The Elements (Joe Henderson album)
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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The Elements is an album by American saxophonist Joe Henderson, released in 1973 on Milestone.
History
1970 began a decade of discovery for Joe Henderson, a time to set aside the post-bop instrumentation and repertoire he was identified with and branch out into other realms. One of the most successful and challenging of these efforts that the Milestone label documented was the present four-part improvisation on the basic themes of "Fire", "Air", "Water" and "Earth". Assisting the tenor saxophonist was a group of sympathetic explorers--Alice Coltrane on piano and harp, violinist Michael White, bassist Charlie Haden, and percussionist Kenneth Nash. Latin American, Indian, and Native American strains enter the mix as Henderson applies the heat and mercurial invention of his more conventional work to these open-ended settings. While the music is enhanced with overdubbing in spots, the true magic of The Elements emanates from the musicians' collective genius at listening and responding to each other.
Track listing
All songs were composed by Joe Henderson.
- Side one
- "Fire" - 11:08
- "Air"- 9:50
- Side two
- "Water" - 7:31
- "Earth" - 13:07
Recorded on October 15 (2-3) and 17 (1, 4), 1973.
Personnel
- Joe Henderson - tenor sax, flute, alto flute
- Alice Coltrane - piano, harp, tanpura, harmonium
- Michael White - violin
- Charlie Haden - bass
- Leon "Ndugu" Chancler - drums (1, 4)
- Kenneth Nash - congas, North African Sakara Drum, bells, gong, percussion, flute (3), narrator (4)
- Baba Duru Oshun - percussion, Tabla
