Herbie Hancock

Herbie Hancock - The Piano (1979) {2004 Columbia Remaster}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC+CUE+LOG -> 186 Mb
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© 2004 Columbia / Legacy | CK 87083
Jazz / Hard Bop / Post Bop / Piano

Herbie Hancock never really focused on solo piano. However, this 1978 release, which was previously only available in Japan, is a rare gem in the Hancock discography. Thanks … Full Descriptionto this overdue 2004 reissue, the listener is invited to explore the musical mind of this pianist in an up-close and intimate setting. All 11 tracks on THE PIANO are quite reflective, with Hancock employing many rich chordal textures and winding melodic gestures throughout. On "My Funny Valentine," Hancock combines the harmonic palette of Bill Evans with his own distinctive phrasing and unexpected modal shifts. His own composition "Blue Otani" is the only bluesy piece on this disc, and here Hancock slyly suggests the stride piano tradition without ever really playing in this style.

Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, composer, and occasional actor. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd’s group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the post-bop sound…

Herbie Hancock recorded for Columbia between 1972 and 1988. During that period, between the label's American and Japanese divisions, he released 31 albums, both solo and with an astonishing variety of players in an equally breathtaking panorama of styles, from straight-ahead post-bop, to fusion, jazz-funk, disco, R&B, smooth jazz, and even hip-hop. Though Hancock had a celebrated career before signing to Columbia, it was his longest label association; and during his tenure there, he experienced his greatest commercial success and his name was etched permanently into the history of popular music. This box set contains 34 discs – 28 single and three double albums – all housed in handsome individual LP and gatefold sleeves.

This DVD Video brings you a full length club performance capturing Herbie Hancock's triumphant 2002 return to the era-defining electric funk sound of the 1970's. The concert was recorded live at the Knitting Factory in L.A. in the highest audio and video fidelity available and is presented for this DVD Video in ground breaking Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 surround sound. The band features heralded players including Wallace Roney on trumpet, Darrell Diaz on keyboards, Terri Lyne Carrington on drums, Matthew Garrison on bass and DJ Disk on the turntable.MX Multiangle- This MX DVD Video offers approx. 30 minutes of a unique multi-angle feature which lets you see more of the onstage action.

The music of Herbie Hancock has affected the lives of generations of jazz performers. Like many of these musicians, it was the opportunity to play with the great pianist/composer that introduced the great drummer Mike Clark to the jazz world at large. To show his appreciation, Clark presents a selection of his favorite Hancock pieces performed with a trio on his new recording, Mike Clark Plays Herbie Hancock.

The follow-up to the breakthrough Headhunters album was virtually as good as its wildly successful predecessor: an earthy, funky, yet often harmonically and rhythmically sophisticated tour de force. There is only one change in the Headhunters lineup – swapping drummer Harvey Mason for Mike Clark – and the switch results in grooves that are even more complex. Hancock continues to reach into the rapidly changing high-tech world for new sounds, most notably the metallic sheen of the then-new ARP string synthesizer which was already becoming a staple item on pop and jazz-rock records. Again, there are only four long tracks, three of which ("Palm Grease," "Actual Proof," "Spank-A-Lee") concentrate on the funk, with plenty of Hancock's wah-wah clavinet, synthesizer textures and effects, and electric piano ruminations that still venture beyond the outer limits of post-bop.

Given that Blue Note Records has issued a definitive 1960s box set of Hancock's earliest – and some consider his most seminal – work, and the literally dozens of best-ofs that have been issued, more by Columbia than by anybody else, this set with its spare futuristic design might at first glance seem like overkill, as in, "do we really need another Herbie Hancock collection, especially a damned box set?" In this case, it's very important to take a second and even third look. For starters, this set is housed in a see-though plastic box, all four CDs clearly visible on spare individual trays. On a fifth tray rests the CD booklet. On the bottom of the box is a sticker identifying the contents within. In the booklet are complete liners by Herbie himself (actually, excepts from an interview by Chuck Mitchell), and gorgeous reproductions of the album covers. It's a cool coffee table conversation piece for hep cats and kitties who are into jazz – or those who just like happening accoutrements in their living spaces.