(1982) One Entrance, Many Exits ***1/2

 

With: Joe Henderson (tenor saxophone), Mal Waldron (piano), David Friesen (bass), Billy Higgins (drums)
Record date: January 4, 1982

In the ’80’s Mal went to the States more often and stayed for longer periods over there. In the first month of 1982 he was still there and made a recording for yet another label: Palo Alto. He formed another great group also: this time it’s not Clifford Jordan but nobody less than the great Joe Henderson on tenor saxophone. There is David Friesen on bass, with whom Mal would make several duo albums and the good old solid Higgins on drums.

The record starts of with ‘Golden Golson’ which really reminds of Benny Golson’s classic ‘I Remember Clifford’. It’s a pretty straightforward effort with Henderson playing some changes and creating a sound that actually reminds one of Golson. A nice tribute. The title song is a duet between Friesen and Waldron and contains some more out playing. It’s like a conversation between the two without words with Friesen not just picking chords or notes but playing with possible sound effects from his bass too. It’s a very interesting duet with lots of silence used to create a weird kind of tension in the music. ‘Chazz Jazz’ is a solo effort and Henderson returns together with Higgins on ‘Herbal Syndrome’ which is really is one of the best songs of the album. With a very nice modal groove and Henderson returning to his regular sound this could have easily been on a classic Henderson Blue Note date. There’s a little Coltrane present here too. The lovely droning bowing bass by Friesen gives it a nice eastern feeling as does Henderson’s dissonance and overblows. The reading of ‘How Deep is the Ocean’ is lovely with Henderson’s excellent soloing and an inspired piece by Mal himself. Henderson just really shows these kind of standards are in his blood. The ease of his improvisation says it all. The closing piece is more of the same: a nice contemporary jazz song but nothing really surprising or shocking. For me that is the small downside on this album. When I saw the names present here I expected a little more excitement. Nonetheless the playing is excellent of course.

This was Mal’s only record for the American Palo Alto label. Copies on both vinyl and cd are widely available and both do not cost a lot of money. It’s definitely money well spend and is considered one of Mal's best records. Yet I miss a little a spark here and there. But that's my personal taste of course.