HERBIE HANCOCK

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--on of the first jazz artists and jazz albums to take music into the Second, more melodic and pop-oriented, Wave of Jazz-Rock Fusion.

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 minutes!--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!

A/five stars; a certifiable masterpiece of Second Wave Jazz-Rock Fusion and one of my favorite albums in the J-R Fuse lexicon.

Hancock's rising star rose in the first 60's half when he became part of the Miles Davis Quintet followed early on by high-quality solo albums. This effort showcases Hancock's advanced post-bop melodics and trying to break the conventional 60's formula however staying firmly in the post-bop style. There are very subtle soul influences (the groove in the title track). After the second track, we are seated into the more classic 60's jazz and can hear "The sorceress" which Hancock also contributed to the Davis Miles album. Two greatest assets to me here are the music lyricism and softness and Hancock's stellar piano playing. Nothing related to Hancock's 70's period, yet.

While Europe is the motherland of prog and has given us many classic albums both prog and other genres of rock music, the American side of prog has pretty big shoes to fill While yes we have Zappa, Kansas and even Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock was always a personal favorite of mine and this album is a must not just for jazz but prog as well and is an essential album. Europe gave us Gong, Pink Floyd and Hawkwind however in the west a piano player known as Herbie Hancock would leave his bop leanings and move into the direction of fusion in the 70s and giving us classic prog fusion albums however Sextant would be not a traditional album for Hancock and would go into a space rock(minus the rock part) inspired direction Is and encapsulates everything about afro futurism, leaving an album with incredible space soundscapes that could compete with the likes of The Dark Side Of The Moon, Warrior On The Edge Of Time and You. The album opens with the track Rain Dance, electronics greet you while the horns help shape the atmosphere. Hidden Shadows is the second track and has a Is beautiful mellatron that moves in and out of the song, something that's kinda rare to see in jazz. The third and final track is a 20 minute epic filled with electronics, horns and multiple kazoo solos. There's really no album like this, if you want a jazzy twist on space rock then give this album your attention

Review #75!

'Mwandishi'. Herbie at his most experimental. Atmospheric percussion, sorrowful horn sections, and spacey keyboards. It could've just been me expecting something competely different, but I wasn't prepared for every song to be somewhat sad and slow. 'Ostinato - Suite for Angela' is one of the better two songs on this album, although I consistently found myself getting lost in the emotion and not the instrumentation, which, as a first listen, was what I was trying to accomplish. 'You'll Know When You Get There' is just ten minutes of what seems like the same thing. 'Wandering Spirit Song' is the most intense song on this album, and gradually builds from a sad suite, much like the other two songs, to an energetic powerhouse of discordant sounds. Greatly experimental, and not the easiest listen, but a great track, which really saves this otherwise mediocre jazz album. Not Herbie's finest, but definitely not his worst.

Review #72!

Man, this album is just stellar. Musically, it's Herbie's best, but it's not my favorite (that goes to 'Headhunters'). This is in my opinion the best jazz fusion record out there. There's a wonderful, perfected blend of funk and experimental music for every jazz lover to enjoy. I picked this album up on cassette in a bookstore (of all places) for fifty cents. I was mesmerized. In 'Rain Dance' you see the Mwandishi sextet seamlessly blend acoustic, electric, and electronic elements to create a complicated funky beat that is built on throughout the song. Innovative and enlightening. 'Hidden Shadows' is so funky and groovy. This track, like the one before, uses electronics to synthesize funk beats. It is not all artificial, though. Live brass, piano, and bass accompany the keyboards beautifully. This track encapsulates the cover art (or vice versa?) wonderfully. The song sounds very tribal with its use of bongos, conga, and other lesser-known percussion instruments. About seven minutes in is an insane avant-garde piano solo where Herbie just drops his marbles and explodes on his instrument. One of the best parts of this entire album. 'Hornets' covers the entirety of side two. It sounds even more tribal than 'Hidden Shadows'. What is genius about this song is its use of personifying the brass instruments to sound like angry (guess what?) hornets. This goes on for twenty minutes in classic Herbie fashion: groovy, flowing, funky, crazy, etc. I highly recommend this album. 'Sextant' is a keeper.

Review #41!

Oh, Herbie. To this day I have heard nothing like his magnum opus, 'Headhunters'. Combining many different musical elements to Herbie Hancock's composing, 'Headhunters', I find, is the divine culmination of all he can offer (while maybe not the most progressive). Using somewhat obscure instruments, Paul Jackson's insane electric bass skills, insane percussion, amazing horn solos, and perfect dabble of experimental, but extremely jammable and funky as hell composition really sells this album. And what is truly incredible about this record is that it never gets old. If I were to listen to this album every day of my life, I would maybe - just maybe - get tired after twenty years. And this may just be a bias based on the early love I had found for this album, but no album from Herbie Hancock has yet to come remotely close to topping it. But, oh boy that opening track? By the time I was four, I studied the song 'Chameleon' so avidly, I can scat it through (the whole approximate sixteen minutes). That is still my favorite Herbie Hancock track to date. Then is 'Watermelon Man', the shortest song on the album, clocking in at about six minutes, which has one of the best intros of any jazz song ever. Instruments slowly layer on top of each other beautifully. Drastically different from Herbie's original recording, which can be found on his first album, 'Taking Off'. 'Sly' is Herbie at his funkiest, to say the least. This has always been my least favorite song on this album, but far from bad. 'Vein Melter', the somber closing track, is a nine-minute masterpiece. Some complain that this track lags on for too long, but I entirely disagree. I was never bored every single time I listened to this album. For this album, Herbie Hancock will always hold a special place in my heart. And this is why, in my opinion, he is the best jazz composer to ever live. Keep funking.

Review #40!

'Crossings' is genuinely one of my favorite albums from the jazz legend Herbie Hancock. The second in a stream of three consecutive experimental albums (the others are 'Mwandishi' and 'Sextant'), it is not the easiest to grasp for an unexpecting listener, but is still great, once you can fully enjoy it. The first track on the album, 'Sleeping Giant', is twenty-five minutes of tribal-esque, avant-garde jamming. It is also his longest studio track. The intro of Side A is one of the most satisfying out of any jazz albums I've ever listened to. You hear water-like percussion (once you listen to it you'll understand) which slowly builds up into an explosive introduction to Herbie's keyboard and some upright bass. This track is divided into five parts to develop cohesion in this very improvisational-sounding track. 'Quasar' on Side B is the shortest song on the record, running at about seven minutes. It was mostly composed by Bennie Maupin. It achieves a very spacey sound, something that the last track, 'Water Torture' holds as well. Funky and 'Bitches Brew'-reminiscent, it is quite slow and regularly drifts away from the base beat, but manages to keep just within reach for the trained ear. Overall, 'Crossings is an outstanding jazz fusion album. From fans of Herbie Hancock and other jazz artists, most everyone can find something to love in this album. Seriously. I would force a stranger to listen to this album just to hear their input. Totally worth the listen.

Released in 1973, this is perhaps more jam and loose oriented music than one would expect from jazz fusion. The addition of funk should be neither surprising nor distracting as Hancock's primary mission is to record a solid album with jazz-trained musicians who share the affinity to funk and fusion of styles. The low event intensity in the first iconic track may be disappointing for some listeners but you should focus on tight great playing. I'm a fan of Hancock's Fender playing and he pleases as with lengthy solos here. The rhythm section is not resting on their laurels either.

"Watermelon man" is quite down-beat but I believe quite influential for the future instrumental acid-jazz.

"Sly" offers us some 100% fusion pleasure with fusion-funk drumming, great saxophone and clavinet/Fender, the intensity and groove are irresistible. If this is not enough for you, listen to the incredible "Shiftless Shuffle" released in 1980 but sounding like from this period.

The last track "Vein melter" is more reflective and perhaps could have been shorter. Nevertheless, a must listen to the funk-fusion fans.

This is the Hancock-composed soundtrack to the Michelangelo Antonioni film of the same name (1966). There are some certain shining moments here, for sure. The degree to which this will appeal to your average "prog rock music collector", though, is unknown to me. It will appeal to those fans of perhaps Proto-Prog, but even that is a stretch. The most notable thing to me here is the incredible lineup featured. Next to Herbie, we have such Jazz greats as Freddie Hubbard, Phil Woods, Joe Henderson, Jim Hall, Ron Carter and Jack DeJohnette. Good Lord. Sorry to say that I don't know Joe Newman, but it appears that I really should... Paul Griffin has appeared on The Royal Scam and Aja by Steely Dan! Apparently involved in a lot of rootsy music, otherwise. And to think that British trumpeter Ian Carr of Nucleus was nearly on this as well! [Herbie scrapped the idea of using those British musicians with whom he, in the least, rehearsed this material.] One track, "Stroll On", was performed by The Yardbirds, and, I would say most significantly, it features both Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck.

"Blow-Up", the main theme, is a pretty great opener. A mix of sort of rockin' feel with awesome jazz instrumentation in its (short-lived) latter half. Perhaps, if anything. there's some parallels to what was done by contemporary bands like The Free Spirits. "Verushka, Pt. 1" really had nothing to offer. Its second part was far more sultry and slower paced. That track features a tenor solo by the great Joe Henderson.

Following "Verushka", "Bring Down the Birds" brings back the more rockin' instrumentation, driven by the straight-ahead drums and Jim Hall's rhythm guitar. Another stellar solo here, this time by Woods on Alto. Some more very of-the-time jazz on one of the more satisfying numbers, "The Naked Camera", we are then back to a quieted moment on the soft "Jane's Theme".

The one track different from the rest in just about every way is the Garagey, straight-ahead Rock song by The Yardbirds, "Stroll On". This is certainly, too, far from their finest moment... The guitar solo, I assume performed by Page, is definitely the best part.

We return to swingin' '60s Jazz on "The Thief", a rolling number prominently featuring organ. This track, in the middle-to-end, features a sort of low-lying Post-Bop section [I'm speaking here with more confidence than I should...]. Not a whole lot to say or see here. We then return to the feeling and softness on "The Kiss", with a light solo from Hall. This is matched then with a blazing and loud solo from (what I can tell) Henderson. "Curiosity" feels a whole lot like something off of Kind of Blue, perhaps. Very lovely.

We get into something that is stylistically rather interesting on "Thomas Studies Photos"... Very cool. It's hard for my mind, personally, to not go to the Wazoo era for Zappa. I know I've made similar comparisons previously. Believe me when I say, I would have loved it for longer than its minute runtime... Real beauty and grace is featured on the next, "The Bed", featuring an airiness from our rhythm section and acoustic piano from Herbie. Frisson, baby! So lovely and sweet. This then is juxtaposed sharply by the strong, forward-running "Blow-Up (End Title)", our brief album closer.

3.5 stars. I feel like this double live album should be rated a lot higher but I'm not helping here with my 3 stars. Released in 1975 we get seven tracks with two from "Head Hunters" and three from the previous year's "Thrust" making up the bulk of this recording. The music is from two concerts they did in Japan on June 28 and July 1, 1975. A six piece with Hancock, Maupin, Jackson, Summers, Clark and McKnight. So yes we get our share of funk here especially on "Chameleon".

"Maiden Voyage" is a classy tune which really isn't my thing as we get flute and piano dominating. Love the drumming on "Actual Proof" but a top two has to include "Spank-A-Lee" from "Thrust". Maupin makes his presence known early as the guitar comes and goes. Hancock is announced during the song after 3 minutes and proceeds to rip it up on the clavinet. So much going on 5 minutes in to the end. So impressive. "Butterfly" is okay as Herbie announces "A pretty tune for the beautiful ladies of Tokyo." Mellow stuff. The almost 20 minute closer from "Man-Child" called "Hang Up Your Hang Ups" is the other top two. I don't have that album but man I like this track.

It's just not quite a four star record for me and man how good would a live album of their "Mwandishi" period be Mr. Hancock? Would have been pretty awesome, but if your big on the "Head Hunters" period you should enjoy this.