| Scott Henderson | Website: | ||||
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Genre(s): | Jazz Fusion, Funk, Progressive, Blues | |||
| Instrument(s): | Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar | ||||
| Trademark(s): | Virtuoso guitarist, progressive, crosses genres easily, complex harmonization, exceptional improvisation | ||||
| Album(s): | |||||
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1994, MESA Records, R2 79073
CyberHome: www.ScottHenderson.net
Move over Stevie Ray Vaughan because Scott Henderson was only humouring you to let you think that you were the blues Messiah while he was exploring the vast space of jazz fusion. ;) (No real disrespect intended to the late great SRV!)
Dog Party is characterized by tongue-in-cheek wit that details life through the eyes of man's best friend. This album received awards for the best blues album of the year for good reasons. Henderson blurs the line between blues and jazz, making us remember back to a time when the blues were just jazz. The sophistication that Henderson brings to the blues is well-balanced with his gut-wrenching feel that he executes his playing with, demonstrating that he has a firm grasp on the nuances involved. Scott Henderson delivers his best performance yet that I am aware (but my preference for his playing in the blues format may bias my opinion).
Scott Henderson plays the blues with sophistication that has never before been lended to the blues. Henderson blazes over the fretboard laying down some of the best contrapuntal blues playing ever to grace a maple neck. Henderson follows the sometimes complex chord progressions with seemless ease making a mockery of the rest of the blues players that he relegates to the status of second rated. The end effect is impressive with the high art of music theory that Henderson brings from his sophisticated jazz fusion to the more rudimentary blues which Henderson sets out to pull up to a new standard. The blues format makes Henderson's improvisational capabilities a little more accessible to a wider listening audience. And, this also makes it easier to see why so many people speak so highly of Scott Henderson.
Definitely a member of my permanent rotation club. This is one of my all-time favorite blues albums.
1) Hole Diggin'
2) Fence Climbin' Blues
3) Dog Party
4) Same As You
5) Milk Bone
6) Hell Bent Pup
7) Hound Dog
8) Dog Walk
9) Smelly Ol' Dog Blues
10) Too Many Gittars
~ Christopher Ruel ~ www.ChrisRuel.com ~ Chris@ChrisRuel.com ~
Scott Henderson: Tore Down House
2000, MESA Records, SANCD 072
CyberHome: www.ScottHenderson.net
If you have recovered from Dog Party yet, you need to get Tore Down House. Henderson picks up right where he left off. I liked the dog theme better, but that's just me. Just buy it. Hey Scott, can you just keep doing blues albums? That other, outside stuff is just too much strain on my brain!
Members of the jazz fusion groups Vital Information, Tribal Tech, and the Flecktones team up to form the Vital Tech Tones on this uninhibited fusion extravaganza that might be easier to describe by what it is not rather than by what it is. Vital Tech Tones integrates so many different musical elements from so many different musical styles that it would be very difficult to articulate them all and how they are integrated together. Be prepared to bring your full attention span when listening to this album, because you will need it all to follow everything that the trio is going to throw your way. It took me a number of listenings to get my mind around the whole album and to get it into some frame of reference to understand it by. The musical frame does not sit still for the duration of the album and the constantly changing soundscape deploys complex ideas from many different genres and styles of music, as you may have expected from Scott Henderson's fusionistic style. If you are looking for something that is nice, soothing, and reassuringly repetitive and relaxing to lull you into a trance, you had better look someplace else because this is not it.
Vital Tech Tones is a very progressive collaboration of highly-skilled musicians that push their capabilities to the limits of their intelligence. The instrumentation is state of the art for jazz fusion. Guitar, bass, drums... they are all superb. The style is diverse but definitely has the trademark Henderson biting, hard edge to it. But, there is a lot more sophistication to it and I wouldn't want to characterize it altogether that way. Henderson seamlessly weaves jazzy, bluesy, and rock-ish phrasings together over complex chordal harmonies making the listener forget that the vocabulary he draws from spans many different genres and styles.
Vital Tech Tones seems like it is geared towards the techie-musician listener audience due to its progressive nature. Though there are several tracks that may be more widely accessible, I am thinking that the accessibility to a musically uneducated audience is probably pretty remote. But, for the educated ear, there is a lot to absorb and jazz fusion fanatics will probably enjoy this effort immensely. And, the sound is not too far outside that it is not digestible.
There are several tracks on this album that struck my fancy. "Snake Soda" is a real fusion bullet that is smoking with driving, raw jazz, rock, and blues phrasing. "King Twang" has a Henderson spin on the blues that features some raucous bluesy riffing put into a quickly moving frame. The trio cover the jazz standard "Giant Steps" with a vision and style that is sure to raise your brow if you are familiar with any of the earlier versions, such as that by John Coltrane. Wooten gets down on the bass in "Giant Steps" with some soloing that is sure to impress the most staunch bass critics. It is really interesting to hear the chord progressions voiced on the guitar and Henderson gives the interpretation a character that brings them to life.
Vital Tech Tones is lesson material for any aspiring guitarists, bassists, and drummers. Musicians, jazz fusion connoisseurs, and Henderson fans will probably constitute the bulk of the happy listening audience for this album. The outstanding technical proficiency and high art demonstrated on Vital Tech Tones will surely strike a resonance with the educated audience.
| 1) Crash Course |
| 2) Snake Soda |
| 3) Dr. Hee |
| 4) Everglades |
| 5) Two For One |
| 6) King Twang |
| 7) The Captors |
| 8) Giant Steps |
| 9) Lie Detector |
~ Christopher Ruel ~ www.ChrisRuel.com ~ Chris@ChrisRuel.com ~ Chris Ruel's Monthly Spotlight
The Vital Tech Tones reuinite to produce their second exotic fusion effort to date, VTT2. VTT2 follows suit with the original release from Vital Tech Tones. The format, style, and sound are similar. This release again features more hard-hitting instrumental intensity from Henderson, Wooten, and Smith. Henderson's guitar work once again spans many styles but has a biting, aggressive edge to it that gives a recognizable, signature character to the diverse harmonies that he explores. The technically intensive nature of VTT2 will probably lend it best to an audience with a well-educated listening ear and a taste for sophisticated jazz fusion. Though not altogether inaccessible to a general listening audience, I have doubts about the accessibility of this progressive material to the musically uneducated masses.
Once again as with the original release from the trio, I had to listen to this album a number of times before I could get a handle on it. The group throws a lot at you and it is not easy to absorb it all the first time through. But, there are definitely several tracks on this effort that caught my attention more than the others. "Catch Me If U Can" is a funky little groove that features some really awesome bass work by Wooten that trades off with Henderson's resolved soloing. "Who Knew?" is an accessible track that centers around Henderson's tremolo and vibrato work that pulls the tasty melodies slightly away from the tonal centers throughout in a manner that makes them a little disoriented and evasive, though appealingly so. The guitar and bass solo work that accompanies utilizes the same tremolo and vibrato effects, achieving a very cool result. There is a certain emotional feel that is articulated with these effects that really conveys the title "Who Knew?". This track is definitely my favorite from VTT2.
If you like progressive, intensive, instrumental jazz fusion, VTT2 will find a good home in your collection. Henderson's axework is impressive and is presented in an earth-bound format on this release. Victor Wooten romps all over the bass. His playing is technically advanced, proficient, inspired, and hits the target with accessible grooves and musical ideas. Though I am primarily a guitarist and admittedly guitar-centric, Wooten's bass playing was the highlight of this album for me. Steve Smith livens up the rhythm section with his unique brand of savvy percussion work that lends style, sophistication, and character to the tracks.
| 1) VTT |
| 2) SubZero |
| 3) The Litigants |
| 4) Puhtainin' Tuh... |
| 5) Drums Stop, No Good |
| 6) Catch Me If U Can |
| 7) Nairobe Express |
| 8) Who Knew? |
| 9) Time Tunnel |
| 10) Chakmool-Ti |
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