HERBIE HANCOCK

The textbook example of how to sell out and yet keep your musical dignity intact.

I'll go on record saying that SEXTANT might be my favourite album that Herbie Hancock put out, let alone one of his highest artistic triumphs. That artistic accomplishment didn't exactly translate into financial security. And I'm sure that the well-established powerhouse in Columbia Records wanted something that had more commercial viability. In essence, Hancock took a gamble by striking the Mwandishi concept after three albums, reducing the lineup of his band to just five, and taking pages out of Sly Stone and Stevie Wonder as a foundation for his next sonic approach.

HEAD HUNTERS is the resultant album of which most people that know of Herbie Hancock will register in their brains immediately. The music of HEAD HUNTERS is a counterbalance between jazz that the musicians are used to and funk, one of the music styles all the rage back when the album premiered. You could draw parallels to Hancock's career and Miles Davis's at the time, since Davis had notably ON THE CORNER as his big album at the time, another jazz record with strong funk leanings.

In all honesty, despite the more commercial approach the Headhunters (that will be the band name for a time) are going in, the album does retain most of the magic that made SEXTANT special. For starters, Bennie Maupin is the only other holdover from the Mwandishi lineup, a move that almost seems like common sense given how much character Maupin's reeds add to a piece of music (here, hear ''Sly''). Hancock's interpretation of funk crosses over well into the jazz world to the point where ''Chameleon'' is a new jazz standard despite the jam having heavy foreshadowing to hip hop. Where HEAD HUNTERS excels at is setting up a good groove and building on it without overstaying its welcome. It's why ''Chameleon'' has success in the first place, but the rapid fire section of ''Sly'' and the mid-tempo lock groove of a remake of ''Watermelon Man'' add to the overall appeal.

I would say HEAD HUNTERS has more funk in it than jazz, so the classic jazz fans might be turned off. Yet, any fan of jazz in a retro fashion will find this more than acceptable; especially those with more rock, funk and hip hop backgrounds. For me, the only reason HEAD HUNTERS is not an enjoyable masterpiece is that ''Vein Melter'' is significantly weaker than everything else on the album.

Thanks to some apparently super-enthusiastic fan devotion towards certain Western rock acts, the 1970's saw a series of live albums, usually double or even triple-sided, issued in Japan only. Titles included the superb Santana triple-live release 'Lotus'(which ended up being one of the biggest-selling import albums ever) and this lengthy offering from Herbie Hancock recorded during 1975. By this time, Hancock had almost completed his gradual move away from the avant-garde-edged psychedelic afro-fusion sound featured on the likes of 'Sextant' and 'Crossings', instead choosing to develop the popular jazz-funk style found on his seminal 'Head Hunters' album. As a result, 'Flood' proves a mixed bag, with Hancock, in an admirable-yet-misguided move, choosing to reel off a live set that encapsulates the three major stages of his career up until that point, with classical jazz readings, experimental fusion sojourns and bristling funk medleys making up this surprisingly flat two-disc effort. With his Head Hunters outfit in tow - Paul Jackson, Bennie Maupin and Mike Clark all back him with highly-competent yet strangely uninvolving performances - 'Flood' seems like a missed opportunity. Hancock's 1970's studio repertoire is, of course, superb, yet for various reasons he has never been able to truly emulate his complex, funk-dipped sound in the live arena. A prime example, 'Flood' starts slowly, offering up a melodic-yet-dull reading of 'Maiden Voyage' before similarly mediocre versions of 'Actual Proof', 'Watermelon Man' and 'Chameleon' fail to heat proceedings up. So, what you have here then is a highly-talented collection of musicians basically going through the motions, the eclectic set-list actually working against the group. Flat, indulgent and ultimately rather restrained, 'Flood' ranks as one of the most disappointing live documents of the fusion era, and as mediocre an album as Hancock is ever likely to put his name too. STEFAN TURNER, STOKE NEWINGTON, 2012

Before hitting the jazz-funk jackpot with his seminal 'Head Hunters' album Herbie Hancock furrowed a distinctly cosmic path with a series of albums inspired the work of his mentor and friend Miles Davis. The release of both 'In A Silent Way' and 'Bitches Brew' helped break the burgeoning fusion moment originally started by Tony Williams Lifetime, and it allowed Hancock to truly experiment at the outer limits of the jazz genre, fusing elements of rock, funk, psychedelia and African rhythms into his bold new brand of cosmic jazz that adorned the albums 'Mwandishi' and 'Sextant'. Sandwiched in between those two was 'Crossings', the album that arguably best defined this period of Hancock's career, featuring a spacey vibe, plenty of haunting instrumental passages and some ghostly moments of tribal perCussion. Split over three tracks, 'Crossings' proves a fusion masterclass, a psychedelic jazz journey in the mould of Return To Forever's 'Where Have I Known You Before', 'The Inner Mounting Flame' by John McLaughlin's Mahavishnu Orchestra or the quicksilver strains of Billy Cobham's 'Spectrum'. Alongside both those and Miles Davis 1969 to 1975 period recordings, 'Crossings' is one of the key jazz-rock / fusion albums, and those who take the time to appreciate Hancock's epic compositions will be thoroughly rewarded. A near classic. STEFAN TURNER, STOKE NEWINGTON, 2012

"Crossings" is an exploration of jazz fusion with some of the most compelling lengthy pieces composed for a Herbie Hancock album, by the Mwandishi band. There are only three tracks but all are captivating, beginning with the album side 'Sleeping Giant' with an intro of African tribal polyrhythmic percussion. It settles into a jazz groove that simmers along until the rhythm breaks and there is a brass passage of improvised elegance. A trumpet solo glows brightly as Hancock pours out keyboard liquid and there are some chilling African percussive vibes. Then a streetwise funkadelic beat crashes through, like the crime-jazz soundtrack of "Shaft", or a 70s "Dirty Harry" movie. It is little wonder that the man was called on to create soundtracks for 70s crime movies such as "Death Wish". Maupin's sax is absolutely masterful here, nothing compares to the way he makes that sax cry in pain. A killer track in any music connoisseur's collection.

Side two houses two Maupin-penned tracks, that are still consistent in excellence. 'Quasar' is first with some haunting flute and a transfixing bassline from Williams. The jazz dissonance is quite a compelling sound though very off kilter. It takes a while to gather momentum but the spacey streaks are quite uncanny. The cosmic fusion is augmented by angelic flute lines and low synth buzzes.

'Water Torture' is even more electronic and so delightfully different to the previous tracks. The dissonance of odd meters is created by alto sax trills, off beat basslines and keyboard improvisations. It sounds in places like the soundtrack of a crime movie again, bringing to mind sections of 70s scenes of Charles Bronson impending violence. This is a little too quirky for my tastes but it is okay to close the album with a different approach. At 7 minutes in I was longing for some kind of change in direction as the crime-jazz soundtrack was getting tiresome, but it continues in the same vein.

The album is definitely one of the all time greats in the world of Hancock, along with "Headhunters" and "Sextant". I am not a real fan of this style but I am having my ears opened lately with some cool jazz. From Hancock, I had only previously heard 'Rock-it' before this so it is nice to know the man is deserved of his massive reputation outside of that breakdance electro 80s era.

Any concept of what ''jazz'' should be will be shattered as soon as you listen to SEXTANT. Herbie Hancock takes a normal jazz fusion approach and wings out into more experimental/avant areas to make one of the most forward thinking albums ever.

Here's smart idea #1: have the track titles make sense to what the music is doing. WEATHER REPORT had that knack on their debut album, and Hancock can get that visceral connection as well. When I think of ''Hornets'', I thinking of the buzzing sounds from the keyboards that remind me of actual hornets. That's just an example.

Smart idea #2: set up a groovy backbone so that the length is not an issue. Even as plinky, plunky and Tangerine-Dreamy as ''Rain Dance'' is, the handclaps give the track an identifiable groove that you can bop your head to.

Smart idea #3: Bennie Maupin. The man practically made Miles Davis's BITCHES BREW album an enjoyable experience. He takes on more woodwind instruments here via necessity. But that bass clarinet does show up in ''Hidden Shadows'' parroting the bass, and boy is that spellbinding.

And keep in mind that some African based rhythms creep their way into the sound of the band here to the point where that is the reason why the jams hold up so well. That rhythmic foundation is key to the artistic achievement of SEXTANT. It's as if the ideas originally set by Osibisa are taken to the next level.

SEXTANT is far more than a fusion album. It's a dazzling music experience unlike any you've ever laid ears on. A masterpiece from inception.

Before Herbie Hancock followed Miles Davis' lead into uncharted realms of cross-genre experimentation, The Prisoner was the culmination of his post-bop work of the 1960s. On a par with other Hancock albums from his post-bop period such as Maiden Voyage, the album takes advantage of an expanded lineup to offer a busier and more complex sound. A musical tribute to Martin Luther King - whose slaying a mere year previously was still fresh in the public's mind - Herbie Hancock claims that the album expresses his real personality better than any preceding piece. It's impossible to judge whether that's a case without meeting the man, but I can see how the personality of the album might be one Herbie wants to present to the world. After all, who wouldn't want to be regarded as similarly brainy, complex, deep, moving and politically aware to the music on here?

Sextant was dazzling, make no mistake about it, but with Head Hunters Herbie goes for a change of approach, injecting horse doctors' doses of funk into the mix, scaling back the more abstract space rock-inspired passages radically, and getting a new backing lineup to really bring the sound of the album together. Particular props have to go to Paul Jackson's bass work - a fat, meaty bass sound being absolutely vital to any funk undertaking - as well as the completely off the wall percussion work of Bill Summers, who brings a truckload of different instruments to bear. But more or less every performer has their moment in the spotlight here - Bennie Maupin's flute performances are a particular treat - and of course Herbie's synths and keyboards are a constant presence. It's a bit of an abrupt gear shift after the Mwandishi albums, but it's an undeniably successful one.

The swansong of Herbie Hancock's Mwandishi-era sextet is perhaps the most diverse and artistically successful album by the unit. As well as a fabulous fusion performance in the tradition of Davis' In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew (and, of course, the sextet's very own Mwandishi and Crossings), the album also shows an increased influence of funk as well as some superb synthesiser work, which at points is more reminiscent of the spacier end of the Krautrock scene (as represented by the likes of early Tangerine Dream). It's an album very much dedicated to the fusion idea, taking jazz as its foundation and cramming in so many other genres that it ends up filled to bursting.

Smells good; is it fusion yet? No, not by a stretch - electric instruments haven't come out to play yet, the rock and funk influences of Herbie's 1970s output aren't yet in evidence, and by and large the music here is rooted in the post-bop genre. But the same time, I detect in Herbie's subtle piano tones here a foretaste of the sort of dreamy electric piano textures which he and Chick Corea would conjure up at the behest of Miles Davis four years later on In a Silent Way. On top of that, Maiden Voyage is a perfectly strong album in its own right, offering a relaxing journey on the oceans of post-bop.

— First review of this album —

It becomes difficult to understand how it could be conceived of a compilation of these compositions with this title. "The Very Best Of Herbie Hancock" is not an exact title. "The Very Best Of Jazz Funk by Herbie Hancock" is a exact title. Having said that I can say that it is a good compilation, good for those who like Herbie Hancock and Jazz Funk. The songs, in their genre, are good and always current. The infiltrated "'round Midnight" does not sound like a foreign body in the end. Sure, some might say that this is a Herbie Hancock business. And without Jazz spirit. It might even be true. But the quality of music remains high.