SFJAZZ Collective's Warren Wolf: Notes on Joe Henderson's "Jinrikisha"

Warren Wolf © Jay Blakesberg

“As a young kid learning to play jazz, this tune, from Joe’s 1963 release Page One, was one of the first pieces of music that I had the pleasure of learning. So naturally, when we chose Joe Henderson as the featured artist for our season, I jumped at the chance of arranging ‘Jinrikisha.’ The original was a medium swing but I decided to give the song and a straight eighth-note feel: instead of the swinging ride cymbal beat, the cymbal is played straight or even. I'm a huge fan of Dennis Chambers and his virtuosic playing, so after Avishai's solo, I decided to let drummer Obed Calvaire play various rhythms over a simple four-bar pattern, which is played by the rhythm section and horns before the melody returns.”

— Warren Wolf, album notes from the SFJAZZ Collective's new album The Music of Joe Henderson and New Compositions, now available!

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SFJAZZ Collective returns to the SFJAZZ Center on May 8th to pay tribute to Joni Mitchell at the SFJAZZ Gala 2015.