Search - Joe Henderson, Al Foster & Rufus Reie :: Standard Joe

Fun And Enjoyable

Michael B. Richman | Portland, Maine USA | 09/23/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Joe Henderson's "The Standard Joe" may not be an essential purchase, but it is a fun and enjoyable album all the same. Captured in a trio setting with Rufus Reid on bass and Al Foster on drums, Joe tackles some of his compositions that have become standards over the years, and some of the great standards of jazz. Three decades later it is delightful to hear him revisit some of his best Blue Note material from the 60s in "Blue Bossa" (originally on "Page One"), "Blues In F" (which is actually the title track from "In N' Out"), and "Inner Urge" (originally from the album of the same name). Of course, a standard album wouldn't be a standard album without some true classics, and Joe's versions of "Body And Soul," "'Round Midnight" and "Take The A Train" are first rate, even if they don't add anything new to the dialogue. A few years after this album's release, Henderson would have a renaissance with "Lush Life," only fitting for a jazzman who has been making consistently intelligent music for nearly forty years."