Joe Henderson - Tetragon (2026 Milestone/Jazz Dispensary Vinyl LP)

Joe Henderson Quartets - Tetragon | Vinyl LP - 2026 Jazz Dispensary Top Shelf Series 180g (CR00968, Kevin Gray/Cohearent Audio)

Orrin Keepnews signed Joe Henderson to Milestone after Henderson's Blue Note years ended, and Tetragon was the second album from that relationship. The unusual structure — two separate but sonically related quartets recorded six months apart at the same studio — was Keepnews' idea. He asked Henderson in the liner notes whether the different rhythm sections had changed his playing. Henderson's answer was that Friedman had a more romantic approach, Barron something harder-driving, but that the presence of Ron Carter throughout held both sessions together.

Ron Carter plays on all seven tracks and contributed two compositions. "R.J." was named for his son; "First Trip" is similarly personal. Henderson wrote "The Bead Game" (eight minutes, free, no apparent melody) and the angular title track. "Invitation" — by Bronisław Kaper, the Polish-born film composer whose jazz standards have been recorded repeatedly — opens Side A. "I've Got You Under My Skin" closes the record. "Waltz for Zweetie" (B2) has a credit history: the original pressing attributed it to Walter Bishop Jr. and misspelled the title as "Sweetie." Keepnews later corrected both — the composer is Bishop's father, Walter Bishop Sr., and the dedication is to someone called Zweetie, not Sweetie.

This is Henderson's first studio recording with Jack DeJohnette — they had performed together but never taped. DeJohnette was twenty-two. The original Milestone MSP 9017 has been out of print on vinyl for more than fifty years. Kevin Gray mastered this edition from the original master tapes for the Jazz Dispensary and Craft Recordings' Top Shelf Series; pressing is 180g.