In talking about fusion, it’s obviously impossible to step around Miles Davis. That actually goes for pretty much any sub-genre of the jazz idiom in post-WWII America. Anyway, Davis may not have exactly invented fusion or even perfected it. But it can be said that the players that he worked with in settings that made use of electric instruments went on to record a litany of albums during the ensuing years.

Guitarist John McLaughlin is probably the best known player to come out from the shadow of Davis and his horn – although the Brit bred musician had already amassed an impressive discography prior to working with the trumpeter.

Eddie Henderson, though not a part of any Davis ensemble, did perform with the band leaders progeny. Even if the two trumpeters hadn’t played together in a proper setting, it seems that Davis was a Henderson family friend and as early as 1957 sat down with Eddie to show him a few things. Supplementing Davis’ tutelage, Henderson gigged around the Bay Area, his adopted home, with the likes of John Handy.

A higher profile gig came under the auspices of Herbie Hancock, who at the time, had recently left Davis’ employ to head up his own ensemble, mostly comprising former compatriots of the trumpeter. Tapping Henderson gave the relatively young – and med school trained – musician a gig for the span of three years before he headed out on his own.

Of course, in fitting form, as Henderson departed Hancock’s group to begin putting together an ensemble of his own, behind the trumpeter was basically the crew that he’d just left. So, for the two 1973 albums that Henderson logged as a date leader, the line up mostly consisted of Hancock’s Mwandashi ensemble with an added drummer - Lenny White.

First releasing Realization, Henderson gifted fusion with one of its more accessible albums. Granted, there are any number of obtuse moments, but the pervasive groove is what should be recalled about this album. Of course, the trumpet playing here owes a great debt to Davis, but it’s the bursts of synthesizer noise contributed by Hancock himself that sets this outing apart from its potential peers.

On tracks like “Anua,” the band momentarily pushes into the realm of ambient tomfoolery. But all can be forgiven because of the ebullient “Mars in Libra.” That track begins in elastic funk mode with Hancock twittering keys that result in a bubbling backing noise that supplements the hard funk of the rhythm section. It’s on this track as well that Henderson really comes off as a Davis disciple. It’s familiar ground throughout the remainder of the disc – even as the group touches on some Julian Priester moments.

Realization, though, is able to do something surprising. Each track presents itself as a unique entity in some manner. The songs do sport a cohesive tone, but the wide approach to fusion is one that a lot of groups seemed to have missed during this portion of the genre’s life. It’s not all funk and it’s not all ambient nonsense. It’s both. And for that reason alone, Henderson’s legacy should be assured.