Eddie Henderson – Sunburst ( Blue Note / 1975 )

A sunburst of fusion tightly played by geniuses at the peak of their career, featuring a harder, spacier music with free, emotional soloing based on intelligent structures. Eddie Henderson, Bennie Maupin and Julian Priester form an amazing horn ensemble carried masterfully by George Duke‘s heavy keyboard laydown and sharp rhythms of Harvey Mason. Just listen to Alphonso Johnson’s ‘Involuntary Bliss’. This brilliant album is one of the greatest jazz recordings of the 70’s. It’s hard to describe such an exceptional album that still sounds futuristic today.

Track Listing :

1. Explodition   (George Duke) 6.34
2. The Kumquat Kids  (Alphonso Johnson) 4.30
3. Sunburst  (Eddie Henderson) 5.46
4. Involuntary Bliss (Alphonso Johnson) 6.49
5. Hop Scotch  (Harvey Mason) 3.52
6. Galaxy   (Eddie Henderson) 6.35
7. We End in a Dream   (Bennie Maupin) 3.10

Musicians / Personnel :

Eddie Henderson – trumpet, flugelhorn, cornet
Julian Priester – trombone
Bennie Maupin – tenor saxophone, bass clarinet, saxello
Bobby Hutcherson – marimba (track 6)
George Duke – electric piano, clavinet, synthesizer
Buster Williams – acoustic bass (track 7)
Alphonso Johnson – electric bass (tracks 1-6)
Harvey Mason (tracks 1-6), Billy Hart (track 7) – drums

Recording engineer and remix – Fred Catero
Recorded at Wally Heider Sound Studios in San Francisco, California in April & May, 1975.
Mastered by George Horn

Produced by Skip Drinkwater