ago, Niko said:

no info on Velden 1979 but two weeks earlier and three days later (Ljubljana and Lugano), the band was

Joe Henderson (ts), Mal Waldron (p), John Lockwood (b), Makaya Ntoshko

Damn!

Niko · November 5, 2015

apparently, another lineup is more likely for Ljubljana, at least, this is stated by people who possess the tape / the LP that contains one track of the gig. The alternative is

Henderson / Waldron / Wayne Darling / Doug Hammond

links:

http://www.plosin.com/MilesAhead/Tapes.aspx?s=19790615

http://www.discogs.com/Various-Jazz-Na-Koncertnom-Podiju-Vol-4/release/3107244

fasstrack · November 5, 2015

I believe Fred Hersch was on some gigs with Joe Hen in the late 70's.

Gheorghe · November 6, 2015

Thank you very much, Niko. Thats really a lot of Infos. Now I´m sure that was the personnel from the late 78 gig.

About 1979, the strange Thing is that I might have noticed if it would have been Mal Waldron. The only Thing I remember is that I was late. Festival started Friday afternoon, and I had to drive a very old Citroen with 3 other freaks , hundreds of km down south to Velden, and in 79 there was no Highway, and most part of the streets was "Baustelle", and it was friday when everybody drives to Weekend.....,

so , I was late and caught only the last 2 or 3 tunes of Henderson, and couldnt concentrate so much since I was exhausted, especially when you consider that I was just 19 years old, had my car license only since 78 and had three drunken guys with me, the trip was Long, they had their bottles, that´s how things went if you didn´t have to drive yourself......

thank you too, fasstrack. Since I don´t know if it was actually Mal Waldron in 79, it is not impossible it could have been also Fred Hersch.

I remember only to piano Players: JoAnne, and Tete Montoliu, and nothing about 79, tough I remember every Detail of the other Groups, too bad I was to exhausted to really dig into the Henderson Group.......

soulpope · November 6, 2015

2 hours ago, Gheorghe said:

so , I was late and caught only the last 2 or 3 tunes of Henderson, and couldnt concentrate so much since I was exhausted, especially when you consider that I was just 19 years old, had my car license only since 78 and had three drunken guys with me, the trip was Long, they had their bottles, that´s how things went if you didn´t have to drive yourself......

those were the days ....

Mark Stryker · November 6, 2015

This television (I presume) broadcast is from that era. It's all on youtube in parts: Joe with Steve Erquiaga (g), Ratzo Harris (b), Mike Hyman (d).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYgPV8LU5GI

BillF · November 6, 2015

1 hour ago, Mark Stryker said:

This television (I presume) broadcast is from that era. It's all on youtube in parts: Joe with Steve Erquiaga (g), Ratzo Harris (b), Mike Hyman (d).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYgPV8LU5GI

Great clip! :tup

Gheorghe · November 9, 2015

@Mark Stryker: Thank you so much ! That´s it ! That´s the concert I saw on Austrian TV in 1978. Great memories come back. That´s when I became a fan of Joe Henderson. That was the beginning. Wonderful.

Thank you so much

musically : Gheorghe

EKE BBB · January 10, 2017

Here's a bunch of additional gigs in which Tete Montoliu played with Joe Henderson:

Date: December 24-26, 1976
Location: Jazz Cava, Terrassa, Spain
Label: [no known recording]

Joe Henderson (ldr, ts), Tete Montoliu (ldr, p), Eric Peter (b), Peer Wyboris (d)

December 24, night set. December 25, evening and night set. December 26, evening set.

According to El País (January 2 & February 6, 1977), a Catalonian tour with Joe Henderson was scheduled for the last days of December and for January 1977, but this (and several concerts in Madrid clubs) was cancelled due to an engagement at the Ronnie Scott's in London and some appearances in the Belgian, Dutch and Danish televisions. Cancelled engagement of the Tete Montoliu Trio at the Balboa Jazz club in Madrid, originally scheduled to start in January 18, included concerts with Slide Hampton, Pony Poindexter and Johnny Griffin

Date: January 26, 1981
Location: Vienna, Austria
Label: [radio broadcast]