The Piano [Bonus Tracks]

Performer: Herbie Hancock
Engineer: Fred Catero; David Rubinson; Tomoo Suzuki; Brian Bell; Fred Catero; David Rubinson; Tomoo Suzuki; Brian Bell
Producer: David Rubinson; David Rubinson; David Rubinson (Reissue); Bob Belden (Reissue)
Distributor: Sony Music Distribution (

Notes: Previously available only as a limited edition, Japanese import. Personnel: Herbie Hancock (piano); Herbie Hancock. Audio Mixers: Fred Catero; David Rubinson; Tamoo Suzuki ; Brian Bell. Liner Note Authors: Herbie Hancock; David Rubinson; Bob Belden. Recording information: CBS Studios, Tokyo, Japan (10/25/1978-10/26/1978). Author: Herbie Hancock. Photographers: Max Hellweg; Akira Aimi; Jan Persson; Jon Sievert. Herbie Hancock never really focused on solo piano. However, this 1978 release, which was previously only available in Japan, is a rare gem in the Hancock discography. Thanks to this overdue 2004 reissue, the listener is invited to explore the musical mind of this pianist in an up-close and intimate setting. All 11 tracks on THE PIANO are quite reflective, with Hancock employing many rich chordal textures and winding melodic gestures throughout. On "My Funny Valentine," Hancock combines the harmonic palette of Bill Evans with his own distinctive phrasing and unexpected modal shifts. His own composition "Blue Otani" is the only bluesy piece on this disc, and here Hancock slyly suggests the stride piano tradition without ever really playing in this style. "Harvest Time" is the most atmospheric piece on the album. As Hancock's fingers glide over the keys, one can almost envision the first blush of daybreak on a farm. For anybody seeking to better understand the conceptual and technical wizardry of Hancock, THE PIANO is a priceless find. Recorded after the funky fusion of Head Hunters, Thrust, Sextant, and other electric albums, and before the dawn of "Rockit" and more commercially viable and hip-hop-oriented material, Herbie Hancock took time out in 1978 to touch base again with his piano. Recorded completely solo, and live, direct to disc, where the tape is rolling and the performance is recorded directly to a master acetate without edits or overdubs of any kind (further constraints of the technology permitted performances of only 16 minutes in length per side), this set was issued only in Japan at the time, just as the truly awful Feets, Don't Fail Me Now was issued stateside. This is the very first time this set has been available in the United States, and Legacy has done a fantastic job, lengthening the original album by over 20 minutes with the inclusion of four alternate takes of issued material from the two-day session. The first half of the original album features Hancock playing jazz standards in truly elegant and restrained fashion. His treatments of "My Funny Valentine," "Green Dolphin Street," and "Someday My Prince Will Come" -- all performed during his tenure with the Miles Davis Quintet -- are elongated, morphed, and beautifully woven together as a suite. The latter half of the recording is comprised of four tracks: "Harvest Time," "Sonrisa," "Manhattan Island," and "Blue Otani," all of which are originals. These pieces are concerned compositionally with Hancock's preoccupation with the piano as a solo instrument. They are composed as formalist treatments that are extrapolated upon at several different junctures, or "turning points," within them. They embody notions of classical music � la Anton Webern, Fats Waller's blues, Erroll Garner's lyrical phrasing, and Bill Evans' harmonic sensibilities. They are, in sum, inseparable from one another and are usually performed as a suite. This is a stunning triumph for Hancock. ~ Thom Jurek

JazzTimes (p.101) - "THE PIANO is a rich, vivid sonic documentation of an individual piano at a specific moment in a particular acoustic space in the hands of a special artist." Mojo (Publisher) (p.124) - 3 stars out of 5 - "[F]ull of riches..."

One of the most open-eared and forward-thinking jazz musicians of his day, Hancock has, more than just about anyone else, consistently tried to broaden the music's horizons by mixing it with the most interesting elements of contemporary pop. Hancock has consistently pushed the envelope, from his earliest days with Miles Davis to his jazz-rock fusion of the early '70s and his early embrace of synthesizers and electronic instruments, his early-'80s experiments with hip-hop and sampling, or more recently, his acoustic piano reinterpretations of songs--the new standards, in his parlance--by everyone from Don Henley to Nirvana.

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