Our Thing

Joe Henderson and Kenny Dorham formed a remarkable partnership on several early 1960s Blue Note records, the younger tenor saxophonist's ruggedly bristling, twisting lines finding an effective foil in the veteran trumpeter's keening sound and pointed economy. Our Thing, from 1963, followed Henderson's Page One and Dorham's Una Mas in the series, and the closeness shows in the aplomb with which they navigate each other's challenging tunes. Henderson was already developing an "inside-outside" approach, moving in and out of chord changes with broad freedom, adding split-tones to his phrases with telling effect on his own "Teeter Totter" and on Dorham's beautiful "Escapade." He gets added stimulus from Andrew Hill, a highly original pianist who's making his recording debut here. Whether he's soloing or comping, Hill has a knack for abstracting the contours of a piece, adding close-voiced chords and sudden flashes of melody to point in other directions. Dorham's "Pedro's Time" is a long blues with a Latin feel that recalls his "Una Mas" or "Blue Bossa," and it highlights the fine playing of bassist Eddie Kahn and drummer Pete La Roca. --Stuart Broomer