''Canyon Lady'' is a jazz album by

Joe Henderson Joe Henderson (April 24, 1937 – June 30, 2001) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. In a career spanning more than four decades, Henderson played with many of the leading American players of his day and recorded for several prominent l ...

. It was recorded in 1973, but not released until 1975. It is an unusual album, one of Henderson's most experimental efforts. Far from being a standard jazz project, ''Canyon Lady'' incorporates very strong

Latin American Latin Americans ( es, Latinoamericanos; pt, Latino-americanos; ) are the citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their diasporas are multi-eth ...

influences in the brass arrangements and rhythm section playing. Henderson's work is characterized by intense

ostinato In music, an ostinato (; derived from Italian word for ''stubborn'', compare English ''obstinate'') is a motif or phrase that persistently repeats in the same musical voice, frequently in the same pitch. Well-known ostinato-based pieces include ...

patterns. The first two pieces also feature creative electric piano solos by

George Duke George M. Duke (January 12, 1946 – August 5, 2013) was an American keyboardist, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer. He worked with numerous artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and as a pr ...

. The many musicians involved in the project include trombonist

Julian Priester Julian Priester (born June 29, 1935) is an American jazz trombonist and occasional euphoniumist. He is sometimes credited "Julian Priester Pepo Mtoto". He has played with Sun Ra, Max Roach, Duke Ellington, John Coltrane, and Herbie Hancock. Bio ...

, bassist John Heard, drummer

Eric Gravatt Eric Kamau Grávátt (born March 6, 1947) is a jazz drummer from Philadelphia. He has played with McCoy Tyner, Joe Henderson, Weather Report, Byard Lancaster, Dom Um Romão. He was a member of Weather Report from 1972–1974. Discography With ...

, a brass section and percussionists.

Track listing

# "Tres Palabras" (Osvaldo Farres) – 10:11 # "Las Palmas" (Joe Henderson) – 9:58 # "Canyon Lady" (

Mark Levine Mark Andrew LeVine is an American historian, musician, writer, and professor. He is a professor of history at the University of California, Irvine. Education LeVine received his B.A. in comparative religion and biblical studies from Hunter ...

) – 9:07 # "All Things Considered" (Mark Levine) – 8:37 ''Recorded on October 1 (#1), 2 (#4) and October 3 (#2-3), 1973.''

Personnel

– tenor saxophone *

– acoustic piano * John Heard – double bass *

– drums * Carmelo Garcia – timbales * Victor Pantoja – congas *

– trombone (1, 3, 4) * Luis Gasca – trumpet (2, 3, 4), flugelhorn (3, 4) *

– electric piano (1, 2, 3) *

Oscar Brashear Oscar Brashear (born August 18, 1944) is an American jazz trumpeter Hadley Caliman Hadley Caliman (January 12, 1932 – September 8, 2010) was an American jazz saxophone and flute player.All ...

– flute (1), tenor sax (3) * Ray Pizzi – flute (1) * Vincent Denham – flute (1) * Nicholas Tenbroek – trombone (1) *

Francisco Aguabella Francisco Aguabella (October 10, 1925 – May 7, 2010) was an Afro-Cuban percussionist whose career spanned folk, jazz, and dance bands. He was a prolific session musician and recorded seven albums as a leader. Biography In Cuba Aguabella wa ...

– congas (4)

Additional personnel

* Tony Lane – cover photography * Jim Stern – recording engineer

References

{{Authority control 1975 albums Joe Henderson albums Milestone Records albums Albums produced by Orrin Keepnews