Joe Henderson

Our Thing is the second Blue Note album by Joe Henderson, recorded in September 1963, three months after his debut Page One, and released in 1964. Once more the tenor saxophonist shares the front line with trumpeter Kenny Dorham, his frequent partner in those years. The two men wrote every tune between them, and the album finds hard bop opening up towards the freer harmony of the mid-1960s.

The session was held on 9 September 1963 at Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, produced by Alfred Lion. The rhythm section is what sets it apart from Page One: Andrew Hill on piano, with Eddie Khan on bass and Pete La Roca on drums. Hill's angular chords give the music a restless floor, never quite settling where the ear expects.

Henderson's Teeter Totter, over eight minutes long, opens briskly, its theme lurching like the see-saw of the title, and his title track is another up-tempo run. Dorham brought the other three pieces. Pedro's Time, more than ten minutes long, percolates over a Latin-tinged pulse. Back Road struts at a medium tempo, and Escapade closes the album in a lyrical mood. Henderson's tone is already his own, dark and supple, with phrases that twist away from the obvious resolution.

For AllMusic, Scott Yanow wrote that "even at this relatively early stage, Joe Henderson showed his potential as a great tenorman", and gave the album four and a half stars. The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings rated it four stars, and later CD editions added an alternate take of Teeter Totter. Henderson's next Blue Note album, In 'N Out, recorded in April 1964, again paired him with Dorham.

This Blue Note Classic Vinyl edition is stereo and all analogue, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal.