Taking a look at “Inner Glimpse”

Taking a look at “Inner Glimpse”

June 3 Blog

Hi folks. Jason Crane here again. I was perusing Yoko’s videos and I came across her performance of “Inner Glimpse.” Before I say any more about this tune, let’s hear an excerpt of one of Yoko’s performances of it:

I was fairly sure “Inner Glimpse” was written by someone other than Yoko, but I wasn’t sure who wrote it until I looked it up and found out the composer was McCoy Tyner. Most people first learn about McCoy because of his membership in John Coltrane’s classic quartet. Certainly that’s where I first learned of him. But after his time with Trane, he went on to have a very successful solo career, which continues to this day. I saw him most recently in Detroit a couple years back. Here are two photos I took at that show, which I was covering for my podcast, The Jazz Session. You can click either photo to see a larger version.

mccoy mccoy1

Somebody can correct me in the comments section if I’m wrong, but as far as I can tell, “Inner Glimpse” was first released on the 1973 live album Enlightenment, where it forms the third part of the “Enlightenment Suite.” According to my research, this record is a major cornerstone of McCoy’s solo work, often cited as one of his best albums.

McCoy returned to “Inner Glimpse” often in live performance. Here’s a live version of this piece, recorded in 1986 and featuring McCoy Tyner (piano), Freddie Hubbard (trumpet), Joe Henderson (tenor sax), Avery Sharpe (bass – interview) and Louis Hayes (drums). To my ear, Freddie still sounds pretty great on this, and Joe shreds on his solo, right out of the gate.

There’s also a studio version with Freddie Hubbard, Cecil McBee (bass – interview) and Al Foster (drums), recorded for the 1980 album Quartets 4×4.

I’m glad I came across this piece, because it led me to other great recordings. Like anybody, I have holes in my jazz listening. It’s impossible not to. That’s why it’s fun to jump down the rabbit hole and see where you end up.

3 Responses

  1. Tom Doherty says:

    Loved this post and enjoyed all versions of “Inner Glimpse” including that fav’ done by McCoy at the Playboy hatshell concert out west, (L.A.?). All I can say is that Yoko you have the Real McCoy under your skin! A life long fav’ since enjoyed hearing McCoy play it circa ’77 in Boston with my wife to be is “Fly Like the Wind”! Check it out and consider performing it sometime ’cause you will love it! Maybe add a trumpet and become the Yoko Miwa Quartet? All the best, T.

  2. Yoko Miwa says:

    Thank you for the kind words Tom! I like “Fly Like the Wind” too…what’s not to like? 🙂

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

YouTube
YouTube
Instagram
Twitter
Visit Us
Follow Me
Spotify
Support