Dropping the name-dropping
By Steve Hochman
After having a song titled "Richard Pryor Addresses a Tearful Nation" on his 2001 album "Scar," Joe Henry found himself on a path that led to a friendship with the comedian, and even to write a film screenplay about him.
He doesn't expect any such serendipity from any songs on his next album, "Tiny Voices," due in September.
This time, the only name-dropping he's doing relates to his joining the roster of Anti Records, the division of Epitaph Records that also boasts Waits, Burke, Merle Haggard and Nick Cave.
"It's an incredibly flattering roster to be part of," says Henry.
In some ways, the new album is of a piece with "Scar" -- which garnered stellar press coverage but little in the way of public profile -- in that it incorporates jazz musicians, including New York bass clarinetist Don Byron and trumpeter Ron Miles. The approach is
different, though: The jazz elements were brought in after the initial writing and recording.
"Rather than just explore my fascination with how jazz works, I invited some of those people to come into my world," he says.
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