A Shade of Jade is an instrumental jazz tune in the key of C, composed by the American tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson. Henderson recorded it on 27 January 1966 at Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, and it was released in September 1966 on Blue Note as the opening track, running 7:08, of the album Mode for Joe, produced by Alfred Lion. The recording features Henderson on tenor saxophone, Lee Morgan on trumpet, Curtis Fuller on trombone, Bobby Hutcherson on vibraphone, Cedar Walton on piano, Ron Carter on double bass and Joe Chambers on drums.
Critics have treated Mode for Joe as a major example of modern jazz, and the album is classed as post-bop, modal jazz and hard bop. The tune has been recorded by other musicians since, including The Brass Connection, The Roy Hargrove Quintet feat. Joe Henderson, Nubya Garcia and Brian Charette.
