Although pianist
Jon Ballantyne
is the leader on this quartet outing and contributed four of the compositions, the Justin Time CD is very much
Joe Henderson
's date. The always-distinctive tenor is in consistently passionate form and comes up with one rewarding and intense improvisation after another. The reissue (augmenting the original LP by a previously unissued version of
Ornette Coleman
's
"Blues Connotation"
) is highlighted by the
Monk
ish "BYO Blues" (the most memorable of
Ballantyne
's originals), the cooking "You and the Night and the Music" and
The Coleman
tune.
, whose style is influenced a bit by (but not imitative of)
McCoy Tyner
, takes excellent solos of his own and works well with bassist
Neil Swainson
and drummer
Jerry Fuller
, but one's attention constantly shifts during this postbop date to
Henderson
, a true modern master. ~ Scott Yanow