November 22, 2024
Blue Note Records has released Forces of Nature: Live at Slugs’, a never-before-issued live recording of jazz legends McCoy Tyner and Joe Henderson leading a stellar quartet with bassist Henry Grimes and drummer Jack DeJohnette at the hallowed lost NYC jazz shrine, Slugs’ Saloon, in 1966. The release was produced by Zev Feldman with Jack and Lydia DeJohnette, and is available now on 2-LP, 2-CD, and digital formats.
Tyner and Henderson had been forging a strong musical bond on Blue Note through the mid-60s with Tyner appearing on Henderson’s 1963 debut Page One as well as his 1964 albums In ‘N Out and Inner Urge, while Henderson would appear on Tyner’s own Blue Note debut The Real McCoy in 1967. The Slugs set list included two Henderson compositions that were originally recorded on his Blue Note albums: a blistering half-hour exploration of “In ‘N Out” and a joyous romp through “Isotope.”
Forces of Nature includes an elaborate booklet with rare photos by Francis Wolff, Raymond Ross, and Robert Polillo; plus liner notes by esteemed author and critic Nate Chinen, and interviews and statements with DeJohnette, Jason Moran, Joe Lovano, Joshua Redman, Christian McBride, Nasheet Waits, and Terri Lyne Carrington. Originally recorded by the legendary engineer Orville O’Brien — who recorded classic 1960s jazz albums such as Freddie Hubbard’s The Night of the Cookers, Charles Tolliver’s Music Inc. and Alice Coltrane’s Journey to Satchidananda — the tape has been in DeJohnette’s personal archives for nearly 60 years. The 2-LP 180g vinyl set is transferred from the original tape reel and mastered by Matthew Lutthans at The Mastering Lab, who also mastered the 2-CD and digital.
Jack DeJohnette: “…as it happened, the opportunity came to play at Slugs’ with this combination. There was some anticipation that this would really be great. And sure enough, everybody really played like there was no tomorrow. Luckily, we have this document from that week with this incredible personnel making this incredible music with this intensity and commitment. That is rare… This recording represents a time and period where musicians were really playing, intensely searching and experimenting with new things. It was a highly creative time then. Musicians were trying things and of course, there were venues like Slugs’ where people could actually play and develop their craft. There were bands that people could play in and develop. At that time, things were shifting in music; shifting over to a more, shall we say, exploratory music. And so that environment encouraged those explorations.”
Nate Chinen: “This astonishing windfall of an album, recorded at Slugs’ in the spring of 1966, captures the crackling push-pull current of its time — a moment when jazz practice at its highest levels felt both grounded and volatile… Each of the brilliant players heard here was operating as a sensitive instrument. Each, in his own way, was also at a pivotal juncture in his career, whirling through a cycle of endings and beginnings.”
Don Was: “This recording of an absolutely extraordinary night at Slugs’ in 1966 takes us on a wild journey to the furthest reaches of these songs… Messrs. Henderson, Tyner, DeJohnette and Grimes take their time exploring every back alley and side street written into the compositions… a peek into a very special moment in time.”
Zev Feldman: “This Joe Henderson-McCoy Tyner album has been one of the most exciting projects I’ve ever been involved with… On this recording we hear four legendary jazz masters in peak form during an exciting time in their careers captured at one of the most hallowed and long-lost jazz shrines, Slugs’ Saloon… It’s clear to me that anyone listening to these recordings will find their jaw on the floor a lot of the time.”
The credits for Forces of Nature: Live at Slugs’ are as follows:
Side A:
- In ‘N Out (26:44)
Written by Joe Henderson
Side B:
- We’ll Be Together Again (14:15)
Written by Carl Fischer, Frankie Laine
Side C:
- Taking Off (28:18)
Written by McCoy Tyner, Joe Henderson, Jack DeJohnette, Henry Grimes
Side D:
- The Believer (10:05)
Written by McCoy Tyner
- Isotope (7:03)
Written by Joe Henderson
McCoy Tyner: piano
Joe Henderson: tenor saxophone
Henry Grimes: bass
Jack DeJohnette: drums
Recorded live at Slugs’ in New York, NY in 1966
Produced for release by Zev Feldman, Jack DeJohnette, Lydia DeJohnette
Executive Producer: Don Was
Associate Producer: Zak Shelby-Szyszko
Recorded live by Orville O’Brien at Slugs’, New York, NY in 1966
Mastered by Matthew Lutthans at The Mastering Lab, Salina, KS
