Power to the People

by Anthony Medici in Album Reviews, Musician Reviews, Uncategorized

If you were around in the 60s, you’ll remember the slogan, “Power to the People,” was very much in the air, and on the lips of every self-respecting radical (should I have put that word in quotes?), We didn’t quite know what it meant, but it felt right to say it (or yell it). We did know that we were telling several generation of rule-makers, those who set the rules that could send us off to war, to bugger off (to put it cleanly). Well, that was then; can anyone say it now without being laughed out of the room (or the convention hall?). Is that progress? Don’t know. Well, since this is a music blog, I’ll move on to the point of this post, which is the album jazz saxaphonist Joe Henderson recorded in May of 1969, capturing the spirit of the moment in its title, “Power to the People.”

It took quite a while for “”Power to the People” to migrate from album to CD (did the title scare off the successive record labels that controleed the tape vaults?). It was released as part of the Joe Henderson Milestone Years box set (8CDs, recently remaindered. I snapped up my set for $35, and it may still be available on the cheap. My advice: grab it if you find it!). It is now out as a Keepnews reissue, with excellent sound, moderate price, and intelligent liner notes by Orrin Keepnews, the legendary record producer.

The line-up is stellar for the most part: Herbie Hancock on piano and electric piano (already taking baby steps towards the fusion sound he would engage in for the better part of the next decade); Ron Carter on bass; and, Jack DeJohnette on drums. Only ill-fated Mike Lawrence on trumpet is out of his league and mostly ineffectual.

Some of the cuts on the album reflect the then-growing African-American political consciousness: “Black Narcissus;” “Afro-Centric;” “Power to the People.” Other cuts are less obvious: “Opus One -Point-Five;” “Isotope;” and, “Lazy Afternoon.” The final cut, “Foresight and Afterthought,” is a sax-bass-drums straight improvisation (a form Henderson would display to stunning effect in his “State of the Tenor.”

From the title, its apparent political concerns, and the period when it was recorded, one might expect the album to be loud, aggressive, “outside,” something in the vein of Archie Shepp, or early Pharaoh Sanders, or even late Coltrane. Instead, the music, while charged, is often deeply meditative, bemused, with more than occasional lyrical moments. Not that it lacks force; there is a real sense of potency in the music. If I had to personify this music, it would be Morgan Freeman in “The Shawshank Redemption.” If you’ve seen the movie, you’ll know what I mean. If you haven’t, you need to see it. The album captures a feeling of the moment, has a palpable atmosphere, a sense of communal feeling and urgency. I find this quality present in so much of the jazz of the 60s, and missing in so much jazz nowadays. The listener is pulled into this ambience and becomes merged in the moment.

For all its virtues, I don’t find that this album quite measures up to Henderson’s Blue Note masterpieces: “Mode for Joe,” “Inner Urge,” and “In ‘n Out.” For sake of comparison, I gave “In ‘n Out” a listen after spinning “Power to the People” a couple of times. The musicianship on the Blue Note album is of a very high caliber: Kenny Dorham on trumpet; McCoy Tyner on piano; Richard Davis on bass; and Elvin Jones on drums. Dorham in particular pushes Henderson to lofty heights (something Mike Lawrence could not do), while Tyner, not too far from his days with Coltrane, brings the sort of intensity that he infused into Coltrane sessions). “In ‘n Out” moves from strength to strength. It’s tight, it’s inventive. It shows why, for two decades, Blue Note was the standard of excellence in jazz recording. But whereas the Blue Note recording could belong to almost any of the musicians at the session, “Power to the People” feels more like Henderson’s own album; more personal, more intimate, closer to the artist. I’m glad it is now available again.