Feb 21, 2021
We last left Eddie Henderson discussing his latest releases, both on his own (Shuffle and Deal) and with the super-group The Cookers. But there was no way I was going to end my conversation with Dr. Eddie at that. Not with his resume.
Much of Podcast 799 is a discussion of Eddie's development as a teenager and his membership in the groundbreaking electric jazz group Mwandishi. Although the group only lasted for 3 years before imploding under financial constraints, the group has left a legacy that has only grown in importance over the years. The band was Herbie Hancock on electric piano and Fender Rhodes, Henderson on trumpet, Julian Priester on trombone, Bernie Maupin on flute, clarinet and piccolo, Billy Hart on drums and Buster Williams on acoustic and electric bass.
Henderson's first few solo albums were extensions of Mwandishi, and they remain cornerstones in the jazz fusion canon. A handful of those tracks are so funky that they have been sampled by Jay-Z and Kanye West, among others.
Musical selections from Podcast 799 include a special edit of Mwandishi's "You'll Know When You Get There," from Herbie Hancock's The Warner Brothers Years 1969-1972, as well as "Cyclops" written by James Mtume and found on Henderson's 1977 album Mahal. That album featured most of the players from Mwandishi, as well as others that made up Hancock's more success follow-up band, the Headhunters.