Jazz Articles about Herbie Hancock

Miles Davis: On The Corner / Get Up With It

by Todd S. Jenkins
September 1, 2000

Columbia/Legacy is embarking upon a hot fusion reissue program, reshaping many of their classic albums via digital technology to make the roots of today’s music more relevant. Among the first reissues slated for 2000 are two of Miles Davis’ most misunderstood but oddly influential offerings, “On The Corner” and “Get Up With It”. At the “On The Corner” sessions Miles went nuts with electric eclecticism. He hooked a pickup and wah-wah pedal to his trumpet, hired three drummers and three ...

Miles Davis: In A Silent Way

by John Ballon
September 1, 2000

Miles Davis was going through exciting musical changes in 1968, listening and playing things which were leading him into the future and into In a Silent Way. His music and lifestyle were being influenced by a wave of new sounds and ideas, and he was responding deeply to the music of James Brown, Sly Stone, and Jimi Hendrix. Having already pushed acoustic jazz to the limits with his mid-Sixties quintet, Miles metamorphosed the new sounds around him, creating a work ...

Various Artists: Blue Note Connoisseur Series: The Lost Sessions

by C. Andrew Hovan
December 1, 1999

When it came to the music that he put out on record, Blue Note producer Alfred Lion was a stickler for tight ensembles, inspired performances, and musically appealing content. This sometimes meant, added to the sheer prolific nature of the label, that many decent sessions ended up accumulating in the vaults over the years. Of course, Blue Note began mining these resources back in the late '70s and early '80s, carrying on in some degree through the label's resurrection in ...

Herbie Hancock: Gershwin's World

by John Sharpe
December 1, 1998

Brace yourself---1998 marks George Gershwin's centennial year and record shelves are sure to be stuffed with “tribute" albums from a variety of artists. Herbie Hancock, whose career is noted for its wide-ranging eclecticism, continues this trend with this salute to the composer. While the bulk of the repertoire are Gershwin originals, Herbie has also included four tunes that were written by George's closest fellow musicians. Hancock, working within settings that range from solo piano to full-fledged orchestras, has enlisted the ...

Herbie Hancock: Gershwin's World

by C. Michael Bailey
December 1, 1998

Gershwin. Herbie Hancock has fashioned his birthday present to George Gershwin (and us) in the form of a suite, a musical collage that presents not only Gershwin's music, but other music popular during the time Gershwin was active as well. Hancock arranges this suite with a carefully selected and disparate group of artists that range from James Carter to Stevie Wonder, Chick Corea to the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and Kathleen Battle to Joni Mitchell.

Bookends. Hancock's homage begins with an ...

Herbie Hancock & Chick Corea: An Evening With Herbie Hancock & Chick Corea

by C. Michael Bailey
September 1, 1998

Pianoforte. Turning forty entitles the birthday person to a couple of acquired appreciations. One for good cigars and the second is for music listened to but not understood in adolescence. An Evening With Herbie Hancock & Chick Corea is just such music. I was sixteen and bored with Southern Rock and decided I would try jazz out. The first jazz disc I ever bought was Stanley Clarke's first record. Through Clarke I was introduced to Return to Forever and thus ...

Herbie Hancock: Man-Child

by AAJ Staff
December 1, 1997

For Herbie Hancock, 1973’s Headhunters was a radical change of direction. After recording some very risk-taking fusion for Warner Bros. from 1969-72 with his Sextant, the keyboardist/pianist went for slicker, more accessible jazz-funk instrumentalism on Headhunters and subsequent Columbia dates like Secrets and Man Child (which Mobile Fidelity has reissued as a great-sounding gold audiophile CD). Comparing the Sextant and Hancock’s Headhunters band would be like comparing Miles Davis’ 1956-57 quintet with the cast heard on Bitches Brew --both were ...