Joe Henderson
Inner Urge

"Inner Urge": "Internal Urge." From the name alone, you can sense that something stirs in your stomach while listening to this record. Certainly, it won't send you running to the bathroom; instead, you'll feel butterflies fluttering because you'll fall in love with the musical dialogues created by the masters of hard bop. Weaving the tracks, apart from the protagonist J. Henderson, are Coltrane's favorites: M. Tyner and E. Jones; and accompanying this ensemble with his bass, B. Cranshaw holds his own remarkably well despite being in such illustrious company.

Recorded in November 1964 and released two years later, Inner Urge represents an experiment by the saxophonist, being described as "Dark and Intense" by the jazz encyclopedia "The Penguin Guide to Jazz," just like the bitter coffee that accompanies me while listening to the phrasing of this album.

Now let's talk about the pieces:

• Inner Urge - I like to think of it as some kind of warning to listeners, the gate to Dante's Inferno. The magnificent four present themselves, each flaunting their sonic abilities. Jones slaps the cymbals and rolls as if possessed by the devil (particularly in the track's final solo), Tyner manages to elaborate and accompany the melodies always at the highest levels, and Henderson opens and closes the piece with consistently groundbreaking patterns.
• Isotope - I would add radioactive to the title, as it is a tribute to the musical humor of another pillar: T. Monk.
• El Barrio - Does it refer to the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona? Who knows, but the fact remains that being a Latin-jazz piece likely influenced by the Andalusian albums "Sketches of Spain" by Davis and Coltrane's Olé, anything is possible. This is the track that moved me the most; especially in the final bars, where Joe seems to split within his instrument, as if in an internal conflict (recall the album's name).
• The last pieces don't stray from their scores: "You Know I Care" is by Duke Pearson, while concluding we find an arrangement of the standard “Night and Day” by Cole Porter.

What are you waiting for to lose yourself in the mysterious conversations that took place in the distant '64 at the Van Gelder Studio? Arm yourself with a net and go hunt the butterflies that cause this “internal urge” in you!

Happy listening!