Lush Life - The Music of Billy Strayhorn

In 1992, Verve threw veteran Joe Henderson in the studio with a pack of young lions and asked him to play a collection of Billy Strayhorn songs. Henderson and crew emerged with a beautiful recording that showcases Henderson\'s versatile tenor, the passion of the younger players, and the emotional appeal of Strayhorn\'s compositions. A large part of the success is owed to the strategy of mixing up the instrumentation: the album includes one solo, three duets, two trios, one quartet, and three quintets (with Wynton Marsalis\'s burnished trumpet), each leading Henderson in a different direction. The true highlights are the pared-down ensembles. \"Isfahan,\" a duo with Henderson and bassist Christian McBride, finds Henderson coaxing some lovely, light-and-airy sounds from his tenor. On \"Rain Check,\" a trio with McBride and drummer Greg Hutchinson, Henderson flies into the stratosphere with probing statements, and on \"Lotus Blossom,\" a duet with pianist Stephen Scott, Henderson\'s quiet flurries are supported by Scott\'s elegant reading. Henderson stokes the engine with intense, far-reaching ideas on \"Take the \'A\' Train,\" a duet with Hutchinson, and teases the melody playfully on the abstract title track, taken here as a solo.

Discover Lush Life: The Music of Billy Strayhorn by Joe Henderson released in 1992. Find album reviews, track lists, credits, awards and more at AllMusic.