Basra

This artist is the drummer on this session. He may headline, but Joe Henderson on tenor sax is the star. He sounds like he is clearly under the influence of John Coltrane with his phrasing and use of exotic mid-eastern modes. The album is more avant-garde than bop, but an intersting listen.

This is a GREAT cd.

Another great Blue Note Jazz Gem. Took longer than I expected to arrive as it came from the United Kingdom.

This is a must have jazz recording.Great music!

This is really an excellent Joe Henderson session with Pete (La Roca) Sims on drums, Steve Kuhn on piano and Steve Sawllow on drums. Producer Alfred Lion was nice enough to name LaRoca as leader. He's fine throughout and so is the rest of the rhythm section. But you'll want to hear Henderson on "Malaguana," "Basra," "Lazy Afternoon" and the rest of this great CD over and over again. Brilliant music that's been lost in the Blue Note catalogue for too long. What an amazing record. Thank you for a great bargain.

I know Joe Henderson's music inside and out and this and Larry Young's Unity are my favorite sessions even though they are not listed in his name. Over and over people review albums that are so-called "hidden classics", but in my opinion this stunning 1965 date takes the prize. (This is more of a title to add to your Henderson catalogue than La Roca's by the way). Why is this such a hidden classic do you ask? Because Henderson is in his finest form! "Lazy Afternoon" reminds me of the silky moments on "Idle Moments" by Duke Pearson, "Malaguena" is brilliant and moving, it almost touches on Henderson's later career dates such as Tetragon. "Eiderdown" lazily swings and explodes all at the same time. "Basra" is about as primally sexy as a tune can get- think smokey room with bedroom eyes...gorgeous! "Tears Come from Heaven" is the off-kilter song of the session that steams and drives and blows hard. "Candu" is the only song on the album that is tinkering on the edge of forgettable, but Henderson saves it with some a'la Sam Rivers style screaming that emotionalizes the song well. The rhythm section that consists of Pete La Roca (Sims) on drums, Steve Kuhn on piano, and Steve Swallow on bass really gives such a perfect undergirding for these passionately penned tunes. This is a rare La Roca session besides "Turkish Women" (also worth a listen) but I am so thankful that it has survived a few reissues. Do not overlook this moment in the Blue Note catalogue. I did for a while and hate the days that it wasn't in my life.

As far as I know drummer Pete LaRoca has only about 3 albums to his name and they're "Turkish Women at the Baths", "Basra" and a more recent return to the Blue Note label but the title I do not remember. Anyway is basically the Art Farmer Quartet without Art and substituting the great Joe Henderson on tenor. In fact Joe is so strong on this album that he almost over powers the rhythm section here of LaRoca, Steve Swallow on bass and Steve Kuhn on piano. Listen to the modal "Malaguena" or the ballad "A Lazy Afternoon" and you hear this late saxophonist at the height of his powers. Wholeheartedly recommended.

Playing around with the beat is one of the things that makes Jazz what it is, but as far as I'm concerned, Steve Kuhn ruins an otherwise wonderful date by playing too far behind the beat too often. Too bad.

Pete La Roca(1938-2012) was the original drummer in the John Coltrane Quartet in 1960 and 'Basra' was his impressive debut as leader for BLUE NOTE recorded on May 19, 1965.The excellent rhythm section of Steve Kuhn(piano), Steve Swallow(bass) & Pete La Roca(drums) formed part of the Art Farmer Quartet at the time but the replacement of the trumpeter/flugelhornist with tenorist Joe Henderson made this an exciting, exploratory quartet. Highlights include the beautiful ballad 'Lazy Afternoon', La Roca's 'Tears Come From Heaven' & Steve Swallow's 'Eiderdown' and this adventurous, memorable album deserves a place in any modern jazz collection.Unfortunately, Pete La Roca left jazz in 1968 to become an attorney under his original name of Peter Sims but made a return in 1997 to record the now hard-to-find 'Swingtime'(BLUE NOTE).

I was expecting a lot more from this CD album.

Wer ein Fan des John-Coltrane-Quartetts (der mittleren Phase) ist und das Second Quintet von Miles Davis schätzt, der sollte - wenn er/sie es nicht längst getan hat - dringend ein Ohr in dieses Album werfen! Joe Henderson spielt im Eröffnungsstück Malaguena derart coltranesque auf, dass es eine wahre Freude ist. Ebenso genial das Titelstück Basra: dieser betörend-mysteriöse und leicht arabisch anmutende Sound macht für mich den Avantgarde-Jazz der Mid-Sixties aus - that's just one step beyond... Oder die faszinierende Ballade Lazy Afternoon, die Henderson vier Jahre später für das Milestone-Label erneut einspielen sollte: minimalistisch, fragil und wunderschön. Noch ein Wort zum RVG-Sound: Eine audiophil remasterte HiRes-Version, die (noch) luftiger und brillianter klänge, ist auch mein Wunschtraum. Aber der von RVG gemasterte CD-Sound klingt schon verdammt gut - wie sich Henderson auf dem linken und und La Roca auf dem rechten Kanal duellieren mit Steve Kuhns impressionistischem Klavier- und Steve Swallows minimalistischem Bassspiel dazwischen, ist soundtechnisch perfekt eingefangen (wir schreiben immerhin das Jahr 1965). Ergo: Diese Scheibe ist ein Must Have für jeden Jazz-Fan mit einer Vorliebe für den progressiven (nicht radikal freien!) Post-Modern Jazz der 60er Jahre!P.S. Ich frage mich gerade, für wen ich diese Rezension schreibe: Wer mit Namen wie Coltrane, Davis oder Blue Note etwas anfangen kann, hat diese Scheibe doch sowieso schon seit Jahren in seiner Sammlung... So What?

This is a perfectly decent record but I'm not sure it deserves the ecstatic reviews it seems to have had. La Roca had been around for some years without ever attracting much attention. I remember him in Slide Hampton's octet where he was pretty ordinary, and in some sessions with Tony Scott and Bill Evans, where he was downright hamfisted. Steve Swallow has always been a fine bassist but usually works in very different surroundings than this. Steve Kuhn I know only from when he replaced Jim Hall in the Art Farmer Quartet and in one fell swoop destroyed the rather delicate internal balance of that group. Joe Henderson is an enormously powerful tenorist with an immensely hard tone and whose solos often proceed in great slabs of sound but without much melodic development. So, I bought this record partly because I like Henderson, and partly out of simple curiosity, and was slightly surprised that it was rather better than expected.Both 'Malaguena' and 'Basra' are successful as repetitive rhythmic exercises with Henderson exploding above. 'Lazy Afternoon' and 'Eiderdown' both give Henderson the chance to show that he does have a melodic side and he takes it. 'Candu' is an aggressive blues with very tough tenor.Henderson throughout is the major, and very successful soloist, and the support from Swallow and the leader is entirely suitable. Swallow, in particular, plays some powerful bass and it is a pity he didn't play in this sort of group more often. Kuhn does not impress much as a soloist although there is nothing wrong with what he does. It's just not memorable. He is successful as part of the rhythm section where his repetitive chords increase the rhythmic tension.Better than expected.

An absolute joy to listen this one out!!5 stars are not enough!!!At first hearing, Juist a few weeks ago..I got tears in the eyes and the hair was starting to tingle.WOW! SUPERRRR!! Since that first time it went back into the tray for 10's of times and still..SMILE!!! Energy garantee here! Open the power full!!I was so touched to hear Henderson giving his energetic and deep blowing on toptide.This one was gone for a while.. and now back for a low price!! What a luck!!That first number..long, beautyfull spinning-out..gottalove-it!And eh.. What you hear is what was happening there in that time, this was NEW, You are hearing the invention itself... And the energy of that first moment of sounding goes straight into the spine..chickenskin!!