Joe Henderson on "No More Blues"

Jobim! — Tom Jobim International Airport (Wikimedia Commons)

After recording Lush Life and So Near, So Far for Verve in the early 1990s, Joe Henderson recorded Double Rainbow, a tribute to Antonio Carlos Jobim shortly before the composer passed away in December '94. The record features two bands: one authentic Brazilian band and one composed of Joe's esteemed jazz colleagues (Herbie Hancock, Jack DeJohnette, and Christian McBride). They play an aggressive, hard-swinging version of "No More Blues (Chega de Saudade)," the only swung tune on the record, which shocked me the first time I heard it; Herbie's comping behind Joe's solo is fiery and aggressive to the point of almost stepping on Joe's feet, and it's clear that Jack and Christian aren't holding back at all. They maintain this unwavering, unapologetically intense jam session vibe for the entirety of the track, which makes it stand out among the rest of the cuts on the record (I wonder how the band decided to play the tune this way, but it's great, if somewhat unusual, regardless).

Here's the transcription of Joe's solo:

Bb
C
Eb

* * * * *

Tonight is the night! I'll be playing my first gig in New York at Smalls Jazz Club with Kyle Poole's band; we'll doing a tribute to Four! (1968), the impeccable Joe Henderson live recording with the Wynton Kelly Trio. If you haven't checked out this record, you owe it to yourself to try to get a copy (or the companion disc from the same run, Straight No Chaser). We play at 12:30 a.m. Hope to see you there!