Customer Reviews

Power to the People

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This album is simply one of the greatest 50 jazz albums of all time. The fact that it is not in print in the USA is astounding, but thank goodness for this high-quality reissue.

Fans of Miles Davis' "In A Silent Way" and other works of early fusion -- particularly Miroslav Vitous' "Infinite Search," another recently reissued rarity -- should put this on their must-buy list. It's Herbie Hancock at the very peak of his Fender Rhodes period, when he was playing like Bill Evans on an electric instrument; Henderson himself is in top form; and the tunes range from the absolutely exquisite, yearning "Black Narcissus" (reminiscent of a golden-age Wayne Shorter composition) to the hard-charging title track, which is funky without straying into post-"Headhunters" wank-ola.

Soon after this album was released, "fusion" per se descended into more and more simplistic, synth-driven hackdom that seemed to forsake all the melodic subtlety of jazz for the pursuit of the groove and rock-music excitement. "Power to the People" stands alongside Miles' best work of the period as a milestone of a true fusion of the best of acoustic jazz with the added power and drive that electric instruments offered.

I once asked drummer Brian Blade what he'd been listening to lately. "'Black Narcissus,' over and over again," he replied. I knew just what he meant.

Joe Henderson, Tenor Sax; Herbie Hancock, Piano/Electric Piano; Ron Carter, Bass/Electric Bass; Jack DeJohnette, Drums; Mike Lawrence, Trumpet on a few tracks. The line-up alone should get alot of people's attention. The total time is about 43 minutes... and the music on this disc is out of this world... Isotope, Power To The People, Black Narcissus, Opus One-Point-Five, and more... this reissue from Comet Records (?) under the Fantasy Jazz aegis is highly recommended. All-stars at their best, which any fan of Joe, Herbie, Ron, and/or Jack must get in their collection.

Okay first of all forget the title. This is not a revolutionary free jazz diatrebe. What you get though (and nicely remastered with intelligent liner notes) is a classic fusion album along the vein of "In a Silent Way". This actually is closer to a Herbie Hancock album and has much of the same players as "The Prisoner", his album for that year which was rather uneven. However, "Power to the People" does not have those flaws. Nice ambient jazz work that still remains within a post bop tradition. Electric keyboards are used but piano also enters the mix. With Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Jack De Johnette, all Miles alumni you have a good thing going here and unlike much jazz fusion at the time or later on its not a bunch of flashy chops that is basically watered down rock trying to pass for jazz. Okay this is no "B-Brew" or "On the Corner" but as fusion it succeeds. Joe Henderson would later get into full blown fusion that was closer to jazz funk and then jump back to hard bop but "Power to the People" and the acoustic hard bop albums that preceeded it by Joe Henderson are part of the essential jazz roster.

Joe Henderson's mastery of the tenor saxophone and brilliance as a composer are the pillars upholding his legend, and "Power to the People" demonstrates this clearly for listeners. Herbie Hancock lent his faculties to this project and pulled off some very nice piano work for the session. In fact, the entire rhythm section on this album are veteran musicians themselves, including Ron Carter on bass and Jack De Johnette on drums.

"Black Narcissus" is a great opener for this album of thematic allusions to Africa and the African experience. "Afro-Centric" is as equally pleasant as the starter, with Henderson sweeping us up in the dazzling sounds of his horn. The title track is an emotive locomotive, with Henderson and company hitting those fast notes with precision and ease. All around a solid album that belongs in the collections of jazz fans everywhere.

Personnel:

Joe Henderson (tenor sax)
Herbie Hancock (piano and electric piano)
Ron Carter (bass and electric bass)
Jack De Johnette (drums)
Mike Lawrence (trumpet)

As you can imagine from the personnel listing, this record is similar to many others released in the late 60's and early 70's on the CTI label. It's Freddie Hubbard's "First Light" band, and they're terrific.

For people wondering who in the world trumpeter/flugelhornist Mike Lawrence is, I'm pretty sure it's Kenny Wheeler under a pseudonym. Seriously though, if this isn't Kenny Wheeler playing trumpet on this record, then some kind of voodoo is at work. It's uncanny.

Great record, though.

I don't like most fusion, but this album is a killer. Actually, the second half of this record is all-acoustic. But what ever it is, it should be in every drummer's collection--Jack D. is incredible (and very young) here. I disagree with another reviewer's guess that Mike Lawrence is Kenny Wheeler. But it is nice to see that everybody wants to give 5 stars (the big handful) for this one! Go, Go, Go, Joe!

I have my vinyl 12 inch record that I put to cassette using top flight equipment recorded without Dolby noise reduction for a truer flat response. Also get The Real McCoy, and Inner Urge.