Caribbean Fire Dance is a Joe Henderson composition that first appeared on his 1966 Blue Note album Mode for Joe. The original features a stellar lineup—Lee Morgan, Curtis Fuller, Bobby Hutcherson, Cedar Walton, Ron Carter, and Joe Chambers—and blends hard bop with Afro-Cuban Latin rhythms. The tune uses an A-A-B-A form, with a harmonically bold B section that includes a rare movement between C-sharp and D natural and intricate horn and piano voicings. Steve Khan later transcribed the parts and recorded a guitar-bass-drums version in 1992, refined during a 1994 European tour, and released on the live double CD The Suitcase. A separate big-band arrangement by John Fedchock—Latin and difficult—was nominated for a Grammy Best Instrumental Arrangement; it preserves the piece’s smoldering energy with extended solo sections. Caribbean Fire Dance remains a signature Henderson piece and a highlight of Latin jazz repertoire.
