Joe Henry is an unheralded treasure, and not just because he's produced some terrific, career-reviving records by such R&B veterans as Solomon Burke, Bettye LaVette and Mavis Staples. He's also created an idiosyncratic and compelling body of solo work, the best of which is Scar, an unclassifiable disc that combines elements of jazz, soul and singer-songwriter fare into oblique, spellbinding songs, all laced with a deep melancholy. To underscore Henry's iconoclasm, the brooding lead track, "Richard Pryor Addresses a Tearful Nation," features a beautifully warped solo by legendary avant-garde saxophonist Ornette Coleman, his only known guest appearance on a pop record.
This article appears in Mar 28 – Apr 3, 2007.