Scar is the eighth studio album by Joe Henry

Joe Henry

Joseph Lee "Joe" Henry is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Henry's musical style spans several genres, including alt. country, rock, jazz and folk.- Early years :...

, released in May 2001 on Mammoth Records

Mammoth Records

Founded by Jay Faires in 1989 in Carrboro, North Carolina, Mammoth Records was one of the premiere independent record labels of the 1990s. Its roster featured such diverse talent as Antenna, Blake Babies, Chainsaw Kittens, Dash Rip Rock, Dillon Fence, Far Too Jones, Frente!, Fun-Da-Mental, Fu...

. It marked another shift in direction for Henry's music, and a foray into the genres of jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 and soul music

Soul music

Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...

. The opening track is a homage to comedian Richard Pryor

Richard Pryor

Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor was an American stand-up comedian, actor, social critic, writer and MC. Pryor was known for uncompromising examinations of racism and topical contemporary issues, which employed colorful vulgarities, and profanity, as well as racial epithets...

 (whom the album is also dedicated to), and according to Henry's essay "The Ghost in the Song," he was "called by a vision" to collaborate with free jazz

Free jazz

Free jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and 1950s...

 artist Ornette Coleman

Ornette Coleman

Ornette Coleman is an American saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter and composer. He was one of the major innovators of the free jazz movement of the 1960s....

. Henry wrote:
Henry eventually convinced Coleman to record a solo for the track "Richard Pryor Addresses a Tearful Nation," and also contributed a reprise at the very end of the album as a hidden track.

Another track of note is Stop, a tango originally written by Henry. His wife, Melanie, sent an early demo of the track to her sister Madonna

Madonna (entertainer)

Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...

, who re-used the lyrics for Don't Tell Me

Don't Tell Me (Madonna song)

"Don't Tell Me" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna. It was released as the second single from her eighth studio album Music on November 21, 2000 by Maverick Records. The single has sold around 4.5 million copies to date.-History:...

. Henry often quips during live gigs that "I recorded my version as a tango, and she recorded hers as a hit". Apart from the lyrics, the two songs have nothing in common.

Lizz Wright

Lizz Wright

Lizz Wright is an American jazz/R&B singer and composer.Wright was born in the small town of Hahira in the US state of Georgia; one of three children and the daughter of a minister and the musical director of their Church. She started singing gospel music and playing piano in church as a child,...

 recorded a jazzy take on "Stop" which she included in her 2005 release "Dreaming Wide Awake".

Track listing

All songs written by Joe Henry, except where noted.

1. "Richard Pryor
   Richard Pryor
   Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor was an American stand-up comedian, actor, social critic, writer and MC. Pryor was known for uncompromising examinations of racism and topical contemporary issues, which employed colorful vulgarities, and profanity, as well as racial epithets...
   
    Addresses a Tearful Nation" – 6:21
2. "Stop" – 4:40
3. "Mean Flower" – 4:50
4. "Struck" – 5:24
5. "Rough and Tumble" – 4:53
6. "Lock and Key" – 4:46
7. "Nico
   Nico
   Nico was a German singer, lyricist, composer, musician, fashion model, and actress, who initially rose to fame as a Warhol Superstar in the 1960s...
   
    Lost One Small Buddha" – 3:23
8. "Cold Enough to Cross" – 3:12
9. "Edgar Bergen
   Edgar Bergen
   Edgar John Bergen was an American actor and radio performer, best known as a ventriloquist.-Early life:...
   
   " – 6:03
10. "Scar" / "Richard Pryor Reprise" (Henry, Coleman
    Ornette Coleman
    Ornette Coleman is an American saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter and composer. He was one of the major innovators of the free jazz movement of the 1960s....
    
    ) (hidden track) – 14:22

Personnel

• Produced by Craig Street
  Craig Street
  Craig Street, born in Oakland, California, is a noted record producer.Craig moved with his family to Los Angeles at the age of 11, but returned to the Bay Area for his high school years. He began playing guitar at age 14, playing in a number of Berkeley bands...
  
   and Joe Henry
• Recorded and mixed by S. Husky Höskulds
  S. Husky Höskulds
  S. Husky Höskulds is a Grammy Award–winning audio engineer based in Los Angeles, California.He moved to Los Angeles in 1991, to study audio engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles...
  
  
• Recorded between September 7-10, 2000 at The Sound Factory, Hollywood, CA
• Additional recording: September 27-29, 2000 at Sear Sound, New York City, NY
• Engineering assistance by Adam "Hammy" Samuels at The Sound Factory, and by Todd Parker and Aaron Franz at Sear Sound
• Orchestra arranged and conducted by Steven Barber
• Mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound, New York City, NY
• Project coordination by Caroline Sprinkle
• Musicians:
  • Joe Henry – guitar, vocals, keyboards, percussion
  • Ornette Coleman
    Ornette Coleman
    Ornette Coleman is an American saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter and composer. He was one of the major innovators of the free jazz movement of the 1960s....
    
     – saxophone
  • Brian Blade
    Brian Blade
    Brian Blade in Shreveport, Louisiana is an American jazz drummer, composer, session musician, and singer-songwriter.-Early years:...
    
     – drums, percussion
  • Meshell Ndegeocello – bass
  • David Pilch – bass
  • Marc Ribot
    Marc Ribot
    Marc Ribot born May 21, 1954) is an American guitarist and composer.His own work has touched on many styles, including no wave, free jazz, and Cuban music. Ribot is also known for collaborating with other musicians, most notably Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, and composer John Zorn.-Biography:Ribot was...
    
     – guitar
  • Brad Mehldau
    Brad Mehldau
    Brad Mehldau is an American jazz pianist. Besides leading his own group, the Brad Mehldau Trio, he has performed with many renowned artists, including Pat Metheny, Wayne Shorter, Larry Grenadier, Peter Bernstein, Jeff Ballard, Joshua Redman, Christian McBride, Michael Brecker, Chris Potter, Kurt...
    
     – piano
• Photography: Rosângela Rennó (front cover); Henry Diltz
  Henry Diltz
  Henry Stanford Diltz is a folk musician and photographer, who has been active since the 1960s....
  
  (Richard Pryor, 1968); Craig Street (booklet back cover); Melanie Nissen (additional photography)
• Design by Anabel Sinn
• "Dedicated to the vision of Richard Pryor, the invention of Ornette Coleman, and the memory of Neilo Anthony Ciccone (1925-1999)."