My selection of Herbie Hancock for this week was based on the following criteria: the artist must be somewhat unfamiliar to our writers, they must have had significant growth or change throughout their career, and they have to be interesting. Mr. Hancock has been recording music for nearly half a century and has worked with artists from every genre of music including: Miles Davis, Stevie Wonder, Joni Mitchell, Santana, Quincy Jones, and Trey Anastasio.I have been fortunate to experience Herbie perform live for nearly an entire weekend; my first journey to the Bonnaroo Arts & Music Festival in 2005 is where he emerged with his new incarnation of the Headhunters with John Mayer in tow. My love of jazz music had been growing exponentially by that point, dabbling into the works of Horace Silver, John Coltrane, and Miles Davis and I knew I couldn't miss his performance. Little did I know I would also see Herbie perform that weekend with Dave Matthews, Widespread Panic and be apart of the Superjam with Questlove of the Roots. I was blown away at what a musical chameleon he was, the fact that all these different artists wanted him to share the stage with them let me know even further that this man was important to the musical landscape.
Herbie's work has not gone unnoticed, he has received an Academy Award for his musical score, an MTV Video music award for his video for "Rockit" , and numerous Grammy's including most recently Album of the Year in 2008.
I realize some of you don't really have an ear for jazz music; what I want everyone to focus on is the way Herbie creates a mood and atmosphere with his music. How he segued from post-bop jazz, to funk, to electronic. He's a composer, especially in the first albums you'll listen to, he doesn't get in the way of his fellow musicians he understands the dynamic of the group and doesn't try to be the center of attention. I found a video of Herbie from the early eighties with Quincy Jones, showing Quincy how he was making his new electronic sound with a synthesizer that at the time cost $20,000, watch how Herbie creates:
Herbie has an extensive catalog, so I chose 5 albums that really showed his progression and talent.
* Inventions and Dimensions
* Mwandishi
* Headhunters
* Sound System
* Future to Future
Taking off from Justin's comments about the kind of mood that Herbie can create....I've always had this sort of relationship with really good jazz music (and often music in general) where it can sort of create images in my head, almost like my own personal music video to a specific track.
ReplyDeleteFor example, on the song 'Watermelon Man' from the album Headhunters, I get the initial image of standing in the middle of a remote African jungle, with the wildlife all around me. After a few minutes, I wake up to discover that it was all a dream, and I'm laying in bed in the heart of jazz-era New York City. I get up, and start walking around the city, taking in the nightlife all around me....only to discover after a few more minutes that the dream wasn't so far off. The wildness of the city itself is like a jungle.
Basically, I'm just curious as to whether anyone has these kinds of ideas about music. If so, I'd be interested to know some of your interpretations to different songs....not just this week, but throughout the course of this project. Or, just tell me I'm crazy.
You're not crazy, baby. I'm not quite there yet though, as I have not had the chance to dive in too deeply yet.
ReplyDeleteI had my introductory listen while on my 3.7 mile walk/run to Walgreens and back yesterday. The first time around, without really knowing "how" to listen to jazz and just letting my body feel it naturally, I liked the song "Chameleon" off "Headhunters" the best. First, the bass line sounds like something Lily Allen would (or has) sampled, so it's got mass appeal. Secondly, I love the instruments and third, it's really kind of funky.
At one point, I found myself walking to the pace of different sounds throughout "Watermelon Man," which was kind of funny. It's also brilliant because it made for an interesting interval workout.
"Mwandishi" was a little slower paced and not as exciting for me the first time around. Let me get back to you later in the week when I've had a chance to dig deeper...
Just a quick note, David mentioned last weekend about not being able to download "Inventions and Dimensions"; you can find all 5 tracks at Grooveshark. It's great to see some early thoughts, David you're not crazy with the whole music video thing, I think this kind of free-form jazz/funk lends itself to that. I love this music because it's wide open to any form of interpretation.
ReplyDeleteSo I got a chance to listen to the first album on the list, "Inventions and Dimensions," and I'm sorry to say I didn't much like it. It was a little slow and had a similar restaurant-y feel for me that Jamie Cullum had, although I thought it was well produced. It has come to my attention that I don't much like jazz, particularly the trumpet, but I am proud of myself for giving it a chance.
ReplyDelete"Mwandishi," which was next on the list, I haven't gotten to listen to at length except for the first track. When I was walking earlier this week I remember thinking that this album was kind of slow and boring, but after having heard "Inventions" and having listened to the first track over again, I really appreciate the risks and creative licenses Hancock took on this album. You can really see a growth.
So that's it for me thus far, stay tuned.
Just a quick note off the subject, but not requiring a full post....I've decided to begin a new blog, in which I will attempt to post a new song I enjoy every day. I'll include a little blurb on the song, and will embed the song into the blog. I'll also most likely have my year and decade-ending lists on the blog as well. If anyone else is interested in posting songs as well, let me know.
ReplyDeleteThe current web address is www.david-songoftheday.blogspot.com. Sorry for this bit of shameless self-promotion, and back to our regularly scheduled listening.
Thomas and I listened to the first three albums on the way home from A town this weekend. I have to say that I remember distinctly the first two tracks on Inventions and Dimensions. I have to say that the first track was to put it bluntly, bizarre. I appreciate the song for the fact that it goes outside the realm of typical jazz. When I heard we were doing Herbie Hancock, most of the music that I heard was not what I expected. I will upon finishing the rest of the albums, write a full report.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't able to put 'Inventions and Dimensions' on that cd I made for you, Beth. I think that might have been Mwandishi that was the first album on that cd.
ReplyDeleteBeth, "Headhunters," "Mwandishi" and "Sound System" were all David had downloaded over the weekend. "Inventions and Dimensions" you have to find on Grooveshark as individual tracks, as Justin mentioned in a previous comment.
ReplyDeleteI found the tracklisting on Wikipedia and listened that way on the computer. It was kind of a neat way of approaching it because I was able to look at each track more carefully on an individual basis.
As for the rest of "Mwandishi" - "You'll Know When You Get There" sounds like a dream sequence or something they might have used on an episode of "Twin Peaks." Even though slow isn't the pace I like in music, I appreciate the creepy feeling I'm getting from this track. I also like that even if I don't particularly favor a song, it always reminds me of something I do like. This album kind of lost my attention with "Wandering Spirit Song." I donno if it's musical ADD or what but I started to pick up on the mood changes and tried to appreciate it, then it just got looooooong for me and in my boredom I lost some of the meaning I was supposed to pick up.
ReplyDeleteI think a lot of my dislike of jazz comes from the fact that I have a hard time listening to it and sorting it all out. I feel a similar way about most instrumental music, which makes me feel kind of ignorant, another reason I am having a hard time with this week. While I can appreciate the talent and skill it takes to put this together, I just can't see myself hearing this and being like, "wow I love this song," or hearing it and saying to myself, "this is just classic Herbie Hancock. Let's hear another." I don't think, for the most part, I can even distinguish between these songs. I can never tell when one ends and the other begins without looking down at my iPod. Maybe that's not the point, or maybe other people don't have these problems, I don't know. I just know it's not for me.
Moving onto "Headhunters" was a relief. I'd heard the song "Chameleon" right after the week started so I already knew I dug the groovy in this tune. (I feel like an old un-hip person talking like this btw). It wasn't stale at all like moments in the first two for me. Then again maybe that's why the first two CDs were boring when I went back to listen to them... for me, they don't even compare. I read about this album on Wikipedia, because I was trying to figure out that intro part I like so much in "Watermelon Man." Blowing into a beer bottle? That's just awesome to be able to use something that's not only ordinary but also waste to make beautiful and fun music. All in all, I really, really do like this album. What I said about not being able to read the first two albums and being bored, none of that applies on this album. I only hope the next two are as pleasing. And now I'm jealous of Justin's Bonnaroo experience (that included John Mayer and Dave Matthews of all people so I'm even more jealous!). This is the kind of jazz I could really get into. *Breathes a sigh of relief*
More later.
“Sound System” was kind of exciting when I first hit play. My first thought was, my God this guy’s sound has changed. Then again, I guess he wouldn’t be the legend he is today if he hadn’t changed over the span of 36 albums (to this point I mean). As I continued listening, I appreciated that the songs were shorter and definitely distinctive. While I still didn’t like this album as much as “Headhunters,” I do see the musical quality in what he did and can say I’m learning to appreciate his body of work over time. On a light note, it’s interesting listening to “Junku” now that I know that it was written for the 1984 Olympics. I feel like going for a run now for some reason…. And I appreciate that “People are Changing” is a song with lyrics! Yay! A little cheesy for me, but still.
ReplyDeleteAh, “Future2Future.” I’ve made it to the last album in the series. This album is not my kind of thing, but it’s interesting when you put it in the context of where he came from and where he ended up to this point. I’m kind of digging the song “Black Gravity.” The beat sounds like something the Postal Service might be interested in. At the same time, it’s got this funky chill overlay… “Ionosphere” is similar. I find the talking tracks interesting. I don’t think I’ve ever heard talking tracks on anything but rap albums. Master P comes to mind… “Tony Williams” reminds me of really weird performance art that I don’t get – like those poets that do readings
in coffee houses on TV. Anyone else know what I’m talking about?
Ok, lets try this again!! Inventions and Dimensions was my favorite cd of the group. I think primarily because it sounds most to me like traditional jazz. Thomas was playing it last night and I remember thinking to myself that this album I could listen to on a regular basis. You can definately tell that this is where he got his beginning, and later how he gradually changed with the times in the albums to come.
ReplyDeleteIn Mwandishi, I have to say I started to lose some interest. The songs were a little too long for my liking. I did however, come to realize that Herbie Hancock was a pioneer of the jazz ages. He broke out of the typical jazz spectrum into a psychodelic type of world. You can close your eyes on these tracks and picture yourself in some fantasy world. I bet a lot of drugs were done to this music back in the day.
Headhunters once again was a little wacky for me.Watermelon Man reminded me of an intro to an Austin Powers movie. I think it is a very fun song and probably my favorite on this album. Chameleon reminded me of something Stevie Wonder would have sung. When I hear this song I picture a pimp superfly walking down the street. It is pimpilicious. All in all this cd was fun and you can really get a sense of what was going on in his mind.
Will write more later Madden just woke up.
It's obvious right away when listening to Herbie Hancock that the most interesting thing about him has been his ability to anticipate and adapt his sound to whatever the musical trends are throughout his career. While a few of these albums that we've listened to stand far above a few of the others, this can be blamed more on the styles of the times, rather than on Herbie's abilities as a songwriter or as a musician. Actually, I think this is a credit to his abilities, as he was able to make something that was listenable during the mid 1980s, which many equally accomplished artists (i.e. Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Miles Davis, etc.) were unable to do.
ReplyDeleteAs for the albums themselves....On 'Inventions and Dimensions', the most apparent thing on first glance is the sheer greatness of the musicianship of all of the players involved. This is by far the most 'typically' jazz record of the 5 under review, and as a standard jazz record is very good. Like Justin said at the beginning, Herbie gives the others in the band room to breathe, not dominating the compositions with a lot of vamping piano solosrabb. With Willie Bobo (formerly of Tito Puente's band) drumming, there's a heavy latin influence on several of the tracks. My favorite of these is 'Jack Rabbit', as it contains a virtuosic piano performance by Herbie and an excellent drum solo immediately following it. Overall, this is probably my second favorite of the albums, and is something I'll definitely be listening to again.
On "Mwandishi", Herbie's sound has completely changed. Right from the start of 'Ostinato', there's a demented sounded trumpet indicating that times have changed. The whole recording sounds as if it were some sort of drug-induced haze, and the music just kind of flows over me, almost putting me into the haze that must have been in the air when the album was recorded. Whatever the instrument that Herbie was playing, it sounds exactly like the synth organs that Boards of Canada (an electronic group that I love) use. I love hearing music from decades ago that directly influences music that's being released today. Anyway, some of the songs are a bit over-long, but I think that it mostly still works in this format, as it's meant to put you into a certain slowed-down state of mind, and it is very successful at that.
On to "Head Hunters"....I could go on forever about this album. As one of my favorite 'jazz' (although it could be only loosely considered jazz, maybe) albums, this is always a joy to listen to. Starting with the amazing 'Chameleon', this album doesn't let up until the very end of 'Vein Melter' which is almost necessary as a sort of come-down from the high that the rest of the album always puts me in. This is Herbie's foray into straight funk, and is one of the funkiest albums in existence. You can also hear the strong influence that this album has had on modern hip-hop and electronica, and I can remember hearing a couple of the songs sampled on songs by Nas. This was by a long shot my favorite album that we listened to, and is one that I'll be playing for the rest of my life.
ReplyDelete"Sound-System" is an album that could have only been made in one era. Taking off of the success of his previous album "Future Shock" and it's hit single 'Rockit', Herbie tried to re-create the magic on this album several times. Using DJ scratching and the heavy hip-hop drum hits of the time, the first couple of tracks on this album are definitely relics of the 80s. Herbie's trusty piano makes a re-appearance on 'Karabali', easily the best track on the album. With this song, Herbie uses heavy African influences in the percussion, creating the only song that's able to stand the test of time. The next song, 'Junku' is interesting itself with it's middle-eastern elements, but is still quite high on the cheese factor. As a whole, this was my least favorite album, but it still has a few great elements which allow the genius of Herbie to shine through.
Herbie moves far into the future with the final album, "Future2Future." At times it's easy to lose focus on Herbie's playing itself, with as much of the surrounding breakbeats and other elements being so sample-based, but after reminding myself that it was a fresh composition I can still hear the breathtaking abilities of Herbie Hancock coming through loud and clear. 'Tony Williams' is an ode to the late drummer after which it's named, featuring a drum part played by Williams himself. This song is probably the most old-school jazz sounding, and as such is one of my two favorite tracks, the other being 'Ionosphere'. This song is extremely laid back, with an excellent beat....while also sounding a little sad at the same time. I was honestly a little surprised with how much I enjoyed this album, as I didn't quite know what to expect before I listened to it. Herbie's skills as a composer definitely remain, and this is proof.
Herbie Hancock is definitely one of the musical geniuses of our, or any time. His ability to synthesize both his love for the acoustic piano with his equal love of electronic machinery and the things it can do are second to none. This was a nice selection of Herbie's career, and I enjoyed the fact that it allowed all facets of Herbie's sound to be heard.
Apparently there is a character limit in posts so I will be splitting mine in two.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, my prior association with Herbie Hancock was from the movie Tommy Boy. I then saw a group called Herbie Hancock within CDNOW and assumed it was some punk band that had been influenced by the movie. I now understand that the test answer was inspired by the jazz artist that had been around long before the movie. Here and I thought Chris Farley just made up the name Herbie.
As for the music, I think I have a similar opinion to Laura's on this. I admittedly have no idea how to critique instrumental Jazz, and have very limited experience with this genre. In fact the only exposure I have are the two instrumental Beastie Boys albums. With those, when the title says 'Sneakin out the Hospital', I can picture just that. Someone peaking around corners and climbing through windows. With this, I was driving and was not able to see the titles of albums 2-4, so I think I needed that initial title to help me drift off into my fantasy land. It is probably better that I didn't since I was driving.
The first album I listened to was Mwandishi. This album was very bizarre and difficult for me. For jazz music, I think I need some structure to the song so that if I am going to snap my fingers to it, I have some idea of when to snap. With this album, all 3 or 4 of the tracks seemed to lack that structure and seemed to be all over the place. The songs themselves were quite slow for me and the lead horn (clarinet? trumpet?) seemed to be playing a different song. I did not enjoy this one in the least and only gave it 1 star as it was at least tolerable.
The second album I listed to was Head Hunters. This was by far my favorite album as the entire time, I was think that it could have been the soundtrack to Ocean's 11. It was upbeat, modern, and was something I could nod my head to during our trip. The track that Laura thought someone was blowing into a beer bottle, I actually thought that someone was playing with their straw in a McDonald's cup. I thought that was an interesting and unique sound to add to this style of music. I gave this one 4 stars.
The next album I listened to was Sound System. This was strange because track 1 sounded like the soundtrack to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for me. The second track sounded like the soundtrack to TMNT 2, and track 3 sounded like the soundtrack to TMNT 3. This had sort of a Wesley Willis Casio keyboard sound to it. This one was better than the first and not as good as the second. I gave it 2.5 stars.
ReplyDeleteThe next album I listened to was back in time to Inventions and Dimensions. This seemed to be much more current and upbeat than Mwandishi and I felt this was similar to Head Hunters. This was enjoyable as well as I found myself tapping my foot to this one while I made by hardcore league projections. After this one I really began to see what David was getting at in how Herbie through time has managed to not only keep up, but actually help shape the music trends through time. I know Justin and David won't like this comparison, but that is one thing that I can appreciate about Madonna. All 12 of her studio albums have a different sound and she has managed to keep everything current with the sound of that era. I gave this album 3.5 stars.
Upon finishing up with Future to Future, I felt that this one had a bit too much 'Funk' for me. I don't devil too much in Hip Hop and felt this one started to head in that direction. I did not enjoy and of the guest vocalists, but did enjoy Alphabeta. With this one I was able to drift off into a futuristic world. Overall I gave this one 1.5 stars.
I did appreciate this selection. This certainly did add some variety and culture to my musical palette. I like to listen to music at work as it helps me block out all outside distractions and keeps me focused on the task at hand. I think that Head Hunters and Inventions and Dimensions will be nice additions to my work playlist to help with that effort. Thank you for introducing me to a true musical genius and pioneer that has withstood the test of time.
Someone definitely should have hooked Herbie Hancock up with Vanilla Ice.....that would have made the TMNT movies a LOT better.
ReplyDeleteThomas' post was hilarious, and at the same time made perfect sense to me. Sound System does have a Wesley Willis Casio keyboard kind of sound. Actually, the first time I heard Willis, I was reminded of a really bad rendition of "Rockit," but at the time I didn't know that it was called that or that the song I was remembering was by Herbie Hancock.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know much about Herbie Hancock at all before this week. I actually thought it was going to be some kind of old school hip hop or rap for some reason, haha. That being said, and even though I've made it clear that jazz isn't my style, I want to thank Justin too for introducing me to this artist. I think that over time I'll grow to appreciate him even more - anytime I hear songs or sounds that have Herbie influences, etc.
I have noticed that I tend to like music with African influences (if you're not familiar with Pandora, you should check it out. It finds songs with similar DNA to ones you rate favorably.), which is probably why I dug Headhunters the most.
I'd like to hear Justin's response to all these thoughts.
The response to Herbie's music was exactly what I was hoping for, and more. I'll be honest, I didn't like some of the music on these albums. I knew you all wouldn't either, but I knew the music would get a definite reaction from everybody. With references to Ninja Turtles movies, pimp soundtracks, blowing into beer bottles, and African safari dreams everyone was guided down different paths with Herbie's music. David and I were discussing "Jack Rabbit" off Inventions yesterday, for me, Herbies piano playing was like a jack rabbit effortlessly navigating the woods only to be spotted by a predator and then chased down during Willie BoBo's drum solo. Go back and listen to it with that imagery, it's awesome. Mwandishi is the closest you will ever get to feeling "high" without doing a narcotic. I had a feeling Headhunters would be most peoples favorite, I honestly feel Herbie has some sort of liquid funk that courses through his veins instead of the red stuff we all have. All these albums reflect Herbies constant progression and ability to create landscapes musically. Whether you decide to listen to Herbie again is up to you, I feel it would be a disservice to go a lifetime without ever experiencing something so unique as an album from Mr. Hancock.
ReplyDeleteSorry everyone, my time has been crazy as of lately and I have had a hard time keeping up with my writing. I left off with Sound System and have to say I totally agree with Thomas in that it reminded me of the background music to an 80's movie such as TMNT. While I enjoy that movie, I am not as big a fan of the music. I do appreciate the fact that he is keeping with the times in his albums, and evolves his music with what is going on in the world. This album also reminded me alot of the up and coming rap scene. The beats and rhythms sound like something Run DMC would have used to rap along with. Sorry to have to do this but we are heading out the door again. I will be back once more with my final album, and final thoughts.
ReplyDelete