Joe Henderson: Caribbean Fire Dance

Joe Henderson recorded this Cedar Walton original as a testament to his growing interest in Latin jazz, an affinity that developed over the course of his life and culminated in Double Rainbow, his brilliant 1994 tribute to Antonio Carlos Jobim. Audiences had already heard Henderson experiment with Latin jazz, as in "Blue Bossa" and "Recorda-me" on his debut release, Page One. On Mode for Joe, Henderson provides an augmented front line, adding Fuller and Hutcherson to the ensemble. This allows for much richer textures, as in the polyphonic counterpoint of the melody. As in many genres of Latin music, relatively stagnant harmonic movement (here, the singular harmony of the vamp-like A sections) allows the improvisers freedom to inscribe their own structures above. It is evident from the four improvisations that the musicians took full advantage of that freedom here.