rom humble beginnings on South Florida's club circuit, Scott Henderson has ascended to his current status as one of the world's most versatile guitarists. Growing up on blues-based rock, Henderson didn't really discover jazz until he was in college - yet he was gifted enough to land gigs with Chick Corea, Joe Zawinul and Jean-Luc Ponty within only a few years of graduation and a move to California. The guitarist now appears in many forms - from the virtuoso '85-present jazz/fusion quartet Tribal Tech to stunt session player to tongue-in-cheek blues artist. His new solo release,"Well To the Bone", is his first since '97's "Tore Down House".
Henderson refers to his new disc as "blues with a twist," which certainly applies to the opening "Lady P." Drummer Kirk Covington (also in Tribal Tech) and bassist John Humphrey play a simple, staggered blues rhythm, allowing vocalist Wade Durham to alternately harmonize with and sing between Henderson's multiple lines and tones. For a guitarist who listened to notorious overdubbers Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy Page in his Floridian youth, it's surprising that it took him this long to start dabbling in melodic layering. Henderson takes it even further on the instrumental "Hillbilly In the Band," switching from country twang to blues-approved devilish soundscapes and even banjo parts over Covington's manic shuffle pattern.
The inside humor of the waltzing "Devil Boy" and R&B-ish "Dat's Da Way It Go" (both sung by Durham) comes up short, although both feature blistering solos by Henderson (who could take Stevie Ray Vaughan's place atop the blues-rock throne, were that all he wanted to do). Ditto "Lola Fay," despite wah-wah pedal work that would make Frank Zappa proud, and the title track, even though Thelma Houston belts out both with gusto. "Well To the Bone" may be a more consistent release than"Tore Down House", but it lacks the hysteria of that CD's comic "I Hate You" and "You Get Off On Me," both sung by Houston.
With a second-half surge of nearly all instrumentals, however,"Well To the Bone" finishes strong. "Ashes" morphs from opening whisper to middle scream, showing ample elements of Hendrix, Vaughan and Jeff Beck. "Sultan's Boogie" is the most complex, as Henderson stacks Middle Eastern-themed guitar tones atop Covington's thunderous tribal tom-toms, and only a guitarist this creative could sculpt enough unorthodox ideas to keep the cliched rhythmic blues stomp of "That Hurts" interesting. The closing "Rituals" is from Tribal Tech's '88 album"Nomad", but Henderson turns the fusion composition inside-out through layered acoustic guitars and addictive psychedelic effects. Only Henderson could twist up blues like this.
rom humble beginnings on South Florida's club circuit, Scott Henderson has ascended to his current status as one of the world's most versatile guitarists. Growing up on blues-based rock, Henderson didn't really discover jazz until he was in college - yet he was gifted enough to land gigs with Chick Corea, Joe Zawinul and Jean-Luc Ponty within only a few years of graduation and a move to California. The guitarist now appears in many forms - from the virtuoso '85-present jazz/fusion quartet Tribal Tech to stunt session player to tongue-in-cheek blues artist. His new solo release,"Well To the Bone", is his first since '97's "Tore Down House".