Inner Urge

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The November 1964 <i>Inner Urge</i> session found rising tenor saxophone master Joe Henderson, then 27, at the helm of a quartet with two of John Coltrane’s renowned sidemen, pianist McCoy Tyner and drummer Elvin Jones (both of whom would record Coltrane’s <i>A Love Supreme</i> just over a week later). Bob Cranshaw, the album’s bassist, was a regular with Sonny Rollin, the other leading tenor of the day. Henderson inherited much from these role model, but he approached the tenor legacy on his own term, building a sound and vocabulary that paved the way for Michael Brecker, David Liebman, Joe Lovano, and countless other. Henderson’s fourth Blue Note album is a paramount example of the label’s mid-’60s post-bop aesthetic, with just five songs at a tight but impactful 45 minute. “Inner Urge,” much like a number of Coltrane composition, remains a challenging test piece for improvisers to this day. “Isotope” presents an angular take on the blue, while “El Barrio” sets up an extended groove very much in the Coltrane “modal” wheelhouse of the period. The Coltrane influence spikes again in the cascading harmonies Tyner superimposes on Cole Porter’s “Night and Day.” And Duke Pearson’s ballad “You Know I Care” is an occasion for Henderson to summon the tenor ancestor, navigating the tune with a warm, deep tone and ceaseless idea. .

via Apple Music

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