Like its predecessors,
Henderson's third date as a leader is a fine example of how creative and inspired genuine jazz-rock can be. Tough and aggressive yet full of appealing melodic and harmonic nuances, this CD contains not one iota of the type of lightweight smooth jazz or Muzak for which
Henderson has often voiced his contempt. With
Nomad,
Tribal Tech underwent a few personnel changes, and for the first time, recorded an entire album minus a sax. While electric bassist
Gary Willis, drummer
Steve Houghton, and percussionist/mallet player
Brad Dutz remained, saxman
Bob Sheppard was gone, and keyboardist
Pat Coil had been replaced by
David Goldblatt. Despite these changes,
Tribal Tech's sound (which was essentially guided by
Henderson and
Willis) remained easily recognizable. The '70s breakthroughs of
Weather Report,
Return to Forever, and
John McLaughlin, among others, still had an impact on
Tribal Tech, but by 1988, it was even more evident that
Henderson was a fine soloist and composer in his own right. ~ Alex Henderson