Sean Trane The little sister of Realization, Inside Out was recorded six months later in the same conditions (Frisco with Drinkwater), but with former WE’s Eric Gravatt replacing RTF’s Lenny White and finding Bill Summers on congas. One of the main differences with IO is that there are more and shorter tracks on the present, when compared to its predecessor, even though Moussaka and the title tracl reach respectively roughly 9-mins each. Other than that’s the general sonics are much the same, maybe a tad more dissonant at times, somewhat contemporary at others (Omnispresence and Exit 1), but the recipe is pretty much unchanged from the older sister’s Realization cooking pan. Gleeson’s electronic twiddlings are again a source of amazement, when not challenged too hard by Eddie Mganga’s sometimes-extreme trumpet playing. Apparently, there appears to have some un-credited electric funky guitar parts in Fusion and in the title track. Musically, the present is a tad more varied in its musical scope.

Sooo, if you want to acquire this album in CD format, you’ll have no choice than to find the 2on1 Capricorn Years Anthology, where Inside Out is coupled with his next album Inside Out, but since these two are very similar in style, you probably won’t mind at all casting two shots from one stone. The only downside to this solution is that one of the two artworks gets sacrificed and that the succession of both albums so similar can be a bit lengthy and too much in one sitting. Personally I tend to prefer the older sister, but let’s face it, the younger one is just as aurally sexy, if not a tad more challenging. Generally seen as the third stooge, the following Sunburst is a fairly different affair, despite part of it still claiming the Mwandishi legacy.

Sean Trane After being part of the early jazz-rock adventures with Mwandishi, Henderson went out on his own for a steaming hot trio of album in the first half of the 70’s, the first of which Realization owes much to Hancock’s band, to the point that the entire Mwandishi line-up plays on it, in addition to Lenny White (then Return To Forever). And indeed, if you’re looking for a successor to Sextant, Realization is the one to search for. Soooo, with Herbie, Bennie, Billy, Buster, Lenny and electronic wizard Pat Gleeson in tow, the mood is certainly very much Mwandishi-like, but slightly quicker, since we have a double-drummer line-up. The ambiance is lso slightly different, maybe due to the West-Coast Frisco recording location (where he was practicing medecine), recorded over two days in the late winter and produced by resident studio Drinkwater (can’t invent that name, uh?).

If the general mood of Realization is somewhat faster and more energetic than in Sextant, it’s also a bit more accessible, even if Gleeson’s electronic “bidouillages” are a bit more present. The two lengthy Libra tracks on the first side are often bordering on dissonance, but never really cross the barrier. Unfortunately, if Maupin’s bass clarinet is not sufficiently present on this album, Eddie Mganga’s brass instruments are well counter-balanced with Bennie Mwile’s wood instruments, but under the refereeing of Hancock’s Rhodes. Maupin’s Anua opens the flipside in the same kind of mood, but the short cosmic Spiritual Awakening is filled with spacey electronic wizardry, slowly leading in the Hancock-penned track Revelation title track thing, where Hart’s bows the contrabass for a few seconds.

Sooo, if you want to acquire this album in CD format, you’ll have no choice than to find the 2on1 Capricorn Years Anthology, where Realization is coupled with his next album Inside Out, but since these two are very similar in style, you probably won’t mind at all casting two shots from one stone. The only downside to this solution is that one of the two artworks gets sacrificed and that the succession of both albums so similar can be a bit lengthy and too much in one sitting. But nevertheless, this is a killer JR/F album that’s always reaching for the limits of your sanity, but never outreaching itself in heavy dissonances. Wild stuff, especially if Mwandishi’s three albums is your thing.

darkprinceofjazz Realization is one of those albums that flies under the radar somewhat, Eddie Henderson who was heavily influenced by the electric music of Miles Davis, but not to point of absurdity, really cranks out a funk fusion masterpiece, Very much in the style of the Mwandishi band albums he participated on, with loose bubbling bass grooves, but certainly they do not groove in the Headhunters sense, this music has more in common with the Hancock album Sextant, "Space Funk" would be a good way to describe this music, I have really grown fond of this style and sound, high quality imaginative rhythms and special effect sounds sprinkled throughout, with free wheeling trumpet bursts, African style rhythms driving the music, perfect to my ears, Realization and Inside Out both are in the Hancock Crossings and Mwandishi style, and well worth exploring.

Sean Trane Well, I’m still not aware if Henderson had a musical professional background (he was a professional figure ice-skater and medical student, though) before being part of Herbie’s Mwandishi group (I’d imagine Hancock not hiring rookies), but since the dismantling of that magic group, its three hornmen (Maupin, Priester and Eddie) made some brilliant solo JR/F albums, this being Henderson’s second of third effort. Eddie’s first two solo effort (Realization and Inside Out) bore many Swahili-tribe skin-scars, but Sunburst kinds of disengage somewhat from that realm. Don’t get me wrong though, there are still some heavy Mwandishi friends on Sunburst as both Priester and Maupin are present, but so are Williams and Hart (for only one track, though), but check out George Duke, Hutcherson, Harvey and Alphonso’s presence as well. What a friggin’ line-up.

Despite being released on the then-fledging Blue Note album, Sunburst sports a convincing and appropriate red-hot modern artwork that describes the volcanic musical fusion. The ultra-funky opener of Explodition features a funky Alphonso bass line with Henderson’s trumpet soaring high over sun-burned soundscapes made from Duke’s Rhodes and synth, and un-credited funky guitar lines (low in the mix). The following Kumquat track could find a spot on Hancock’s Head Hunter album and it features a bit (way too few, IMHO) of Maupin’s delightful bass clarinet, while Henderson is trump(et)ing Miles’ effect-laden horn. The steaming title track might just be my fave of the album. It is a little unfortunate that the album’s lengthiest track takes a little to long to unravel its fierce nature after a tamer intro, but Duke’s keyboard works in the calmer (at first) middle section partially makes up for it. The short ultra-funky Hop scotch is the album’s weakest track, even if the musicians do strut their chops. The spacey Galaxy piece is quite a change from its preceding sister, and after a cosmic intro, Maupin’s bass clarinet is finally unleashed and running amok in the Universe’s naught. Amazing stuff!! The closing aptly-titled We End In A Dream sports a slightly different line-up and hints more at Crossing the Sextant.

Logan "Realization" is my favourite Eddie Henderson album, one of my favourite "Mwandishi players" albums, and I consider it to be an essential Fusion album. The music blends funk, modal jazz, and cosmic "spacey" music/ electronics, in an exhilarating fashion. It is finely nuanced, and while the music is very busy at times, there is space for the music to breathe. It is a stunning effort by Eddie Henderson, as well as those that joined him.

All of the players are in top-notch form, and Henderson is, I think, one of the finest trumpeters in Fusion and is not as widely recognised as I think he deserves.

To think that music was a side-line for him as he was also a medical doctor. This album, and other albums of his, was not commercially successful at the time, and was largely forgotten and neglected until the later release on CD (his "Anthology" compilation with this and "Inside Out" has been excellently remastered and is well worth getting). There has been some quite recent surge in interest in Henderson's early music by dubbers. His music has been sampled quite extensively -- rub-a-dub-dubbed by DJ George "Dubya" Bush; now there's a thought, lame though it is. In fact, a great many terrific Fusion works are being sampled/ dubbed these days).

This album comes from a really innovative and exciting time in Fusion, and stands, I feel, amongst the very best of its ilk. Other players that Henderson was acquainted with, including the Mwandishi band (see Herbie Hancock's "Mwandishi", "Crossings", and "Sextant") were also releasing amazing material. I see this album as a spin-off or extension of the "Mwandishi" work, and this is a "Mwandishi" band effort (which is not to underplay Henderson's importance to the project under his name). Aside from shared members who came together to work with the former Mwadishi member Henderson, musically it falls into that category. Aside from Hancock's influence (as well as other Mwandishi members), I think Gleeson's work cannot be understated in giving it that cohesive Mwandishi sound (as in the "Crossings" and "Sextant" parts of the Mwandishi album trilogy -- the fusion of electronics).

This is an absolutely essential album for those who like Herbie Hancock and friends Mwandishi trilogy. Aside from "Crossings", "Sextant", and "Mwandishi", albums with a musical relation to "Realization" worth getting include: - Eddie Henderson's "Inside Out" (if you don't have Anthology, Vol. II), and "Sunburst"; Julian Priester's fantastic "Love, Love" and his "Polarization"; Bennie Maupin's "The Jewel in the Lotus" and "Slow Traffic to the Right"; as well as Buster Williams'"Pinnacle", though I find that more forgettable than the others I mentioned. Norman Connors' "Dance of Magic" and "Dark of Light"is also an album that I think should appeal to those who enjoy MWandishi style music.

Lenny White, who performed on this album, released another excellent Fusion album "Venusian Summer" (the suite being particularly good), though he has other excellent works too. Billy Hart's "Enchance is good", and, though different, Pat Gleeson's electronic explorations in "Beyond the Sun" are very good.

Of course mentors to Henderson such as Miles Davis and Freddie Hubbard should need no introduction, but if they both do, you have wonderful discoveries ahead.

A word of warning: I don't recommend "Realization" to those who can't take their jazz more adventurous than Kenny-G.