''Inner Crisis'' is an album by American jazz pianist

Larry Willis Lawrence Elliott Willis (December 20, 1942 – September 29, 2019) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He performed in a wide range of styles, including jazz fusion, Afro-Cuban jazz, bebop, and avant-garde. Willis was born in New York Ci ...

recorded in 1973 and released on the

Groove Merchant Groove Merchant was an American jazz and R&B record label during the 1970s. It was run by producer Sonny Lester and distributed by Pickwick Records. Notable artists included Chick Corea, O'Donel Levy, Buddy Rich, Jimmy McGriff, Lonnie Smith a ...

label.Jazzlists: Groove Merchant Records 500 Series
accessed April 6, 2018
accessed April 6, 2018

Reception

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

's Thom Jurek said: "''Inner Crisis'' by Larry Willis is one of the very finest examples of electric jazz-funk from the mid-'70s. ... Willis assembled a session that was long on composition and tight on the big groove. Willis' long front lines accentuated deep soul and blues' cadences that were hallmarks of music that walked the line between tough lean groove and the pulsating rhythm of disco without losing its jazz roots to sterile fusion tropes, thanks in large part to his willingness as a pianist to play as part of an ensemble rather than as a soloist".

Track listing

All compositions by Larry Willis # "Out on the Coast" – 4:30 # "153rd Street Theme" – 6:43 # "Inner Crisis" – 6:25 # "Bahamian Street Dance" – 4:32 # "For a Friend" – 6:58 # "Journey's End" – 7:11

Personnel

– piano,

electric piano An electric piano is a musical instrument that has a piano-style musical keyboard, where sound is produced by means of mechanical hammers striking metal strings or reeds or wire tines, which leads to vibrations which are then converted into ele ...

Dave Bargeron David Wayne Bargeron (September 6, 1942 – January 18, 2025) was an American trombonist and tuba player who was a member of the jazz-rock group Blood, Sweat & Tears. Life and career Bargeron was born on September 6, 1942. He was lead trombon ...

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trombone The trombone (, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the Standing wave, air c ...

(tracks 1, 4 & 6) *

Harold Vick Harold Vick (April 3, 1936 – November 13, 1987) was an American jazz saxophonist and flautist. Biography Harold Vick was born on April 3, 1936, in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. At the age of 13, he was given a clarinet by his uncle, Prince Rob ...

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tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (whi ...

soprano saxophone The soprano saxophone is a small, high-pitched member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented in the 1840s by Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax. Built in B♭ an octave above the tenor saxophone (or rarely, slightly small ...

Roland Prince Roland Prince was an Antiguan jazz guitarist. He was born in St. John's on August 27, 1946. He died on July 15, 2016, aged 69. Discography As leader *1976: ''Color Vision'' (with Virgil Jones, Frank Foster, Kenny Barron, Al Foster, Eddie Moore, ...

− guitar * Roderick Gaskin (tracks 2, 3 & 5) – bass guitar *

Eddie Gómez Edgar Gómez (born October 4, 1944) is a Puerto Rican jazz double bassist, known for his work with the Bill Evans Trio from 1966 to 1977. Biography Gómez moved with his family from Puerto Rico at a young age to New York, where he was raised. ...

(tracks 1, 4 & 6) –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

Warren Benbow Warren Benbow (December 22, 1954 – September 29, 2024) was a drummer who worked with Nina Simone, Jimmy Owens, Larry Willis, Eddie Gómez, Olu Dara, Michael Urbaniak, Teruo Nakamura, and was an original member of James Blood Ulmer's band, Odyss ...

(tracks 1, 4 & 6),

Al Foster Aloysius Tyrone Foster (January 18, 1943 – May 28, 2025) was an American jazz drummer. Foster's professional career began in the mid-1960s, when he played and recorded with hard bop and Swing music, swing musicians including Blue Mitchell and ...

(tracks 2, 3 & 5) − drums

References

{{Authority control Groove Merchant albums Larry Willis albums 1973 albums Albums produced by Sonny Lester