Personnel: Joe Henderson (tenor saxophone); Kenny Dorham (trumpet); Andrew Hill (piano); Eddie Khan (bass); Pete La Roca (drums).
Producer: Alfred Lion.
Reissue producer: Michael Cuscuna.
Recorded at the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey on September 9, 1963. Originally released on Blue Note (4152). Includes liner notes by Leonard Feather and Bob Blumenthal.
Digitally remastered using 24-bit technology by Rudy Van Gelder (2000, Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey).
This is part of the Blue Note Rudy Van Gelder Editions series.
The partnership of Joe Henderson and Kenny Dorham yielded a handful of fine sessions for Blue Note in the early '60s. Among them, OUR THING stands as a particularly excellent testament to their combined brilliance. Henderson's second date as a leader, OUR THING is part of a triumvirate that includes his first Blue Note date, PAGE ONE, and Dorham's UNA MAS, representing the best of the pair's recorded output of the period. Also sitting in on the session is the eclectic pianist Andrew Hill, who would use Henderson and Dorham on his own landmark date POINT OF DEPARTURE.
Henderson and Dorham split the writing duties on this disc, with Henderson's bopping "Teeter Tottter" included in two takes. Dorham's reflective "Pedro's Time" is reminiscent of the pastel-colored Latin pieces included on the aforementioned UNA MAS. In contrast, Henderson's blazing title track includes some of the disc's most virtuoso performances. However, the most substantial track is Dorham's beautifully crafted "Escapade," a darkly lit, introspective melody with a melancholy groove that shows how hard bop could still retain its tender side while reflecting the turmoil of the times.
