Herbie Hancock

Herbie Hancock is without a doubt one music's most intrepid pioneers. He had a very significant role in expanding the boundaries of Jazz, Jazz-Rock Fusion, and music in general. His name is deserving of being mentioned among the greatest artists in music like Beethoven, Brahms, Debussy, Shostakovich, Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, and Michael Jackson. Without Herbie leading the way (and, to a great degree, also Tony Williams), there would have been no "Second Great Quintet." Without Herbie (and Joe Zawinul, John McLaughlin, and Chick Corea), I do not believe that the breakout of that which would become called "Jazz-Rock Fusion" would have been as successful and certainly not as popular. (Pressures from inside the staunch old-school mainstream of jazz would have squelched it as they did with other avant-garde modalities like "free jazz.") Herbie was popular! He sold albums! (Herbie has four of the biggest selling jazz albums of the 1960s, four of the best selling jazz albums of the 1970s, four of the best selling jazz albums of the 1980s, three of the best selling jazz albums of the 1990s, and three of the best selling jazz albums of the 2000s.)

Herbie was one of those ever-curious, ever-growing and ever-expanding, ever-fearless humans that art must have in order to keep moving forward; he never allowed himself to grow stagnant, to get locked into a particular style or genre. Like his mentor and champion, Donald Byrd, he was always willing and excited to try new things, to absorb and integrate instead of entrench and fossilize.

Below I've highlighted some of Herbie's studio work from the 1960s and 1970s: I've included all of his solo releases and some of his group or collaborative albums but I've only included the full reviews of those solo albums that had a effect of the creative growth and development of Herbie and his pioneering journey into Jazz-Rock Fusion.  

HERBIE HANCOCK Takin' Off (1962)

22-year old Chicago native, now sleeping on Donald Byrd's couch, is willingly pushed out of the nest to record his first album of original compositions as his own bandleader! What an honor! 

Line-up / Musicians:

- Herbie Hancock / piano

- Freddie Hubbard / trumpet

- Dexter Gordon / tenor saxophone

- Butch Warren / bass

- Billy Higgins / drums

A1. "Watermelon Man" (7:09) the iconic hit that made Herbie the hot ticket in clubs and radio (as well as a LOT of money from all of the covers people have done over the years). Definitely a song that appropriate to the "in-crowd" of the new Kennedy era. What I love about it is that I love Freddie Hubbard, and I love Dexter Gordon, and Billy Higgins is no slouch. Enjoyable and definitely an earworm. (13.75/15)

A2. "Three Bags Full" (5:27) a little more complex and sophisticated with rapid-rising quick key changes in the intro. Butch Warren's almost-simple bass keeps us down on Earth while Herbie and Billy seem to want to lift us up and make us blow with the wind. Freddie is light and Dexter is kind of heavy--like Lenny and Shorty. Herbie is very lyrical and verbose for such a youngin'--playing quite nice lilting keyboard runs and fusillades. I like it! (9/10)

A3. "Empty Pockets" (6:12) opens with quite a little "Take Five" energy before the call of Freddie and Dexter opposite to the response of Herbie's full two-handed chords take us onto a different (more "So What"-like) road. I like the shorter, more staccato soloing of Freddie and Dexter but also the two-way conversation Herbie has with himself in his own solo. The choruses still revert back to that opening "Take Five" energy, while the body of the verses veer back to the "So What" motif--more when Herbie is accompanying, less when he's the soloist. (9/10) 

B1. "The Maze" (6:48) an okay jazz tune that has some amazing whole-band (minus Freddie) interplay while Dexter is soloing in the fourth and fifth minutes. (Dexter and Herbie are especially amazing!) And the finish is ultra-smooth. (13.5/15)

B2. "Driftin'" (6:59) more excellent whole-band on what feels and sounds like an attempt at another "hip" pop-jazz tune. Freddie gets to shine a little in the opening minute but then Dexter is handed the first solo in the second. Not my favorite D solo, it's still pretty smooth, but Freddie's follow-up is so cool, so smooth, so masterfully controlled. At 3:18 Herbie starts his turn: smooth runs, standard chords, until at 3:45 he starts to reach for the stars. At the end of the fourth minute he kind of starts over before his horn men join him as an accent bank while Herbie continues to flow. No big crescendo, just a lot of full-stop accents. (13.333/15)

B3. "Alone And I" (6:30) late night piano with brushes and spacious bass notes open this before Dexter enters to take the first solo with his plaintive tone. I love this guy! He phrases things with such sincerity, presence, and feeling. Freddie takes over at the end of the second minute. He does pretty well, stumbling a bit a couple of times, before fairly quickly passing off to Herbie. It's songs like these--with all of the space and deliberation--that you can really tell the mature, seasoned pros: and Dexter definitely has it over the others (15+ years over both Freddie and Herbie). On Freddie's second go round he's a bit more composed, while Herbie is very eloquent in his support. A beautiful little window into their souls. (9.125/10)

Total time: 38:05

This is all jazz, no elements of Jazz-Rock Fusion in it (that I can tell) but I wanted to review it see where the young prodigy was when it all started. 

90.28 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of accessible jazz. This would be an awesome introductory tool for one's self-education into the world of Jazz Music.

HERBIE HANCOCK My Point of View (1963)

Line-up / Musicians:

- Herbie Hancock / piano
- Donald Byrd / trumpet
- Grachan Moncur III / trombone
- Hank Mobley / tenor saxophone
- Grant Green / guitar
- Chuck Israels / bass
- Tony Williams / drums

MILES DAVIS Seven Steps to Heaven (1963)

Line-up / Musicians:
- Miles Davis / trumpet

- Ron Carter / double bass
- George Coleman / tenor saxophone
- Anthony Williams / drums (A2, B1, B3)

- Frank Butler / drums (B2)

- Herbie Hancock / piano (A2, B1, B3)

- Victor Feldman / piano (A1, A3, B2)

91.58 on the Fishscales

HERBIE HANCOCK Inventions & Dimensions (aka "Succotash") (1964)

Line-up / Musicians:

- Herbie Hancock - piano
- Paul Chambers - bass
- Willie Bobo - drums and timbales
- Osvaldo Chihuahau Martinez - percussion

HERBIE HANCOCK Empyrean Isles (released in Nov. 1964)

Herbie is back with two of his cohorts from Miles Davis' "Second Great Quintet": drummer extraordinaire Tony Williams and bass legend Ron Carter--plus long-time collaborator and Miles replacement, Freddie Hubbard.

Line-up / Musicians:

- Herbie Hancock / piano
- Freddie Hubbard / cornet
- Ron Carter / bass
- Tony Williams / drums

A1. "One Finger Snap" (7:21) Freddie Hubbard can sure get inspired by a spirited swing! He's on fire--prompted, to be sure, by the play of Tony Williams and Ron Carter. Only Herbie feels a little out of place (which may have something to do with his one minute of silence beneath Freddie's solo). But then he shows that he's certainly improved and matured with his own great high-speed solo in the fourth and fifth minutes. He definitely has a gift for cleverly and subtly varying the melody with each pass through the phrases. Tony's amazingly entertaining solo in the seventh minute is so cleanly recorded, top to bottom, that it feels as if the sound of a full drum has never been captured so well. So cool! (14/15)

A2. "Oliloqui Valley" (8:30) here's an interesting song whose opening sounds so much like the clip from THE DRIFT's 2008 song "Uncanny Valley" that is used as the main theme song for The Moth Radio Hour podcast! Herbie is the front man from the very start and, I must say that his gift for pleasing melodies (despite his penchant [and talent] for varying them with each and every recapitulation) is quite remarkable. At the end of the fourth minute Herbie finally relinquishes the spotlight in lieu of Freddie's cornet. Freddie's great--quite dynamic and exciting--but he still can't prevent me from gravitating to the extraordinary play of both Herbie and Tony. At 5:40 all but Tony's cymbal play and the odd piano chord step aside to allow Ron Carter to be heard in solo. Ron chooses to take the melody and rhythm off into an mind-bending psychedelia of pitch distortion and pace warp. Never expected that! When Herbie and the others return and push Freddie back to the front the song is about over and I'm sad! That was one of the fastest 8:30's I've ever experienced! (18.75/20)

B1. "Cantaloupe Island" (5:33) We are here once again (like "Watermelon Man") exposed to Herbie's genius for pop-friendly melodies and earworm "hooks." It sounds to me like a bit of a combination of  variations on the main melodies of the famous samba-inspired songs, "Mas que nada" by Jorge Ben (released in 1963; later, in 1966, made famous by Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66) and Billy and Gene Page's "The 'In' Crowd" (which was, coincidentally being recorded for the very first time by and for Doby Gray just before Empyrean Isles was released). Nice cornet soloing over the two-part Brasilian-influenced song. (9/10)

B2. "The Egg" (14:01) built over one of the strangest rhythm motifs I've come across: there is a third-world (African) tribal ecstatic dance feel to this--a tense environment that Herbie's piano play is only encouraged and --until 5:15 when things "break" for another creative Ron Carter solo--this time with his bow on his double bass--while Tony (or someone) adds percussive accents and support to the odd "Aquatic Astronaut" sounds Ron is playing. Around the seven minute mark Herbie re-enters and steps up front to play some very angular, mathematical 20th Century "classical" piano stylings before turning it into jazz in the ninth minute as Ron and brush-handed Tony return to jazz-like support. The tneth minute sees a run in which Herbie parades a cascade of more unconventional "classical"-sounding chord progressions before heading off into a mouse/bug-like scurrying mode of play runs on the right handed keys. In the 12th minute Ron and Herbie (mostly) cut out to allow Tony to channel some of his own "weird hee-bee-gee-bee" ideas/inspirations. By the arrival of the 13-minute mark, Freddie is returning and the band is recongealing into a variation of the opening motif for the song's close. Interesting! Fun for a live performance or an internal band exercise, but not so much for the gentle listener. Of the musicians' performances I can say that only Herbie's really wowed me; the rest of the improvised expositions felt a little forced, faked, or soulless. (25.75/30)

Total time: 35:25

Though the growth of all four musicians is on keen display, I find myself a bit let down and turned off by the final piece, "The Egg."

90.0 on the Fishscales = A-/4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of melodic and yet sophisticated and often experimental jazz. Highly recommended for its first three songs.

HERBIE HANCOCK Maiden Voyage (released May 17, 1965)

Recorded on March 17, 1965, at Rudy Van Gelder's studios in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, right after the recording sessions for Miles' E.S.P. It didn't take long for Rudy and producer Alfred Lion to get these tapes mastered and ready for production.  

Line-up / Musicians:

- Herbie Hancock / piano
- Freddie Hubbard / trumpet
- George Coleman / tenor saxophone
- Ron Carter / double bass
- Tony Williams / drums

A1. "Maiden Voyage" (7:57) such beautiful, accessible and polished jazz--with great performances across the board but especially from the tandem duo of Freddie Hubbard and George Coleman. An absolutely peak jazz song. (14.5/15)

A2. "The Eye Of The Hurricane" (6:02) fast and yet not-so-furious: instead, this one feels rather "controlled" as opposed to the amazing energy that was not so-effectively bottled for Empyrean Isles' amazing "One Finger Snap." The melodies are a bit more obtuse though the chordal foundation is still quite accessible. (8.75/10)

A3. "Little One" (8:48) slow, melancholy and pensive, the intro of this one feels protracted as if the charts have been stretched out to make more space as well as to let each and every note and chord cast its fullest ripple effect. I love it! Then, at 1:24, the band shifts into a slow-rolling second gear (perhaps even first would be a more accurate analogy: cruisin' very slowly down the avenue with little to no verbal commentary, only George Coleman's nebulous monologue never really breaking the hypnotic, mindless spell the others are under. With the switch to Freddie Hubbard's trumpet as the main speaker we see a little life come to both Herbie and Ron Carter, but then when Herbie takes his turn to hold the talking stick everybody kind of settles back into their own personal reveries as they watch the minimal human scenery and late night neon signage on the sidewalks outside. Ron does, however, take a turn to speak--in the seventh minute--and everybody listens attentively, with great respect, Herbie even chiming in with an occasional "amen" and "hallelujah" before leading the band into their stopping/drop-off spot. Great tune for late night rumination. To me, this is a perfect jazz tune--akin to those strung along on Miles' Kind of Blue and much of Bill Evans work 1959-1961. (20/20) 

B1. "Survival Of The Fittest" (10:04) back to uptempo jazz swing with a bit of a "N'arlans" flare. Freddie Hubbard is in a zone all his own with his rapid-fire legato horn play! And then, surprise of surprises, Tony Williams is offered an unaccompanied solo in the first half of the fourth minute. This animates Tony to add more to the support of the rest of the song as George Coleman takes the next solo. I love how Herbie chimes in with his antiphonal piano chord hits as if responding to the call of "The Preacher"'s sax. At the 6:05 mark Freddie signals a change in direction: perhaps a red light at an intersection. Here the band seems to be chomping at the bit to get back in gear, but with each musician kind of exploring their own energy, the future direction and pace seems undetermined. Herbie tries to quell their anxieties, even getting Tony to sync back into his leadership while the others choose to step back and listen (without comment). Tony's support is rewarded with a little more spotlight in the second half of the ninth minute before Herbie moves into a very classical-sounding passage--to which Tony responds with a Cuban flare at the end of the tenth minute. And then the band comes back together only for a few seconds to end the song. C'est tout! (18/20)

B2. "Dolphin Dance" (9:17) another standard, "safe" jazz tune that allows room for expression from all of the musicians while shining spotlights on Freddie's horn blowing, George's sax play, Herbie's ivory tickling (especially in that special eighth minute!). When the band congeals for the ninth minute it is one of the most sublime sonospheres one could ever hope for: jazz or not! Beautiful ending of a safe song.(18.667/20)  

Total Time: 42:05

Man have these guys continued to grow! All that time spent with Miles has sure been great to the skills and maturation of Ron, Tony, and especially, Herbie. Though this is still fairly straightforward, solid jazz, the skill-building and camaraderie born of sessions like this (sans Miles) are only strengthening the individual musicians and, I think, emboldening them to break out on their own (further). And the weirdest thing of all is that throughout this album I detect no arguing of egos: it's as if everyone is so comfortable with one another, so trusting and supported, that they are all able to feel free enough to just let loose and be their true selves.

94.02 on the Fishscales = A/five stars; a jazz masterpiece that should definitely be in every jazz lover's music collection. For Prog and Jazz-Rock Fusion lovers, this album sets an example for whole-band unity and downplayed egos. Highly recommended.

MILES DAVIS E.S.P. (1965)

Line-up / Musicians:

- Miles Davis / trumpet
- Wayne Shorter / tenor saxophone
- Herbie Hancock / piano
- Ron Carter / double bass
- Tony Williams / drums

93.58 on the Fishscales

HERBIE HANCOCK Blow Up OST (1966)

Line-up / Musicians:

- Herbie Hancock / piano, melodica
- Freddie Hubbard / trumpet
- Joe Newman / trumpet
- Phil Woods / alto sax
- Joe Henderson / tenor sax
- Jimmy Smith / organ
- Jim Hall / guitar
- Ron Carter / bass
- Jack DeJohnette / drums

- possibly Paul Griffin / organ

Except track 7 (B1 on vinyl) which was performed by the Yardbirds:
Jeff Beck: guitar
Jimmy Page: guitar
Keith Relf: harmonica, vocals
Jim McCarty: drums
Chris Dreja: bass

MILES DAVIS Miles Smiles (1967)

Line-up / Musicians:

- Miles Davis / trumpet
- Wayne Shorter / tenor sax
- Herbie Hancock / piano
- Ron Carter / bass
- Tony Williams / drums

93.28 on the Fishscales

MILES DAVIS Sorcerer (1967)

Line-up / Musicians:

- Miles Davis / trumpet

- Ron Carter / double bass
- Tony Williams / drums
- Herbie Hancock / piano
- Wayne Shorter / tenor sax
- Bob Dorough / vocals (track B3)

95.10 on the Fishscales

MILES DAVIS Nefertiti (1967)

Line-up / Musicians:

- Miles Davis / trumpet
- Wayne Shorter / tenor saxophone

- Herbie Hancock / piano
- Ron Carter / double bass
- Tony Williams / drums

88.4375 on the Fishscales

MILES DAVIS Miles in the Sky (1968)

Line-up / Musicians:

- Miles Davis / trumpet
- Wayne Shorter / tenor saxophone
- Herbie Hancock / piano, electric piano on "Stuff"
- George Benson / electric guitar on "Paraphernalia"
- Ron Carter / bass, electric bass on "Stuff"
- Tony Williams / drums

89.125 on the Fishscales

HERBIE HANCOCK Speak Like a Child (1968)

Songs one through three were originally recorded on March 6th, 1968 (as well as material that would appear on later expanded releases as "bonus" songs #7 & 8) while songs four through six were recorded on March 9th (as well as bonus song #9), all at Rudy Van Gelder's Studio in New Jersey. Other than long-time collaborator Ron Carter, Herbie's new lineup of collaborators are all musicians of his own choosing. 

Line-up / Musicians:
- Herbie Hancock / piano
- Ron Carter / bass
- Mickey Roker / drums
- Jerry Dodgion / flute [alto]
- Thad Jones / flügelhorn
- Peter Phillips / trombone [bass]

1. "Riot" (4:40) good standard fare jazz. NOthing to write home about--except for the very palpable sense that one gets that this album is about Herbie, Herbie's piano play, and Herbie's ideas. (8.875/10)

2. "Speak Like a Child" (7:51) an amazingly beautiful song: it really draws one in and holds one close, surrounding and imbuing the listener with a calming, comforting feeling that is akin to those precious moments of deep connection between parent and child. One of the finest songs Herbie ever created--and some of the most beautiful piano playing he ever recorded. Quite the appropriate song title. (15/15)

3. "First Trip" (6:02) the only song on the album that is not attributed to Herbie, this is bassist Ron Carter's first and only compositional contribution to Speak Like a Child, one can certainly derive from this tune how much Ron loves bop--especially the mindless entertainment jazz of the past, both post World War II and pre-war; happy-go-lucky, carefree music to escape into--and it's all for Herbie (who solos over the entire song)! (9.25/10)

4. "Toys" (5:53) perhaps Herbie is giving back a little with this one as Ron Carter's bass is mixed very far forward. In the second minute Ron settles into a steady walking routine while Herbie steps into the spotlight--the music feeling very similar to the Vince Guaraldi stuff in the Charlie Brown television show soundtracks (thus the song title?). Herbie's piano work is exquisite: never getting stale or drowsy, always staying vibrant, melodic, and youthful. Brilliant! (9.333/10)

5. "Goodbye To Childhood" (7:07) pretty late-night deep-rumination music--something about this song reminds me of the work of both Bill Evans and the near-ambient solo work that Eberhard Weber would start doing around 1976. An eminently enjoyable musical listening experience; I feel washed and cleansed after listening to this beautiful song. Kudos to the brass section: their contributions were perfect as complements to Herbie's stellar piano play. (14.125/15)

6. "The Sorcerer" (5:37) it is rare that I feel some Chick Corea in Herbie's music, but this is one of those occasions: the tempo and phrasing (as well as Ron Carter's walking bass lines) feel as if they come straight out of my favorite Chick album of all-time, 1978's The Mad Hatter (to which, curiously, Herbie was a contributor). (9.125/10)

Total time 37:10

I agree with many other reviewers and music critics that with this album Herbie puts on display the extraordinary growth he has achieved piano player but more it shows how mature he's become as both a composer and bandleader! Speak Like a Child definitely contains some of my favorite piano music of all-time.

93.87 on the Fishscales = A/four stars; another jazz masterpiece--this one piano-centric--that I think every music lover would like--especially if you're partial to the melodic side of jazz. I have to say that I think of all the Herbie Hancock albums I've heard, this one might contain the most beautiful music--and certainly Herbie's prettiest piano playing. 

MILES DAVIS Filles de Kilimanjaro (1969)

Line-up / Musicians: 

- Miles Davis / trumpet

- Wayne Shorter / tenor saxophone

- Tony Williams / drums

- Ron Carter / bass (A1, A2, B1, B2)

- Dave Holland / bass (A3, B3)

- Herbie Hancock / piano, electric piano (A1, A2, B1, B2)

- Chick Corea / piano, electric piano (A3, B3)

88.48 on the Fishscales

MILES DAVIS In a Silent Way (1969)

Line-up / Musicians:

- Miles Davis / trumpet

- Dave Holland / bass
- Tony Williams / drums
- Chick Corea / electric piano
- Herbie Hancock / electric piano
- Josef Zawinul / electric piano, organ
- John McLaughlin / guitars
- Wayne Shorter / tenor saxophone

87.1875 on the Fishscales

HERBIE HANCOCK The Prisoner (1969)

Line-up / Musicians:

- Herbie Hancock / piano, electric piano

- Buster Williams / bass
- Albert "Tootie" Heath / drums
- Joe Henderson / tenor saxophone, flute [alto]
- Johnny Coles / flugelhorn

- Garnett Brown / trombone

With:
- Jerome Richardson / bass clarinet (B1, B3)

- Romeo Penque / bass clarinet (B1, B3)

- Hubert Laws / flute (B1, B3)

- Jerome Richardson / flute (B1, B3)
- Jack Jeffers / bass trombone (B1, B3)

HERBIE HANCOCK Fat Albert Rotunda (1969)

Recorded in two sessions at Van Gelder Recording Studios, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, in May and June of 1969, where it was engineered by Rudy Van Gelder (of course), I find it interesting that an early or proto- Jazz-Rock Fusion album could be achieved using the seasoned jazz musicians Herbie here employs (which were the same musicians he used on his previous solo album, The Prisoner). This also marks Herbie's first album produced and released by Warner Brothers Records. It was released on December 8, 1969.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Herbie Hancock / synthesizer, piano, piano (electric), arranger, conductor, vocals

- Buster Williams / double bass, electric bass, percussion (2, 3, 4, 

- Albert "Tootie" Heath / drums
- Johnny Coles / trumpet, flugelhorn
- Billy Hart / drums, percussion

- Joe Henderson / flute (alto), sax (tenor)

- Garnett Brown / trombone

With:

- Joe Farrell / flutes and saxes (1, 7)

- Arthur Clarke / bariton sax (1, 7)

- Billy Butler / electric guitar (1, 7)

- Eric Gale / electric guitar  (1, 7)

- Jerry Jemmott / electric bass (1, 7)

- Bernard Purdie / drums (1, 7)

- Ernie Royal / trumpet (1, 7)

- Joe Newman / trumpet  (1, 7)

- Benny Powell / trombone  (1, 7)

A1. "Wiggle Waggle" (5:48)  sounds like one of those rollicking R&B/Jazz-Lite songs that populated so many "hip" films of the late 1960s--like Peter Sellers' The Party. Great performances from trumpeter  (9/10)

A2. "Fat Mama" (3:45) sounds like an inspirateur for Eumir DEODATO's future "Also Sprach Zaarathustra - 2001" international hit. I find it curious that the performances of the two electric guitarists has gone uncredited (and unrecognized) all these years. The fuzzy guitar-like sound accompanying the rhythm track start to finish could be a heavily-distorted sax but the appearance of a second guitar in the middle of the second minute is unequivocally an electric guitar--making it obvious that there are two rather distinct guitar sounds occurring throughout the song in the background within the rhythm section. I'm guessing that somehow Billy Butler and Eric Gale were somehow forgotten when compiling the credits for the album. Nice, steady work from the rhythm section and some great smooth Fender Rhodes play from Herbie with cool punctuation and enhancements from the horns here and there throughout. (9.2510)

A3. "Tell Me A Bedtime Story" (5:00) a song that bodes well for future Pop- and Smooth-Jazz/Easy Listening star (and producer) BOB JAMES, it is a lovely Fender Rhodes-dominated song with syncopated Latin-suggested rhythm and cinematic "LA Smooth" horn arrangements that definitely predict Bob's Smoth Jazz. This is the first song on which the drumming really strikes me as perfect--and it's brushwork! Johnny Coles' trumpet work and Joe Henderson's flute playing are also quite sublime. Beautiful. Definitely a top three song for me. (9.5/10)

A4. "Oh! Oh! Here He Comes" (4:05) another early-funk song with a clear influence on DEODATO's upcoming music. Amazing! Sounds like DAVID AXELROD's 1968 landmark album, Song of Innocence, which, of course, was facilitated by the core work of LA's famous session band, The Wrecking Crew. Buster Williams' electric bass line was lifted a decade later by John Entwistle for The Who's hit song, "Eminence Front." The rhythm guitar work (again: uncredited) is esssential but the bass and drumming are so great: just like the work of The Wrecking Crew (Carol Kaye, Hal Blaine, and Don Randi, specifically).  My favorite song on the album. (9.75/10)

B1. "Jessica" (4:11) beautiful old time lounge piano jazz that starts out with trombone establishing the main melody over Herbie's piano. The main melody does sound familiar--as if from a classic film theme song ("Summer of '42"?) or perhaps a Bill Evans song. Joined by flute and more intricately arranged and performed horns, this kind of stuff doesn't get any better than this--even if Bill Evans were in the leadership position. Too bad the piano is not very well recorded (or just sounds crappy). My other top three song. (9.5/10)

B2. "Fat Albert Rotunda" (6:27) funky jazz-R&B with plenty of percussion and rhythm guitar flare. (The rhythm guitar is uncredited but sounds a lot like the style and work of Eric Gale.) Buster Williams' electric bass play is a little messy, but Herbie is really rockin' it with his Fender Rhodes and the horn accents and diversions provided Joe Henderson, Johnny Coles, and Garnett Brown are perfect. (9/10) 

B3. "Lil' Brother" (4:25) more David Axelrod/The Wrecking Crew-like cinematic funk-R&B fare with some highly spirited performances coming from the guitarists and horn players--especially Joe Henderson and Arthur (C.) Clarke on his Space Odyssey baritone sax. In fact, the band is so animated as a whole that Herbie's electric piano is mostly drowned out by the others! (9.3333/10)

Total Time: 33:59

Nothing gives one the idea of the influence a particular artist may have had to his contemporaries until you hear a popular and acclaimed album from the era that you've never heard before, which is the case with this album for me. The music on this album shows me how much influence the L.A. scene was having on Herbie (particularly from film, television, and David Axelrod and The Wrecking Crew's influence) but it also illustrates how much a single album can influence another future star, in this case the one and only Eumir Deodato as well as fresh Berklee grad Bob James.

     Another fascinating aspect of this album is how different it sounds to both his work on The Prisoner--while using basically the same lineup--and on the final Second Great Quintet albums with Miles as well as the next solo albums he would do after In a Silent Way (with, again, a completely different lineup of musicians): the "Mwandishi" trilogy. It would not be until 1973's Head Hunters that Herbie would begin returning to the funk/R&B sound and energy that is so dominant on this album!

93.33 on the Fishscales = A/five stars; a wonderful, amazing, eminently engaging and enjoyable excursion through the late 1960s world of film and television score music making performed by one of Jazz's most adventurous and trend-following artists. Though this is early funk, and very cinematic-like, it definitely has its place in the development of that which would become Jazz-Rock Fusion--particularly influential to the nurturance and development of the funky side of J-R F. I have to say, this is one of my favorite type of Jazz-Rock Fusion styles, so it will come as no surprise to see that Fat Albert Rotunda has lept into my top 20 masterpieces of First Wave Jazz-Rock Fusion.

MIROSLAV VITOUS Infinite Search (1970)

Lineup / Musicians:

- Miroslav Vitous / double bass

- Jack DeJohnette / drums (A1 thru B2)

- Joe Chambers / drums (B3)

- Herbie Hancock / electric piano

- John McLaughlin / guitar

- Joe Henderson / saxophone

89.58 on the Fishscales

HERBIE HANCOCK Mwandishi (Released in March of 1971)

An album of brave, masterful performances, production, and mutually supportive collaboration--the first in a series of albums produced over the course of three years in which experimental techniques in collaboration, song structure, and sound manipulation were radically explored. Even the discordant, unstructured 'free jazz' parts of "Wandering Spirit Song" are eminently listenable, enjoyable, even add to the spiritual 'letting go' space and process that the band has lulled you into by that time. Though some people choose to begin this period of Herbie's creativity with the 1969 album Fat Albert's Rotunda because it marked his first release under his new Warner Brothers label after some years in the Blue Note stable, I choose to begin with this album due to the fact that it's the first appearance of the lineup of musicians that he played with over the next five years--his so-called "Mwandishi sextet."

Line-up / Musicians:
- Herbie Hancock / Fender Rhodes electric piano, arrangements
With:
- Eddie Henderson " Mganga" / trumpet, flugelhorn
- Bennie Maupin "Mwile" / bass clarinet, alto flute, piccolo
- Julian Priester "Pepo Mtoto" / tenor & bass trombones
- Buster Williams "Mchezaji" / bass
- Billy Hart "Jabali" / drums 
- Leon Chancler "'Ndugu" / drums, percussion
- Ronnie Montrose / guitar (1)
- Jose Cepito Areas / congas & timbales (1)

1. "Ostinato (for Angela)" (13:10) starts the album off with an incredibly infectious groove and many fascinating production effects that introduce the listener to the new Herbie: Engineer and Producer. Herbie's fender playing is the glue over which his band mates perform highly entertaining, often unusual solos, but these are never obtrusive or outside or above the thread and weave of the group's mix (a feat due, in part, to the recording engineering). The use of two drummers (at times flanged!) and along with a percussionist is, to my ears, highly entertaining and enjoyable. Eddie Henderson's lead trumpet play is great, as is Bennie Maupin's bass clarinet, but it's Herbie's keyboard work that I find most engaging--whether it's in the lead or support role. Again, however, it's the effects used on the instruments and track orientations that make the sound of this song so ground-breaking and fascinating. (23/25)

2. "You'll Know When You Get There" (10:15) is a beautiful piece of kind of ambient jazz in which echo and space, slow tempo, and subtlety are kings for the day. It's easy to float off and let go of this one, but so worth paying attention if you can/when you do. The first half is almost an Eddie Henderson solo but then the music congeals again in a truly beautiful and intricate weave in the fifth minute. Great bass play from Buster Williams and awesome interplay of sometimes-conflicting or tension-building melodies by Herbie, Bennie, and others. Truly a masterpiece of experimental jazz music. (19/20)

3. "Wandering Spirit Song" (21:28) My favorite of this album of sublime music. This is for me a soundtrack for deep spiritual introspection and regeneration. Amazing things music can do! Definitely a masterpiece of music--offering the highest gifts to humans that other humans can give: transportation and transcendence. Kudos to Buster, Herbie, and the horn players and percussionists for this mighty piece. (37/40)

Total Time 44:50

92.94 on the Fishscales = A/five stars; a masterpiece of experimental jazz fusion and, by inclusion, a milestone in progressive rock music. Despite the fact that I like the lineup's next album, Crossings, better (due, I think to the fresh injection provided by Patrick Gleeson's synthesizers and the all-female background vocalists), this one rates slightly better on my Fishscales metric system (in the Top 25, in fact).

HERBIE HANCOCK Crossings (Recorded February 15-17, 1972, and then released in May.)

Of Herbie's three Mwandishi sextet/septet albums, this is my favorite. Recorded in San Mateo, California on February 15-17 at Pacific Recording Studios, Herbie was convinced by producer David Rubinson to take the session tapes over to Patrick Gleeson's Different Fur studio in San Francisco in order to experience some of Dr. Pat's synthesizer/sound magic. The rest is history as thereafter Gleeson became a band fixture both on and off the stage (much to the chagrin and discomfort of the rest of the all-Black band).

Line-up / Musicians:
- Herbie Hancock / acoustic & electric pianos, Mellotron, percussion
With:
- Bennie Maupin / soprano sax, bass clarinet, alto & piccolo flutes, body percussion
- Eddie Henderson / trumpet, flugelhorn, percussion
- Julian Priester / bass & tenor & alto trombones, percussion
- Patrick Gleeson / Moog synthesizer
- Buster Williams / acoustic & electric basses, percussion
- Billy Hart / drums, percussion
- Victor Pontoja / congas
- Candy Love / chorus vocals
- Della Horne / chorus vocals
- Sandra Stevens / chorus vocals
- Scott Beach / chorus vocals
- Victoria Domagalski / chorus vocals

1. "Sleeping Giant" (24:48) Herbie's lone compositional credit on the album manages to fill an entire side of the album and, to my ears, represents the most structured jazz-like tune on the album. Opening with an awesome polyrhythmic percussive tribute to Africa, the song jumps into more Western-friendly arenas with bass and electric piano in the fourth minute. This is a sonic palette and style that will be replicated with much success by the likes of Emir Deodato and Brian Auger within the next year. A song that plays out like a smooth MILES DAVIS song (despite the Fat Albert-like theme interjected into the twelfth minute). (46.25/50)

2. "Quasar" (7:25) though the structure and flow are quite unusual and experimental, the sounds used, for the most part, are pretty straightforward traditional jazz instruments. (14/15)

3. "Water Torture" (13:54) piccolo and percussion and strange ARP and Moog sounds open this Bennie Maupin composition, truly mimicking some of the sounds of water. That feeling and sensation of waterflow somehow is maintained continuously, though in varying forms, throughout this extraordinary piece.
     After 90 seconds an actual musical soundscape is built around bass, keys, and clarinet while percussives and trumpet play around on the edges. (28/30)

Total Time 46:21

Here the band (now ready to become a septet since the reluctant though-official addition of synthesizer guru and token white person, Patrick Gleeson) is more seasoned, working seamlessly, almost effortlessly, in cohesion. The music feels more rehearsed, more repeatable, and still quite organic despite the addition of Patrick Gleeson's synthesizers and sound treatments and the advent of spacier sonic backdrops. The production is so clean and clear, with each instrument standing prominently in the mix wherever its place. (The previous album had a more equanimous washed feel to it and the next album, Sextant,

suffered from poor sound engineering.)

92.89 on the Fishscales = A/five stars; a masterpiece of progressive rock music coming from the jazz-rock fusion subgenre. My favorite of Herbie's three "Mwandishi" albums--earning a Top 20 ranking among my Favorites.

HERBIE HANCOCK Sextant (Recorded in early 1973; released on March 30.)

The band is loose and funked up, maybe having more fun now that they're all so comfortable with each other, and with Herbie really going out there with his experimentations into electronic keyboards and sounds but, on the other end, there seems to be less attention to quality sound engineering on this album than on Mwandishi and Crossings.

Line-up / Musicians:

- Herbie Hancock / Steinway piano, Fender Rhodes, Mellotron, Hohner D6 clavinet, handclaps
With:
- Bennie Maupin / soprano sax, bass clarinet, piccolo, cabasa, kazoo
- Eddie Henderson / trumpet, flugelhorn
- Julian Priester / bass, tenor & alto trombones, cowbell
- Patrick Gleeson / ARP 2600 & Soloist synths
- Buster Williams / electric (with wah-wah & fuzz) & acoustic basses
- Billy Hart / drums
- Buck Clarke / congas, bongos

- Billy Bonner / Fx

1. "Rain Dance" (9:18) lots of experimental sounds here (mostly synthesizer generated). Drums and bass are probably the two most prominent and loyal to their acoustic origins than any other instrument here. As a matter of fact, there is very little input from the horn players on this one. Interesting for the fact that it previews the later world of computer sounds and sequencers but not really a song that I enjoy or wish to hear repeatedly. On the outlying edges of what I'd call music. (17/20)

2. "Hidden Shadows" (10:12) funky with quite a variety of keyboards under Herbie's hand (including Mellotron!), there is quite a bit more dynamic range in this sonic presentation of this song than that of the previous Mwandishi albums. (18/20)

3. Hornets (19:31) I wouldn't doubt that this song was the inspiration for the famous SNL "Killer Bees" sketches a year or two later, as trumpet, clavinet, kazoo, ARP, percussion, and other crazed sounds coming from Bennie Maupin all contribute to a serious attempt to reproduce the chaotic busy-ness of the eusocial wasps known as "hornets." Crazy yet brilliant, chaotic yet so disciplined and focused. Just like hornets. Though Herbie and Billy Hart make a strong play for the title, Bennie Maupin, however, is by far the craziest hornet of them all. Entertaining and fun/funny, historically important, but not really a song that draws me back. (I wonder if the band were able to replicate this song live, in concert.) (34.5/40)

Total Time 39:02

86.875 on the Fishscales = B; four star; a solid piece of progressive rock music from the domain of experimental jazz-rock fusion--where it may be deserving of more acclaim and accolades. 

EDDIE HENDERSON Realization (Recorded February 27 & 28, 1973; released on July 7.)

Line-up / Musicians:

- Eddie Henderson (Mganga) / trumpet, cornet, flugelhorn
- Bennie Maupin (Mwile) / alto flute, flute, stritch, tenor sax, bass clarinet
- Herbie Hancock (Mwandishi) / Fender Rhodes, electric piano, Univox electric piano
- Billy Hart (Jabali) / drums, percussion
- Buster Williams (Mchezaji) / bass, Fender bass
- Pat Gleeson / ARP synthesizer, Moog synthesizer, organ
- Lenny White III / drums

91.34 on the Fishscales

HERBIE HANCOCK The Spook Who Sat by the Door OST (1973) The film had its release on September 21 of 1973. It is known that Herbie had grown tired of the Mwandishi scene in the winter of 1973, after recording a few last minute albums with the lineup and fulfilling some concert commitment dates through March, he picked up and went full into funk music. This movie soundtrack may have been one of the bridges he used to move into this direction. It is well-recognized that the song that became "Actual Proof" on his 1974 release, Thrust, came from this soundtrack.

     The music is good, though the only recordings I've been able to find are set in, around, and within the dialogue and sounds of the actual movie, nothing much separate from it. Plus, it's only 28 minutes long. As other reviewers note, the music here feels much closer to the Head Hunters funk-infused music than the drawn out experimental explorations done by the Mwandishi lineup. There are definitely still a lot of sound/noise experimentations going on here, suggesting that Patrick Gleeson was probably still on board as a collaborator (even producer). I enjoy the music--and the film scene details have me intrigued. (I enjoy the historical perspectives I can reference when watching these old "Blaxploitation" films.) Listening to any of Herbie's funk is a real treat. The soundtrack is short, and the sound engineering and mastering is not great, but it's a soundtrack! The music is still great.

HERBIE HANCOCK Head Hunters (Recorded in September of 1973; released Oct. 26.)

Herbie's first studio album since decommissioning his Mwandishi project. Produced by David Rubinson it was recorded on the West Coast in September of 1973 at both Wally Heider and Different Fur studios and then released on October 26 by Columbia Records. Herbie is stated to have said that he was tired of the spacey, high-end stuff and just wanted to bring it back down to Earth with some funk. It is important when listening to this album to remember how influential it was: both to other artists as well as on the tastes of the popular ear; this was, after all, at the time (until the 1976 phenomenon of George Benson's Brezzin'), the highest selling jazz album of all-time!

Line-up / Musicians:
- Herbie Hancock / ARP Odyssey & Soloist synths, Fender Rhodes, Hohner D6 clavinet, pipes, co-producer
- Bennie Maupin / soprano & tenor saxophones, saxello, bass clarinet, alto flute
- Paul Jackson / electric bass, marimbula
- Harvey Mason / drums
- Bill Summers / percussion (congas, shekere, balafon, agogo, cabasa, hindewho, tambourine, log drum, surdo, gankogui, beer bottle)
 
1. "Chameleon" (15:41) the opening funk bass sound and line lets us know right off the bat what's going to be different about this music compared to the famous "Mwandishi sound" of Herbie's previous three years of work: Funk is paramount here. The problem here is how long Herbie stays affixed to a particular pattern and motif: it's as if it takes him 30 measures to get the feel of a pattern enough to be able to play within much less diverge or solo above it.  I don't know if the rhythm section (or engineer) realized that they were speeding up in the sixth minute, beneath Herbie's funky ARP Soloist solo, but it's awkward for a bit until they all return to the pocket. At 7:40 there is a reset to let Paul Jackson and Harvey Mason reset their rhythm pattern. Now we're in Fender Rhodes territory--the soundscape that will become BOB JAMES' standard/go-to palette. Paul and percussionist Bill Summers start playing off one another, which is highly entertaining despite Herbie supposedly being in the lead up top. Harvey's innovative use of the hi-hat here might also have served to influence all future Disco drummers. I prefer this middle section to the opening one. At the 12-minute mark there is a reset bridge with those rich ARP strings and panning Fender Rhodes play. J-R Fuse Heaven! Now this is where Smooth Jazz came from! At 13:15 there is another reset bridge that allows the band to restart the opening motif. Here Bennie Maupin finally gets some front-time on his tenor sax. Nice. A song that contains so much innovation I can't justify down-rating it despite my not really liking the majority of it. (27/30)

2. "Watermelon Man" (6:29) a very popular song that is denigrated by the fact that to me it is a very thinly-veiled  revisitation on Dobie Gray's big hit from 1964 (a Billy Page compostion), "The 'In' Crowd." Then there is the presence at the opening and ending of the odd breath and voice percussion (what would probably inspire a whole generation of Bobby McFerrins. (8.875/10)

3. "Sly" (10:18) a reference to the "Sly" of the Family Stone? What starts out deceptively in some disarray becomes, quite suddenly, at the two-minute mark, a meteoric flight through high altitude with bass, drums, percussion, and clavinet all rushing wildly along in a very loose weave beneath Bennie Maupin's wild soprano saxophone play. Then Herbie gets a turn on his Fender electric piano. The man is so smooth!  Paul Jackson's low end bass play paired up with Harvey Mason's hi-hat and cymbal work is pure genius! Somebody (Bennie Maupin) must be playing the clavinet beneath/alongside Herbie's two-handed Fender Rhodes exposition. I have to admit that I'd never really appreciated the drumming of Harvey Mason before this--cuz I'd never heard anything quite like this before. High marks for the extraordinary work of that dynamic middle section. (19/20)

4. "Vein Melter" (9:10) It would seem here that Harvey's semi-automatic militaristic snare and hi-hat riff would run contrary to the somber, etheric world being created by the rest of the band, but somehow it all works (except the ARP sounds: they sound so dated!) My favorite part is hearing Bennie Maupin playing with such feeling and emotion without having to blast it or even raise his "voice." Also, you can hear here the reverberating Fender Rhodes electric piano sound that everybody will be using over the next ten years: KOOL AND THE GANG  "Summer Madness," Donald Fagen/STEELY DAN, BOZ SCAGGS Silk Degrees and so many more. (17.5/20)

Total Time 41:38

Thrust is my favorite Herbie album.

90.78 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a minor-masterpiece (and landmark album) of Jazz-Rock Fusion.

EDDIE HENDERSON Inside Out (Recorded in October of 1973; released in January of 1974.)

Line-up / Musicians:

- Eddie Henderson / trumpet, cornet, flugelhorn
- Herbie Hancock / Fender Rhodes, electric piano, clavinet, organ
- Bennie Maupin / stritch, clarinet, bass clarinet, flute, alto flute,
piccolo, tenor saxophone
- Buster Williams / bass, Fender electric bass
- Eric Gravatt / drums
- Billy Hart / drums
- Patrick Gleeson / synthesizers

91.91 on the Fishscales 

HERBIE HANCOCK Death Wish OST  (1974)

Line-up / Musicians:

- Herbie Hancock: piano, Fender Rhodes electric piano, Hohner D-6 Clavinet, ARP Odyssey, ARP Soloist, ARP 2600, ARP String Ensemble, Vocals
- The Headhunters Group
- Jerry Peters: conductor, arranger

BENNIE MAUPIN The Jewel in The Lotus (Recorded in the Summer of 1974; released Nov. 1.)

Line-up / Musicians:

- Bill Sumers / percussion
- Herbie Hancock / piano, electric piano
- Billy Hart / drums
- Bennie Maupin / chimes, clarinet (bass), flute, glockenspiel, reeds, sax (soprano), sax (Tenor), vocals
- Charles Sullivan / trumpet (A2, A3)
- Frederick Waits / drums, marimba
- Buster Williams / double bass, electric bass

91.62 on the Fishscales

HERBIE HANCOCK Thrust (Released September 6, 1974)

After the final sessions with his Mwandishi collaborators, Herbie was all-in for the Funk and all-in for exploring the latest sounds that technology could provide. Thrust is the result of his deep dive--one of the first jazz artists and jazz albums to take music into the third, more melodic and pop-oriented, wave of Jazz-Rock Fusion. Recorded in San Francisco at Wally Heider Studios, the album was released by Columbia Records on September 6, 1974. 

Line-up / Musicians:
- Herbie Hancock / ARP Odyssey, 2600, String & Soloist synths, Fender Rhodes, Hohner D6 Clavinet, co-producer
With:
- Bennie Maupin / soprano & tenor saxophones, saxello, bass clarinet, alto flute
- Paul Jackson / electric bass
- Mike Clark / drums
- Bill Summers / percussion

1. "Palm Grease" (10:37) using simpler structures, simpler melodic hooks, simpler more pop-oriented rhythm patterns, Herbie turns his music into a product that is more oriented toward the entertainment of the masses instead of something trying to impress the traditionalists. The musicians he has chosen to surround himself on this one are, of course, incredibly solid but also carry that single-minded vision of serving the masses and thus help in producing eminently listenable, enjoyable, and danceable songs. Great drumming from Mike Clark and great bass play from Paul Jackson while Bennie Maupin and Herbie test all the funk sound boundaries with their futuristic sounds. (17.75/20)

2. "Actual Proof" (9:40) with the smooth synth strings and floating flute, this one crosses both the Stevie Wonder-like funk and Bob James-like Smooth Jazz worlds despite the wonderfully funky bass and clavinet play. From a keyboard-perspective, this song lets me know that Herbie had heard Eumir DEODATO's hit-generating music from Prelude. From a bass and drums perspective I can hear that Paul Jackson and Mike Clark had been hearing the stuff that Buster Williams and Stanley Clarke as well as Billy Cobham and Lenny White were doing since the Bitches Brew sessions; just stupendous play from both of them! One of the coolest funk-laden Smooth Jazz songs you will ever hear! (19.75/20)

3. "Butterfly" (11:17) awesome late night cabana smooth jazz with Bennie Maupin's bass clarinet and saxello carrying a lot of the melody load--but from the back! Herbie sits back with his synth strings supporting the scene for the first two minutes before revealing his clavinet and Fender Rhodes while Bennie solos. The drums, percussion and bass are simple--like a good R&B rhythm section in relax and groove mode throughout Bennie's two-plus minute solo. Herbie takes the next extended solo--for the next five mintues!--on his Fender. Lovely. What a great earworm of a bass riff! At 7:00 Herbie moves to his clavinet for a bit and, with it, the band into a great funkified variation of the main theme before he returns to a more vibrant solo form on his Fender. (19/20)

4. "Spank-A-Lee" (7:12) an exercise in pure funk à la the recent STEVIE WONDER work (think "Boogie on Reggae Woman"). The four rhythmatists are wonderful--and obviously having a great time grooving with one another, but from the one-minute mark on it's really the Bennie Maupin show and I'm not really a sax man. While not as catchy or melodic as the previous songs, it is still demonstrative of some mighty high talent. (13.375/15)

Total Time 38:46

I think that humble, uber-talented bandleader Herbie Hancock here demonstrates that he is finally convinced that his keyboard playing can be front and center--as the main attraction--and that all of the funk tendencies taking over the radio waves and technological advances going on in keyboard instrumentation needed tending to--and advantage taken of. While I loved his 1960s work and his Mwandishi period, I am LOVING this stuff WAY more! 

93.167 on the Fishscales = A/five stars; a certifiable masterpiece of Second Wave Jazz-Rock Fusion, my favorite Herbie album of all-time, and one of my favorite albums in the J-R Fuse lexicon. 

HERBIE HANCOCK Man-Child (1975)

Line-up / Musicians:
- Herbie Hancock / piano, Fender Rhodes, Hohner D6 Clavinet, synths (Oberheim Polyphonic, ARP Odyssey, Pro-Soloist, 2600 & String Ensemble)
With:
- David T. Walker / electric guitar
- Dewayne McKnight / electric guitar
- Melvin "Wah Wah" Watson / guitar, synthesizer, talkbox
- Bennie Maupin / bass clarinet, alto & bass flutes, saxello, tenor & soprano saxophones, percussion
- Stevie Wonder / harmonica
- Wayne Shorter / soprano saxophone
- Jim Horn / flute, saxophone
- Ernie Watts / flute, saxophone
- Richard Hyde / tuba, bass trombone
- Garnett Brown / trombone
- Bud Brisbois / trumpet
- Jay DaVersa / trumpet
- Louis Johnson / electric bass
- Paul Jackson / electric bass
- Henry Davis / electric bass
- James Gadson / drums
- Mike Clark / drums
- Harvey Mason / drums
- Bill Summers / percussion

1. "Hang Up Your Hang Ups" (7:27) a song some proclaim the greatest funk jam of all-time, Herbie's clavinet, Louis Johnson's bass, the solid drums and amazing horn arrangements really are amazing but it's the incredible rhythm guitar of Melvin "Wah Wah" Watson and the other guitarists that always get me. Great housecleaning music. Excellent, if slightly incongruous. piano solo in the final 90 seconds. I am hard pressed to imagine how won could make this a better song. (15/15)

2. "Sun Touch" (5:09) a sound palette that could serve as a late-nite "Pillow Talk" radio theme song is actually quite complex with some very intricate performances. The rhythm section seem to almost want to pause or delay the song but Herbie's Fender Rhodes keeps pushing it along. Brilliant! Then you get the addition of Wah Wah's guitar riffs and the horns the further you travel into it. (9.5/10)

3. "The Traitor" (9:36) now that's some funky bass, with excellent response from the drummer. Herbie's clavinet accents are so dextrous and never over done. The bass, guitar, and horns frisky additions in the second minute are so awesome! It's like we're listening to PARLIAMENT! Then you put Herbie's snarky synth soloing over the top and it's like Bernie Worrell or George Clinton himself were sittin' in! Wow! Never knew Herbie let himself go this funky! I love it! Seems like a preview of every funky hip hop act of the next twenty years--as well as a reflection of early Kool & The Gang, Ohio Players, and Brothers Johnson, and the new Isley Brothers sound. And the sound engineering is so incredible: every instrument is easily followable while the fullness of the collective weave is never tampered with. The instrumental choice I think I'd leave off would be that occasionally sustained Oberheim strings chord: the funk doesn't need it. Toward the end of the song, the bass solo beneath Wah Wah's "distant" talk box guitar play is awesome. (19.25/20)

4. "Bubbles" (8:59) a fairly simple and minimalist construction of basically five instruments: the melodic bass, the more-percussive drums, a single lead guitar, a horn player injecting a variety intermittent sounds, and Herbie with a wide barrage of subtly delivered keys (clavinet, Fender Rhodes, Oberheim strings, other synth flourishes). Amazing how little front man action there is: just little attention grabbers from a wide assortment of contributors, all pretty much delivered in flourishes and sudden outbursts. Cool! Highly entertaining to listen to just to try to catch all of the tremendous number of sounds injected into it. (17.75/20)

5. "Steppin' in It" (8:36) more funk coming from the bass and bass-synth departments with spacious drum-and-bass funk while accented by an active and unpredictable horn section and team of several rhythm guitarists. This reminds me of the theme song from Sanford and Son. In the fourth minute Herbie's Fender Rhodes steps into the forefront to give us some uninspired and unobtrusive soloing. Then, just as I was thinking for the third or fourth time how "Stevie Wonder"-like this all was, who should step into the spotlight but Stevie Wonder with his harmonica! This feels like something from Stevie's upcoming Songs in the Key of Life. And yet the song is given full compositional credit to Herbie! The two must have run into each other in 1974 or 1975 while recording their own musics at the same music studio on the West Coast (most likely Crystal Studios in Hollywood: where Stevie recorded most of SinKoL--including the song "As" which features Herbie on Fender Rhodes). As a matter of fact, I'll go so far as to guess that Stevie's harmonica part was added towards the end of the song's processing as I can still hear the "shadow" of Herbie's Fender Rhodes solo beneath Stevie's harmonica--indicating to me that originally Herbie's solo that was started around the three minute mark actually went fully through the song but then was later muted (or attempted to have been removed from the song) from the 4:10 mark onwards in lieu of Stevie's solo. Regardless of the accuracy of my deductions, neither performances do enough to lift this song up: the performances here are just not as energetic or spirited as those on the other songs on the album, thus, this is not my favorite: it's a little too BOB JAMES-thin for my preferences. (17.5/20)

6. "Heartbeat" (5:17) stomping bass and bass drums open this while guitars, keys and horns introduce their sound package for about 30 seconds before the train starts rolling. It's another soul-funky song that reminds one of earlier classic 1970s Soul/R&B music like that of Motown's The Temptations ("I Can't Get Next to You") or Four Tops (Ain't No Woman [Like the One I Got]). The performers are totally engaged and synched up for this one! Love to hear it when everybody's on board like this! Great drumming, great bass play, GREAT Herbie play, and great contributions from Bill Summers and the rhythm guitarists. (9.25/10)

Total Time 44:47

An amazingly creative foray into the deepest funk territory I've ever heard a jazz artist ever go, and yet, at the same time, the jazzy core of improvisational interweaving of many instruments never suffers or is sacrificed--again, something that I've rarely (maybe never) heard to this level of perfection. I am truly shocked to have only discovered this album and hereby recognize it as one of the greatest testaments to the peak accomplishments of Jazz-Rock Fusion.

92.89 on the Fishscales = A/five stars; a masterpiece of funked-up Jazz-Rock Fusion; a true example of nearly perfect blending of Jazz-Rock and Jazz-Funk trends as they occurred in the mid-1970s. Though many people consider Herbie as a leader and innovator, I choose to think of him and his musical outpourings as an excellent barometer of the latest trends in J-R Fusion: he was always in the first wave of expressionists to come after the stones of innovation had been thrown by other artists and engineers--maybe he was (consistently) that first wave. 

HERBIE HANCOCK Secrets (1976)

Yet more evolution in the HH line-up of collaborators: only horn player Bennie Maupin remains from the Mwandishi lineup, and bassist Paul Jackson from the Head Hunter days. Besides the new sounds, the work of Melvin "Wah-Wah" Watson as both multi-instrumental performer and co-composer of five of the seven songs is particularly notable. The man was a creative force! 

Line-up / Musicians:
- Herbie Hancock / piano, electric piano [Fender Rhodes, Yamaha Electric Grand Piano], synthesizers [Arp Odyssey, Arp String Ensemble, Micro-Moog, Oberheim Polyphonic], clavinet [Hohner D6], effects [Echoplex]

- Paul Jackson / bass (A2 to B4)

- James Levi / drums A2 to B4)
- Wah Wah Watson (Melvin Ragin) / guitar, synthesizer [Maestro Universal Synthesizer System, Maestro Sample & Hold Unit], talkbox [Voice Bag], bass, vocals (A1)

- Kenneth Nash / percussion (A2 to B4)

- Bennie Maupin / soprano saxophone, tenor sax, saxello, lyricon, bass clarinet

With:

- James Gadson / drums and vocals (A1) 

- Ray Parker / guitars; vocals (A1) 

- Art Baldacci / vocals (A1)

- Chris Mancini / vocals (A1)

- Don Kerr / vocals (A1)

- Fred Dobbs / vocals (A1)

A1. "Doin' It" (8:00) funky rhythm guitar, bass, and "Voice Bag" all performed by Wah Wah Watson while the James Gadson and Ray Parker team helped out on the sides. Herbie's Fender Rhodes sounds pretty standard but the clavinet, organ, and synthesizer work alongside the "Just keep on doin' it" vocal chant is wild and definitely mega-funky. Do they think their Sly & The Family Stone? or the Ohio Players? Great funk tune that is especially notable for all of the advanced sound technologies used (and how they're used). (13.5/15)

   
A2. "People Music" (7:07) cool Bob James-like funk-lite tune within which Bennie Maupin plays some weird horn (most likely the lyricon though it could be the saxello) to smooth effect. The song has many twists and turns, stops and starts, including a complete change in direction around the three-minute mark into a really cool spacey synth section over which Herbie helps re-establish the funk with his Fender Rhodes solo. I love Paul Jackson's bass play as well as the sophisticated compositional structure and spacey synth presence--and the fact that it just keeps getting better the further you get into it. (14.5/15)   

A3. "Cantelope Island" (7:06) there's nothing like the revisitation to an old classic (now a "standard") from one's own repertoire and compositional legacy. I actually love how Herbie and Billy Cobham have been unafraid to "update" their popular/iconic compositions as there is so much to be said for the technological (and stylistic) progressions presented in each successive decade. While I like this version--it's pretty wild on the sound and solo side--but there's something that feels a bit like drag or a "too cool for your own shoes" attitude coming through. It's also difficult when you love the original. (13.333/15)  

B1. "Spider" (7:20) dramatic like a film soundtrack song (think Shaft), this one harkens back to the Fat Albert Rotunda album in its urban soundtrack feel; one can just picture the montage of scenes as Huggy Bear, Bootney Farnsworth and/or Biggie Smalls walked through the streets of Harlem or Chicago's South Side. Cool, fun song with lots of virtuosic-though-understated individual work. (13.75/15)

B2. "Gentle Thoughts" (7:01) more gentle Pop-Funk with Wah-Wah and Herbie laying back while Bennie solos again on lyricon (and/or saxello). Nice melodies and interesting sounds being melded together, but, again, the similarities to the music Bob James was now making are not unnoticed. (13.5/15)
 

B3. "Swamp Rat" (6:25) back to some really complex (and, I would think, demanding) funk that somehow still manages to come across as smooth and laid back. I love the syncopation being demanded of all performers--with Paul Jackson, Herbie and Wah Wah Watson particularly stepping up to the task. Interesting that Bennie's sax solo starts out far in the background but then slowly, gradually moves to the front and center. Was that an engineering choice or due to Bennie's distance to/from the recording microphone? The song becomes much more animated as it goes, even threatening to derail--but not if drummer James Levi can help it! (9.3333/10)

B4. "Sansho Shima" (4:50) Bennie Maupin's lone composition on the album, the song definitely brings the band back into some of the more jazz-oriented super-funk that was being explored by the more jazz-dedicated purists of the time (and beyond). Very demanding hyper-speed jazz performances are herebeing demanded of the musicians. Well met! Not as engaging of a tune as the previous ones but definitely impressive (9.125/10)

Total Time: 48:01

The performances are all loose and relaxed though tightly-synchronized: this band feels well-oiled and all on the same page. The compositions are all sophisticated and interesting, requiring virtuosic skills to perform, though some fall into the Bob James vein of Smooth Jazz that is beginning to take over and will soon dominate the Jazz-Rock Fusion idiom. 

91.62 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of funk-leaning Jazz-Rock Fusion that covers the spectrum of both hard-core jazz as well as the insidious pull of the more commercially enticing and easy listening movement toward Smooth Jazz.

JACO PASTORIUS Jaco Pastorius (1976)

Line-up / Musicians:
- Jaco Pastorius / bass, horn (2) & string (4) arrangements
With:
- Don Alias / congas (1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 10, 11), bells (3), bongos (4), percussion (6, 7)
- Sam & Dave / vocals (2)
- Herbie Hancock / keyboards (2), piano (4, 8-10), Fender Rhodes (3, 6, 11)
- Narada Michael Walden / drums (2)
- Randy Brecker / trumpet (2)
- Ron Tooley / trumpet (2)
- Peter Graves / bass trombone (2)
- David Sanborn / alto sax solo (2)
- Michael Brecker / tenor sax (2)
- Howard Johnson / baritone sax (2)
- Alex Darqui / Fender Rhodes (3)
- Lenny White / drums (3, 6, 8, 10, 11)
- Bobby Economou / drums (4)
- Wayne Shorter / soprano sax (6)
- Othello Molineaux / steel drums (6)
- Leroy Williams / steel drums (6)

- Peter Gordon / French horn (7)
- Hubert Laws / piccolo flute (8, 10)

And:
- Michael Gibbs / strings conductor (4,9) & arranger (9)
- David Nadien / violin & concertmaster (4)
- Violins: Harry Lookofsky (4), Paul Gershman (4), Koe Malin (4), Harry Cykman (4), Harold Kohon (4), Matthew Raimondi (9), Max Pollikoff (9), Arnold Black (9)
- Violas: Selwart Clarke (4), Manny Vardi (4), Julian Barber (4), Al Brown / viola (9)
- Cellos: Charles McCracken (4), Kermit Moore (4), Beverly Lauridsen (4), Alan Shulman (9)
- Double Basses: Richard Davis (9), Homer Mensch (9)

92.36 on the Fishscales

THE  HERBIE HANCOCK TRIO (1977)

Out of the surprising success of the V.S.O.P. first appearance as a one-off at the Newport Jazz Festival in July of 1976 (and the very successful Herbie Hancock V.S.O.P. album release in April of 1977), Herbie orchestrated a tour of Freddie Hubbard and four-fifths of Miles Davis' "Second Great Quintet" for the following summer. In between some concert dates in California, Herbie organized some recording time at David Rubinson's new recording studio in San Francisco--to which Tony Williams and Ron Carter showed up (and out of which, due to separate contractual obligations, arose two albums: this one from CBS/Columbia/Sony Records and another on Milestone Records attributed to Ron Carter, called Third Plane). The sessions both convey the musicians enthusiasm for the new V.S.O.P. collaboration--which would also culminate in several albums, live and studio, over the next few years.

Line-up / Musicians:

- Herbie Hancock / piano
- Ron Carter / bass [acoustic and electric]

- Anthony "Tony" Williams / drums

1. "Watch It" (12:24) Though four of the songs are Herbie Hancock compositions (the fifth, Miles Davis' famous "Milestones") there is a very strong feeling of Tony Williams' LIFETIME in this, the opener. An amazing, jaw-dropping yet thoroughly-engaging song of dynamic Power Jazz/Jazz-Rock Fusion of the kind that Tony is so known for--but all of the performances on this song are humming along at "Eleven": virtuosos performing at the absolute peak of their powers. As a matter of fact, I find my judgment as to who's the ascendant performer swaying back and forth between Ron, Herbie, and Tony, over and over. What enthusiasm! Sublime expressions of joy and camaraderie. (25/25)

2. "Speak Like a Child" (13:04) while absolutely adore the original version of this song on the 1969 album of the same name, this one is a bit showy--especially from Herbie. It's still a great tune--and I love Ron's gnarly play on his fretless bass. Still a great song, just not the innocent and pure masterpiece that was rendered for Speak Like a Child. Though Herbie is dominant, the other two give every bit as much of their power and force as they did at any point of working with Miles in the "Second Great Quintet" (which, in my opinion, peaked with Sorcerer). (22.5/25)

3. "Watcha Waitin For" (6:19) the band members' energy seems to be waning a bit--at least Tony's--from that of that amazingly dynamic opener. Ron is still going super strong, super creative, and Herbie's doing fine; Tony just feels a little less enthused. The song is upbeat and uptempo slightly less melodic and engaging as the previous two songs. (8.875/10)

4. "Look" (7:40) an attempt at a late night cruiser is slightly diminished or led askew by both Ron and Herbie's more-enthusiastic-than-desirable play while Tony's subdued brush play on the traps is both suitable and perfect to capture the night fly. It's as if the guys want to play something for the late night crowd but two of them are still riding the high of adrenaline pumping through their system (especially Ron). Melodically, the song has quite a similar sound and feel to BRIAN JACKSON and GIL SCOTT-HERON's great "Pieces of a Man." (13.375/15)

5. "Milestones" (6:38) taking advantage of the trio's boundless energy, they decide to cover a classic Miles Davis song (now a jazz standard)--one that I'm sure they'd covered many times in live concert performances. All three of the band members are on fire throughout this but I must say that Herbie really puts on a show to display how good and how confident he's become over the years. Amazing! One of my favorite covers of this classic jazz tune! (10/10)

Total Time 46:05

93.82 on the Fishscales = A/five stars; a masterpiece of high-powered, highly-skilled acoustic jazz. 

RON CARTER Third Plane (1977)

The second album that was released from the material recorded with Herbie, Tony, and Ron at David Rubenson's new studio in San Francisco on July 13, 1977--this one released on Milestone Records due to conflicting contractual obligations.

Line-up / Musicians:

- Herbie Hancock / piano
- Ron Carter / bass
- Tony Williams / drums

90.58 on the Fishscales

HERBIE HANCOCK Sunlight (1978)

Herbie's personal infatuation with the vocoder and other voice-manipulation tactics and technical devices has given him the courage to sing--which he does! on almost every song! The lead vocals!! 

Line-up / Musicians:

- Herbie Hancock / Vocals, Backing Vocals, Electric Piano [Fender Rhodes], Clavinet [Hohner-d6], Piano, Synthesizer [Oberheim Polyphonic, Oboe 1, Yamaha Cp-30, Arp 2600, Mini-moog, Arp String Ensemble, Yamaha Polyphonic, Arp Odyssey, Poly-moog, Micro-moog, E Mu Polyphonic] 

With:

- Byron Miller / bass (A1)

- Leon "Ndugu" Chancler / drums (A1)

- Wah Wah Watson / guitar (A1)

- Raul Reckow / congas (A1, A2, B2, B3)

- Ray Parker, Jr. / guitar (A1, B1)

- Paul Jackson / bass (A2, B1, B2)
- James Levi / drums (A2, B1)
- Bill Summers / percussion (A2, B1, B2, B3)
- Baba Duru / tabla (A2)

- Bennie Maupin / soprano sax (B1)

- Harvey Mason / drums (B2)

- Jaco Pastorius / bass (B3)

- Tony Williams / drums (B3)

- Patrick Gleeson / Synthesizer [Additional Synthesizers]  (B3)

And:

- Brass:  Bobby Shew (tracks: A1 to B1), Garnett Brown (tracks: A1 to B1), Maurice Spears (tracks: A1 to B1), Robert O'Bryant, Sr. (tracks: A1 to B1)

- Strings:  Emily Van Valkenburgh (tracks: A1 to B1), Lawrence Granger (tracks: A1 to B1), Linda Wood (2) (tracks: A1 to B1), Nathan Rubin (tracks: A1 to B1), Roy Malan (tracks: A1 to B1), Terry Adams (tracks: A1 to B1)

- Woodwinds:  David Willard Riddles (tracks: A1 to B1), Ernest J. Watts (tracks: A1 to B1), Fred Jackson, Jr. (tracks: A1 to B1), Jack Nimitz (tracks: A1 to B1)

A1. "I Thought It Was You" (8:54) using melodies familiar to us from various theme songs to popular television shows plus a full brass section, Herbie & Co. explore the novelty side of Disco Pop music--here using a vocoder-like effect to modulate his singing voice. I hear a little of that which will become The Crusaders' "Street Life" in multiple aspects of this song. It's good--with the high-skill performances from all on board as one has come to expect from a Herbie production--just not great. As I said: it feels a little more like a novelty song. (17.75/20)

A2. "Come Running To Me" (8:23) using a whole different effect tool kit to modulate his voice on this one, Herbie adds his rather-pleasant and surprisingly-skilled voice to what feels like more of a Jazz-Pop song. A very pleasant, even relaxing and enjoyable, listening experience, the song comes across as less Smooth Jazz > Jazz-Rock Fusion > Jazz. (17.75/20)

B1. "Sunlight" (7:09) actually a pretty cool, very enjoyable song--structured over something that one might call funk-lite, Herbie's smooth vocal conveys some poetic lyrics, accented by the horn section, before moving into some scatting as the funk thickens a little. Ray Parker, Jr., Paul Jackson, and Bill Summers are essential to the success of the groove. LONG-time collaborator Bennie Maupin makes his only, albeit, brief appearance on the album in the middle. Herbie's own synth work in the second half is unusual and highly complementary to both his vocals and the funk motif. (14/15)

B2. "No Means Yes" (6:18) Harvey Mason, Bill Summers, Raul Reckow, and Paul Jackson make quite a team in the rhythm section--such virtuosic nuance represented--while the woodwinds, Fender Rhodes and lack of guitar all make quite the impact. Very cool song (despite its similarity to the slightly gentler work of Bob James)! (9.25/10)

B3. "Good Question" (8:31) a cool Latin jam that includes Tony Williams and Jaco Pastorius to give it the more serious jazz foundation that pianist Herbie was surely going for. The percussionist (Bill and Raul) and guest synthesizer guru, Dr. Patrick Gleeson (back from the old Mwandishi days) round out a rousing piece of jazz on which Mr. Hancock sounds like he's exploring the territory more commonly tread by contemporaries Chick Corea and Don Pullen. High speed and dynamic piano playing, to be sure! (18.125/20)

Total Time: 39:26

The transition over to easy listening, Adult Contemporary, Smooth Jazz seems pretty complete with this album despite the addition of a horn section and all of the compositions being Herbie's save one. The performances of the jazz musicians are all stellar--so polished and professional--and the compositions all quite mature and sophisticated, they're just falling more into conformation with the prevailing flow toward easy listening Smooth Jazz. 

P.S. I can see how some people credit this album with helping to birth the Daft Punk-type of music of the 1990s and 2000s: Herbie seems quite intent on singing--and using massive distortion effects on his (actually-lovely) voice.

90.44 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a very nice contribution to Smooth Jazz which definitely helps legitimize the new direction that Jazz-Rock Fusion has evolved into. 

HERBIE HANCOCK Feets Don't Fail Me Now (Jan. 1979)

Moving on as Herbie was want to do, here he enters full-on into the worlds of Disco and Urban R&B, still exploring technologies but with less adherence to his Jazz roots, more from a sense of staying relevant, of riding the elusive wave of popularity.

Line-up / Musicians:

- Herbie Hancock / keyboards, vocals

- Ed Watkins / bass 
- James Gadson / drums
- Ray Obiedo / guitars

- Bill Summers / percussion

- Sheila Escovedo / percussion [congas] (A3)

- Coke Excovedo / percussion [timbales] (A3]

- Ray Parker, Jr. / guitar (A3)

- Bennie Maupin / soprano sax (B3)

- Wah Wah Watson / guitar, co-composer, co-producer (B3)

- Freddie Washington / bass (B3)

- James Levi / drums (B3)

With:

Backing Vocals: Julia Tillman Waters, Luther Waters, Maxine Willard Waters, Oren Waters

A1. "You Bet Your Love" (7:36) a fairly-simple and straightforward Disco song with a Michael Bublé-like jazz-crooner vocal over the top and active, animated posse of background vocalists (who perform arguably the best roles on the song). As with Sunlight, Herbie is proving that he has a rather nice, likable voice. The hand claps, slap bass, "horn" hits, and Fender Rhodes solo in the middle are great. (13.25/15)

A2. "Trust Me" (5:41) a gentle, laid back tune that makes me think of both the jazz crooners of the 50s and 60s as well as the Yacht Rockers emerging in the late 1970s like Barry Manilow, Boz Scaggs, Michael Franks, Al Jarreau, and Michael Walden. It's nice! Herbie's voice sounds so classic smooth crooner--very similar to that of Michael Bublé. (8.875/10)

A3. "Ready Or Not" (6:42) now here's a form of Disco that sounds more like that which will become bands like Parliament, The Isley Brothers, The Brothers Johnson, Chic, and even Prince (or, more accurately, Sheila E and the funk pop of the mid-to-late 1980s). Very contagious--and fun--especially, I would think, for the dance floor. (9.125/10)

B1. "Tell Everybody" (7:09) a Disco beat opens this one, setting up that which will become a Pop/R&B-Funk sound/song similar to those being played by bands like Rose Royce, Lipps, Inc., Rufus, Dazz Dazz, Atlantic Starr, and The Gap Band. Electronic percussion and horn sounds being experimented with. (despite the credits claiming that Bill Summers is the administrator of such sounds and play, it feels suspiciously like the work of the Escovedo family--especially Sheila E--who are credited as contribution to the previous song. A song that will be remembered as a novelty song in an era when novelty songs were a common way to garner attention (and sales). (13/15)

B2. "Honey From The Jar" (6:51) take away the disco, rejoin the R&B slap-bass funk of Parliament, War, and The Ohio Players. Fun, funny, and entertaining but a long way from Jazz-Rock Fusion. (13.25/15)

B3. "Knee Deep" (5:39) applying distortional effects to all instruments--here drums and percussion as as well as using synthesized horns/brass exclusively. As a matter of fact, the song may be seen as an experiment in how to work with synthesized horns (despite the presence of Bennie Maupin with his soprano sax). The only song on the album whose funk is closer to Jazz-Rock Fusion than R&B or Disco.(9/10)

Total Time: 40:10

While I do like the music--found myself entertained and amused--I was really hoping from more vestiges of Jazz or Jazz-Rock Fusion in this Herbie album. Alas! He's evolved (for now) away from his roots. At the same time, I love that Herbie was so open--that his trajectory was one of adaptation and evolution rather than steadfast (and stubborn) conservation and preservation. 

88.67 on the Fishscales = B/four stars; an excellent collection of funky Disco-and R&B-based songs. The album as a whole feels more driving by Herbie's propensity for experimentation with all that is "the latest": technology, stylistically, sonically. 

HERBIE HANCOCK Directstep (released in Japan only on Jan. 21, 1979; no original recordings: like a greatest hits album.)

Line-up / Musicians:
- Herbie Hancock / keyboards
- Alphonse Mouzon / drums
- Ray Obiedo / guitars
- Webster Lewis / synthesizers, organ, piano
- Byron Miller / bass
- Bennie Maupin / percussion, soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone
- Bill Summers / percussion
- Paul Jackson / bass

HERBIE HANCOCK The Piano (June 21, 1979)

Seven songs covering 31 minutes of tape (and, in Japan only, vinyl) performed in a studio in Tokyo in 1979 and not released to the Western world until 2004 though it was released in Japan in 1979 (on CD in 1983!) Obviously Herbie was well-appreciated in Japan. This album most certainly provided tremendous influence on Ryuichi Sakamoto.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Herbie Hancock / piano

A five star album of beautiful, introspective piano improvisations

V.S.O.P. Five Stars (released Dec. 5, 1979)

Line-up / Musicians:
- Herbie Hancock / piano
- Ron Carter / bass
- Tony Williams / drums
- Wayne Shorter / soprano sax, tenor sax
- Freddie Hubbard / trumpet, flugelhorn

93.06 on the Fishscales

And so the decade closes on Herbert Jeffrey Hancock: turning more and more back to his Jazz roots as the decade ended, even rejoining and collaborating anew with four-fifths of the members of Miles Davis' Second Great Quintet for the VSOP and Trio projects. Still, one cannot help but stand in awe, deservedly so, when looking back upon the 20-year path that Herbie traveled: one that started out as a learner who possessed some natural gifts for melody and harmonic support but turned toward a fascination with the exploration of the sonic possibilities made available through the explosion of electronic instruments and studio engineering techniques coming available from 1966 on. I also enjoy tremendously the increasing strength and confidence exhibited in his piano playing over the years.

      A pioneer yet, I feel, reluctantly; I think the word "curious" a better descriptor of the man and his nature though, like Billy Cobham, Tony Williams, and Chick Corea, I think of Herbie with an deep admiration for the consistently-high quality of his albums: compositionally as well as performatively if not always sonically. 

My Ratings of the Herbie Hancock Jazz and Jazz-Rock Fusion albums from the 1960s and 1970s (not including live albums and sountracks):

The Masterpieces:

HERBIE HANCOCK Maiden Voyage (1965) - 94.02

HERBIE HANCOCK The Piano (1979) - 94+

HERBIE HANCOCK Speak Like a Child (1968) - 93.87

THE HERBIE HANCOCK TRIO (1977) - 93.82

HERBIE HANCOCK Fat Albert Rotunda (1969) - 93.33

HERBIE HANCOCK Thrust (1974) - 93.167

HERBIE HANCOCK Mwandishi (1971) - 92.94

HERBIE HANCOCK Crossings (1972) - 92.89

HERBIE HANCOCK Man-Child (1975) - 92.89

The Minor Masterpieces:

HERBIE HANCOCK Secrets (1976) - 91.62

HERBIE HANCOCK Head Hunters (1973) - 90.78

HERBIE HANCOCK Sunlight (1978) - 90.44

HERBIE HANCOCK Takin' Off (1962) - 90.28

HERBIE HANCOCK Empyrean Isles (1964) - 90.0

Other Also Very Good Albums:

HERBIE HANCOCK Feets Don't Fail Me Now (1979) - 88.67

HERBIE HANCOCK Sextant (1973) - 86.875