Essential Herbie Hancock, The [Remastered] - Herbie Hancock

Advantages: Bonus tracks, intimate recording
Disadvantages: Not the greatest sound quality

...Herbie Hancock has been making high quality CD’s over the last 4 decades and this CD is no exception. 'The Piano' is a stunning album which features Hancock on his own at the piano. Tracks 8-11 feature previously unrealised material, which are different takes of earlier music on the album. This enables the listener to get a little closer to the creative mind of Herbie Hancock. The piano was an early "disc to disc" recording and the quality could be slightly better, however the listener has a unique chance to hear Hancock in action on his own. My personal favourite is track 4 'Harvest Time'. In this track Hancock is in complete control of the music and as a listener we are left on the edge of our seats wondering what is going to happen next. Not as ground breaking as some of his other albums e.g. 'Headhunters' however this is one... Read review

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Advantages: irresitably funky
Disadvantages: only 4 tracks (but long all the same!)

...This is the only Hancock album I own but being intrested in all styles of music I wanted to give this a try. Hancock is a very talented keyboard player, who with his very tight 4 piece band and his large bank of synthesisers and electric keyboards creates all sorts of radical and new sounds in jazz that shook the jazz world in 1973. First track chameleon is based on a low analog synth riff and off beat drum rythm, that starts the album off on a very rythmic and slightly minimal note. This is then followed by the eerie 'watermelon man', starting off with an amazing african percussion section by Bill summers, and gradually a jazzy bass line creaps in, leading the way to another great slice of jazz fusion, complete with sax solos and funky harmonies. 'sly' is essentially a tribute to the music of sly stone, the famous funk musician... Read review

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Advantages: Awesome chillout cd
Disadvantages: Not to everyones taste

...Dis Is Da Drum - Herbie Hancock! Who is Herbie Hancock?? Well, he was born in 1940 and by the tender age of 11 was considered somewhat of a piano virtuoso. In 1963 he received a life changing phone call from Miles Davis asking Herbie to join his band "The Miles Davis Quintet". He then took his solo career to new heights and even after being a professional musician for 5 decades is still at the forefront. He has been and is a huge inspiration in the Jazz and R&B culture we know today. The CD opens on "Call it 95", an über-funky tune in which Herbie lays down some classic, simple lines on his acoustic piano and is accompanied by some funky slide bass, awesome sax licks and as many different drum sounds as you can imagine! On this track alone there are 13 different musicians collaborating. It's the sort of track that perfectly sets... Read review

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