Eddie Henderson

Heritage is the second of the two jazz-funk albums that trumpeter Eddie Henderson made as a leader for Blue Note, after Sunburst in 1975. Released in 1976, it carries forward the open, electric approach of Herbie Hancock's Mwandishi band. Henderson had come to prominence there in the early 1970s, under the Swahili name Mganga, the healer. That sextet mixed improvisation with synthesizers, studio effects, African and modern classical ideas, before Hancock turned to the grooves of Head Hunters. Henderson was also a qualified doctor, with a medical degree from Howard University.

The album was recorded and mixed at Wally Heider's studios in San Francisco, with Skip Drinkwater producing, as he had on Sunburst, and Fred Catero engineering. Henderson plays trumpet and flugelhorn in a forward-looking group. Julian Priester plays trombones and Hadley Caliman soprano saxophone, flute and bass clarinet. Patrice Rushen handles electric piano, clavinet and synthesizer, with Paul Jackson on bass and Mtume on percussion. Three drummers share the kit across the record.

The opener, Mtume's Inside You, is built on piano and drums, and twenty years later it was sampled by Jay-Z for Coming Of Age on Reasonable Doubt. Rushen's Kudu flirts with funk without settling into a formula. Dr. Mganga, named after the leader, is the climax of the album, all layered textures and cross-rhythms. Dark Shadow then closes the record on a riff introduced by Caliman's bass clarinet.

The drummers are Billy Hart, Mike Clark and Woody Theus. The seven pieces are heavy on atmosphere, with dark textures and intricate arrangements. Writing for AllMusic, Thom Jurek recommended it to anyone who had missed it the first time round, or had been put off by it.

This Blue Note Classic Vinyl edition is stereo and all-analogue, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal.