Herbie Hancock Tribute Pairs Two Giant Albums

NOTE:  THIS SHOW HAS BEEN POSTPONED TO MAY 3 DUE TO THE CORONA VIRUS OUTBREAK

Maiden Voyage and Head Hunters.  Both giant jazz albums.  Both by Herbie Hancock.  And both are the focus of this month's classic jazz series presented by Todd Fulginiti Music and Tellus 360 this Sunday.  And if you have a soft spot in your heart for album liner notes and stuff like that- keep reading for a little background info on what we'll be playing Sunday. 

Maiden Voyage 

Herbie Hancock says there's just something mystical about the sea, and he's right.  It has inspired both artists and scientists for ages, never losing its appeal despite the abuse and mistreatment humanity has heaped upon it. 

Ask an artist to draw an ocean scene and you might get anything from abstract swirling colors to dancing fish and mermaids.  Ask a writer for a sea story and you might get Moby Dick or Popeye.  Ocean related music ranges from Debussey's La Mer to A Pirates Life For Me.  Most of us feel connected to the sea on some level although we may express it in different ways. 

Herbie Hancock's 1965 album, Maiden Voyage, is about the sea.  And rather than me try to sound imaginative or scholarly, it's probably better to hear from the man himself about the concept that resulted in one of the best jazz albums of all time.  Here's what he said: 

"The sea has often stirred the imagination of creative minds involved in all spheres of art. There still exists an element of mystery which surrounds the sea and the living aquatic creatures which provide it with its vital essence. Atlantis, the Sargasso Sea, giant serpents, and mermaids are only a few of the many folkloric mysteries which have evolved through man’s experiences with the sea. 

This music attempts to capture its vastness and majesty, the splendor of a sea-going vessel on its maiden voyage, the graceful beauty of the playful dolphins, the constant struggle for survival of even the tiniest sea creatures, and the awesome destructive power of the hurricane, nemesis of seamen.” 

With Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, George Coleman on tenor sax, Ron Carter on bass and Tony Williams on drums, Herbie's quintet explores a wide range of colors, forms and moods on the albums 5 tracks.  Two of those tracks, Maiden Voyage and Dolphin Dance, are considered standard pieces of jazz repertoire.  That's like a pop star having 2 mega-hits from the same album. Rare. 

To me, Maiden Voyage is about color and Freddie Hubbard's killer trumpet lines- he's one of my favorite players. 

Head Hunters 

According to his website, Herbie Hancock was getting restless in the early 70's, anxious to try something new but not knowing what.  In his own words, here's how he figured it out. 

It happened one day. I was chanting. I knew I didn’t want to play the music I had been playing, but I didn’t know what music I wanted to play. I hadn’t quite figured it out. I don’t remember having any other idea, but what was uppermost in my mind was that I knew didn’t want to play what had been playing. I wanted to feel more earthy and be a little more grounded. I wanted to find the answers within myself. 

The more I chanted, the more my mind opened up, relaxed and began to wander. I started thinking about Sly Stone and how much I loved his music and how funky “Thank You For Letting Me Be Myself” is. I was hearing that song over and over and over again. Then I had this mental image of me playing in Sly’s band playing something funky like that. Then the next image that came to me was about my own band playing in Sly Stone’s musical direction. My unconscious reaction was, “No, I don’t want to do that.” 

What saw in this reaction was seeing in myself the same things I hated about many other jazz musicians that put jazz on a pedestal, and at the same time putting Funk and Rock on a secondary level. I don’t like that about anything. There’s room for everything. But I noticed my gut reaction was the same kind of hierarchical look of putting jazz on a pedestal. I said to myself, “Whoa! What are you doing?” I knew I had to take the idea seriously. Would I like to have a funky band that played the kind of music Sly or someone like that was playing? My response was, “Actually, yes.” 

Too many musicians create this bogus hierarchy of music where only certain types are worthy and others get left to the presumably less talented.  I'm glad Herbie saw through that, creating a space for free flowing improvisation over killer funk grooves that are as good for dancing as they are for the ear. 

Head Hunters was released in 1973 and two of its four tracks are considered jazz fusion standards (Chameleon & Watermelon Man).  It's still one of the best selling jazz albums of all time. 

This Sunday at Tellus 

Once again we'll be in the cozy basement room, An Sibin, for this month's classic jazz show, playing both the Maiden Voyage and Head Hunters albums. 

Kirk Reese is our special guest on piano.  If you've not heard him before you're going to want to change that immediately!  Kirk says he's been playing these albums since the day they originally came out and at one point had them all memorized.  He plays with great fire and creativity, always ready to latch on to a new idea and take it wherever it may go. 

Along with Kirk are Ryan Kauffman (sax), Tom Hilliker (bass), Chris Loser (drums), and myself (trumpet).  Presenting these two contrasting albums on the same bill is challenging, but choosing one over the other was even tougher. 

Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 day of show.  Doors open at 1:30pm, music starts at 2pm and we'll finish up around 4pm.  Last month's Chet Baker Sings show was well received and were hoping you can be part of the action as we build the jazz series with Tellus 360. 

See you Sunday!

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