Diverse Influences Define Henderson’s Playing Style

Don’t pin any labels on Joe Henderson. “I’m pretty much a tenor saxophone player,” Henderson said. “I would like not to describe my sound. I’ve been influenced by so many different players--pianists, drummers, bassists--I’d like to think I can fit into any number of musical environments and you might not recognize my sound.”

Last night, Henderson opened five nights at Elario’s in a quartet also including Tony Dumas on bass, Mike Hyman on drums and 19-year-old piano wiz Kevin Harp.

Henderson, 53, played on Harp’s debut album, and later this year, Harp and the quartet will join Henderson for a new recording, his first since the 1986 “The State of the Tenor.”

Over the years, Henderson, who estimates he has played on at least 300 albums, has worked with greats including Kenny Dorham, Freddie Hubbard, Kenny Burrell and Herbie Hancock. His career took a little known tributary in 1971, when he spent six months as a member of Blood, Sweat & Tears.

“It was at a time when the country was at a crossroads; there was lots of social unrest,” Henderson said. Blood Sweat & Tears “had the great fortune of having great record sales and lots of fame, but they started to catch a lot of flack from people who were envious of their success because they were called ‘jazz/rock’ but had no people with jazz reputations. They wanted to correct that image, and they asked me to join.” During several months in a studio, Henderson contributed a variety of sax and flute parts, but left when he grew frustrated with the drawn-out recording process. The music was never released.

At Elario’s, Henderson will play original compositions dating back to his first solo album, the early 1960s “Page One,” along with several unrecorded tunes he is still polishing.

Squealing, high-register notes used to be the calling card of trumpeter Maynard Ferguson. With his new band Big Bop Nouveau, a mini-Big Band, though, Ferguson sheds the old image for good, covering a range of sounds and moods. He even contributes full, mellow fluegelhorn to “But Beautiful.”

Ferguson and the nine-piece band play the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach tonight at 9.

On Big Bop Nouveau’s new album, named after the band, Ferguson’s playing is crisp and imaginative, and the ensemble handles a range of material with great precision. Songs include Joe Zawinul’s “Birdland,” Ray Noble’s “Cherokee,” a medley of Ferguson’s hits and a funked-up rendering of Herbie Hancock’s “Chameleon,” with the horns supplying the punchy bass notes.

Ferguson has surrounded himself with hot, young sidemen, including tenor saxophonist Matt Wallace. Aside from Ferguson, 62, all band members are in their 20s.

Born in Canada, Ferguson began playing trumpet at 9. When he showed an interest in jazz, his mother bought him a selection of albums by top jazz trumpeters. His parents were always open-minded about his career. They even let him drop out of high school at 16 when it became apparent he was cut out for jazz, not rocket science. He worked with several big bands during the early 1940s, but built his reputation with Stan Kenton’s Innovations Orchestra beginning in 1950 and the Birdland Dream Band of the mid-1950s.

From 1967 to 1973, Ferguson lived in foreign lands including England, India and Spain. He developed an interest in Indian spirituality, and remains a dedicated meditator today. Through the 1970s and 1980s, Ferguson continued to lead bands including the fusion-oriented High Voltage, and had a hit with his version of “Gonna Fly Now,” the theme from the movie “Rocky.”

Just back from dates in Japan, Ferguson played a concert Tuesday night at Chula Vista High School, his second at the school.

San Diego drummer Reno Calice has produced a 44-minute video of a 1987 date he played with saxophonist Charles McPherson in Tucson, Ariz., at a night club called Gentle Ben’s. Calice lived in Tucson then, and the quartet was rounded out by locals Chuck Marohnic on electric piano and Jack Wood on bass. Camera work is shaky and audio quality only fair, but McPherson’s playing shines on tunes including “A Night in Tunisia,” “Samba de Orpheo,” “The Blues” and “It Could Happen to You.” Dedicated McPherson fans will probably want a copy. Calice plans to market it by mail order in the United States, Japan and Europe. The cost is $24.95. For more information, call 295-7062.

RIFFS: Pianist Glenn Horiuchi, whose style stretches from Asian ethnic music well into the avant garde, has moved from San Diego to Los Angeles. Horiuchi hopes his cutting-edge music will get a warmer reception than it did in laid-back San Diego, where he seldom landed more than a few dates a year. He also hopes the relocation will help him break into writing movie music. His new album, “Oxnard Beet,” recorded at Fanfare Studios in El Cajon, is due early next year . . . .

Drummer Max Roach may play Croce’s Top Hat Bar & Grill in downtown San Diego in January . . . A.J. Croce, son of the late pop singer Jim Croce and his widow Ingrid, owner of the jazz club, will play clubs in Nashville next month while talking with Warner Elektra representatives there about a recording deal . . . The Champagne Jazz series at the Culbertson Winery in Temecula continues Sunday afternoon from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. with saxophonist Richard Elliott. Last week’s concert featuring keyboardist Keiko Matsui sold out. Uncle Festive, scheduled for Oct. 21, has been replaced by Dan Siegal. The four-date series closes Oct. 28 with Free Flight . . . The Doubletree Hotel in Mission Valley has added jazz Tuesday nights from 7 to 10 with the Alliance Jazz Group. Led by George Kezas on saxes, the band also features singer Elliott Lawrence, guitarist Joseph Angelastro, bassist Rob Thorsen and Calice on drums . . . San Diego fusion band World Affair makes its live debut Sunday night at the Bacchanal. An evening of comedy and music begins at 9 . . . Guitarist Herb Ellis is the star of KPBS-TV’s “Club Date” program Saturday night at 8:30, repeating Monday afternoon at 1:30.