Eddie Henderson
Realization / Inside Out
Anthology: Volume 2 - The Capricorn Years
Soul Brother
Although the Georgia-based Capricorn label was best-known for releasing The Allman Brothers, full marks to them for taking a punt on Herbie Hancock trumpeter, Eddie Henderson. Fans of the gloriously alchemical musings of
Mwandishi / Crossings / Sextant trilogy which features Henderson, will be familiar with the lengthy modal workouts interspersed with generous washes of Hancock’s echo-drenched Fender Rhodes and the occasional burst of Pat Gleason’s ARP-synth alien arabesques. The tumbling, chaotic components of 1973‘s
Realization never loses their way thanks to the simmering focus of Billy Hart and Return To Forever’s Lenny White's drumming.
1974’s
Inside Out holds the compositional reins a tad tighter than during
Realization. With the hook-laden title track sounding at times like a close cousin to
Headhunters’ Chameleon, Henderson is in a more playful mood, sneaking quotes from Gershwin’s
Rhapsody In Blue and
Bitches Brew’s Spanish Key. Elsewhere, sinewy themes snake through the bustling funkish undergrowth, with Henderson’s gorgeous tone alternating between wry lyricism and bellicose abstraction.
With broadly the same line-up as
Realization (with one-time Weather Report member, Eric Gravatt replacing White) there’s understandably a stylistic continuity bridging both albums. Building upon the dead-eyed certainty of Buster Williams’ bass lines, the ensemble pitch a rootsy jazz-funk skywards, audaciously parking it in a weirdly elliptical orbit between melody and structure, but never quite allowing those particular gravitational forces to hold sway entirely.
As a result these are dense, and at times, ambiguous albums that remain bizarrely accessible and all the way out-there all at the same time. Along with fiery contributions from Bennie Maupin, as Henderson’s trumpet swims out across a spacey, freeform ocean, this anthology is like discovering two brand new albums by
Mwandishi-period outfit, and if that prospect floats your boat, you should purchase this set without hesitation.
