McCoy Tyner & Joe Henderson - Forces of Nature: Live at Slugs' - 2 CD set

2024

Forces of Nature: Live at Slugs' is 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 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 and is now being released for the very first time.

Forces of Nature was produced for release by "Jazz Detective" Zev Feldman, Jack and Lydia DeJohnette, and Matthew Garrison, and includes an elaborate booklet with rare photos by Francis Wolff, Raymond Ross, and Robert Polillo; plus liner notes by acclaimed author and critic Nate Chinen, and interviews and statements with Jason Moran, Joe Lovano, Joshua Redman, Christian McBride, Nasheet Waits and Terri Lyne Carrington.

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.

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.”