JAZZ REVIEW : Tenor Sax Joe Henderson at Catalina Bar

Tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson is a prime example of that too common phenomenon--the jazzman whose music never seems to get the attention it deserves. One of the few legitimate tenor saxophone successors to John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins, he has been a continuously creative, productive player for three decades, without ever actually breaking through to the top level of jazz visibility.

Henderson’s opening night set at Catalina Bar and Grill Thursday night was an object lesson in pure jazz improvisation--the kind of intense spontaneous creativity that allows little room for entertainment gimmickry and no room at all for sham. Henderson announced no song titles, barely managed to identify his accompanying musicians and acknowledged his audience only with an occasional nod of his horn.

His message, he appeared to be saying, was in his music. Make a connection with it, and you make a connection with him. It wasn’t always easy to do, but the results were always worth the effort. Henderson played one densely rich solo after another, notes piling up like stacks of colorful autumn leaves, rhythms shifting in zephyr-like gusts.

Only on “Without a Song” did he build from a recognizable foundation, and even that standard’s familiar harmonies were soon enveloped in stunning layers of dissonance.

That Henderson’s rhythm section consisted of three females--Irene Rosnas, piano; Marlene Rosenberg, bass, and Sylvia Cuenca, drums--should not seem all that remarkable these days. Yet it’s no secret that jazz, even in the late 1980s, continues to be one of the true bastions of male supremacy.

What really mattered on this night, however, was that the Henderson rhythm section, regardless of its sex, provided the perfect foil for his music, roaring with energy, jabbing and feinting around his musical thrusts, constantly urging him to play his best. No jazz soloist could have asked for more.

The Henderson group continues at Catalina’s tonight, with shows at 9 and 11.