The album ends with a version of “I’ve Got You Under My Skin.” When he doesn’t have another horn to play off, Henderson becomes a much more muscular saxophonist, and his tone on Tetragon is sharp and harsh, almost as aggressive as it was on Inner Urge four years earlier. The saxophonist only wrote one and a half tunes “The Bead Game” was a co-write with Lee Konitz. Carter contributed two, one of them a version of “R.J.”, first recorded on Miles Davis‘s E.S.P.

On those, Henderson and Ron Carter were joined by pianist Don Friedman and drummer Jack DeJohnette.

Three tracks came from the same September 1967 date that had produced “O Amor Em Paz,” and four more were recorded in May 1968. Tetragon, released later in the year, also took two sessions to assemble. It’s a good record, but blasting through eight tracks in 38 minutes like it does, it’s hard to shake the impression of a somewhat perfunctory effort. It’s hard-driving hard bop, with a ballad and a Brazilian piece to shift the mood. In addition to four originals, the group performs Miles Davis‘s “Nardis,” the standard “Without a Song,” Billy Strayhorn‘s “Chelsea Bridge,” and the Antônio Carlos Jobim/ Vinícius de Moraes composition “O Amor Em Paz.” Honestly, this music is very much in the vein of what Henderson had been doing at Blue Note, and it’s not even as adventurous as the material on Mode for Joe, his final album for them. Yes, eight tracks the tunes here are much shorter than they generally were on his Blue Note albums, with the opening “Mamacita” lasting a mere 3:24. It features Kenny Barron on piano, Ron Carter on bass, and Louis Hayes on drums throughout, with Mike Lawrence on trumpet and Grachan Moncur III on trombone on seven of its eight tracks. His debut for them, The Kicker, was recorded in August and September 1967, and released in January 1968. In 1967, Henderson left Blue Note after five years and five albums as a leader, and signed with the newly founded Milestone label. We’re back with the second day of our exploration of saxophonist Joe Henderson‘s catalog.

Joe henderson tetragon