Paul Henderson

Within a refined setting of easy listening pop ballads and lightly funky up-tempo selections produced by Al McKay, Henderson proves himself an assured vocalist with mastery of clarity and phrasing. The problem here is the material isn't challenging enough – it's often formulaic and derivative of other early-'80s releases. Even a contribution from Stevie Wonder, "Crush on You," wanders into oblivion. But the singer's debonair tone and elegant, polished diction makes the weaker sound stronger. A perfect example is the mid-tempo "I'd Rather Be Gone," which suffers from a sleepy melody and clichéd rhythm arrangement.

In 1977 Henderson signed to Capitol and produced his “Coming Through” album. This featured the jazz funk classic “Say You Will”, highlighted by UK DJ Richard Searling as one of the top jazz funk tracks of all time in a recent edition of the UK Togetherness magazine. Background vocals were included for the first time courtesy of Patrice Rushen, Phillip Bailey, Mtume and a very young Dianne Reeves.

In 1977 Henderson signed to Capitol and produced his “Coming Through” album. This featured the jazz funk classic “Say You Will”, highlighted by UK DJ Richard Searling as one of the top jazz funk tracks of all time in a recent edition of the UK Togetherness magazine. Background vocals were included for the first time courtesy of Patrice Rushen, Phillip Bailey, Mtume and a very young Dianne Reeves.

Taken from the same live session that resulted in Verve's Four, this set (which was released for the first time in 1996) matches the great tenor Joe Henderson with the former Miles Davis rhythm section of pianist Wynton Kelly, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Jimmy Cobb. Although Henderson had not played with the other musicians before, they blend together quite well and obviously inspired each other. In addition to a variety of standards, the quartet also performs a couple of then-recent songs ("Days of Wine and Roses" and "On a Clear Day [You Can See Forever]"), the ancient "Limehouse Blues," and Miles Davis' "Pfrancing."

An excellent document of how the rawer soul jazz spiritualism of the early 70s smoothed out to become the spacey mellow fusion of the late 70s. The players all have their jazz funk chops – and include Paul Humphrey, Herbie Hancock, Bennie Maupin, and Bill Summers – and they've taken years at their craft to perfect their interplay in a subtle fashion, without the heavier full-on message of earlier days. Skip Drinkwater's producing the set – and as on some of his best work from the time, he manages to give the whole thing a smooth sound, yet still retain a lot of the soul. Lots of nice grooves, with almost a Larry Mizell feeling to them.

Dusty Groove

Originally released in 1976, this smoothly accomplished set features the trumpeter Eddie Henderson accompanied by many stars of the `70s jazz-fusion scene, including the pianist Patrice Rushen, the drummer Billy Hart, and the trombonist Julian Priester. On such tracks as the opening "Inside You" and "Acuphunture," the collection leans towards Headhunters-style jazz-funk (various members of that outfit are also present), recalling a somewhat more commercial late-period Miles Davis.