DAVE DAVIES, BYLINE: This is FRESH AIR. Mention of the label Blue Note Records will evoke a sound familiar to most jazz fans - pristine, warm, as if the greatest musicians of the '60s were playing in your living room. Yet very few live recordings exist of the stars from the label's golden era. But that's been changing. A new recording features two giants of jazz - McCoy Tyner and Joe Henderson - in concert from 1966. Guest jazz critic Martin Johnson says you can hear jazz changing in several ways.
(SOUNDBITE OF MCCOY TYNER AND JOE HENDERSON'S "ISOTOPE")
MARTIN JOHNSON: Throughout the history of jazz, there have been many famous duo collaborators - Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis and John Coltrane, Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, just to name three, and I'm sure avid jazz fans can add many more without a second thought. The partnership of pianist McCoy Tyner and saxophonist Joe Henderson may not be on the same level of those legends, but they did vital work together in the '60s. McCoy appeared on three of Henderson's first four recordings as a leader, and the saxophonist returned the favor on Tyner's "The Real McCoy," his debut recording for Blue Note and one of his best-loved albums. On the recently released "Forces Of Nature," you can hear their potent mix ignite in a New York landmark for great jazz in the' 60s and '70s, the gritty, long-gone club known as Slugs'.
(SOUNDBITE OF MCCOY TYNER AND JOE HENDERSON'S "IN 'N OUT")
JOHNSON: That's the tune "In 'N Out." Henderson is one of the greats of the post-war tenor saxophone, but in the mid '60s, he's the youngest member of that crowd. You can hear John Coltrane's thunderous emotions, Sonny Rollins' lean passion for playful melody and Wayne Shorter's naughty complexity. Henderson synthesized these influences into a unique sound. When paired with Tyner, who had recently completed a five-year stint with Coltrane, he found a perfect foil. Hear how the pianist stops framing the sax solo and pushes Henderson on "In 'N Out."
(SOUNDBITE OF MCCOY TYNER AND JOE HENDERSON'S "IN 'N OUT")
JOHNSON: By 1966, Tyner had redefined the role of the pianist as an accompanist, and that shines in this concert. But he also asserts a tender facility with ballads. On "We'll Be Together Again," he poignantly captures the sense of longing.
(SOUNDBITE OF MCCOY TYNER AND JOE HENDERSON'S "WE'LL BE TOGETHER AGAIN")
JOHNSON: 1966 is a pivotal time for jazz, and the music here shows mainstream jazz incorporating the open structures proposed by the avant garde wing while remaining in a straight-ahead vein. The up-tempo tunes are urgent and forceful. It's like the change from a comfortable drive in the city to a skittering race on a country road.
(SOUNDBITE OF MCCOY TYNER AND JOE HENDERSON'S "TAKING OFF")
JOHNSON: That's the tune "Taking Off." The recording features an ace rhythm section - bassist Henry Grimes, who was better known for his work with free jazz stalwarts, and drummer Jack DeJohnette. And it's the drummer who's responsible for the recording's existence. He had an engineer tape the event, and it was in his home archive. He rediscovered it a few years ago and set plans in motion for the release. DeJohnette is only 23 years old here and still very much in the throes of contemporary greats like Coltrane drummer Elvin Jones. But you can hear a distinctive voice emerging on these tracks. He would go on to play with Miles Davis, Keith Jarrett and build a formidable discography as a leader. Here's "The Believer."
DAVIES: (SOUNDBITE OF MCCOY TYNER AND JOE HENDERSON'S "THE BELIEVER")
JOHNSON: The music here is a prelude to iconic records by each leader. A few months after the concert, Joe Henderson recorded "Mode For Joe," one of his most beloved '60s disc, and Tyner recorded his album "The Real McCoy," his first for Blue Note and one of his best. After that, the two rarely work together again, making this document a winding down of a valuable alliance.
(SOUNDBITE OF MCCOY TYNER AND JOE HENDERSON'S "ISOTOPE")
DAVIES: Martin Johnson writes about Jazz for The Wall Street Journal. He reviewed "McCoy Tyner & Joe Henderson - Forces Of Nature: Live At Slugs.'" Coming up, film critic Justin Chang reviews Mike Leigh's new film "Hard Truths." This is FRESH AIR. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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