This 1963 session was Henderson's debut as a leader, and it introduced a strikingly individualistic tenor saxophonist, with a distinctively muscular sound and approach, as well as a talent for finding a personal route through the dominant tenor styles of Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane. At the time of the session, Henderson worked regularly in a quintet with the veteran trumpeter Kenny Dorham, and the two enjoyed a special chemistry apparent on several Blue Note recordings under their individual names. One unusual facet is the hard-bop take on the then emerging bossa nova, apparent in the first recording of Dorham's now standard "Blue Bossa," on which Henderson's thoughtful construction is apparent, and the saxophonist's own coiling Latin tune, "Recorda Me." Pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Butch Warren, and drummer Pete LaRoca provide more than solid support for a date that's as often reflective as it is forceful. --Stuart Broomer