HERBIE HANCOCK — Maiden Voyage (review)

HERBIE HANCOCK — Maiden Voyage album cover Album · 1965 · Post Bop Buy this album from MMA partners
5/5 ·
bsidePL
This is one of these records that will forever be listed on any "best jazz albums ever" rankings. No wonder - this IS a truly masterpiece and you can discover it from the very first notes.

First of all - this album is way different from many other hard-bop album typical for the 60's maistream jazz. It's not this kind of LP that only consist of simple jazz tunes with some good solos. What differs "Maiden Voyage" from other records are compositions. They mostly leave boring hard-bop pattern for something much more vivid, for some kind of jazz landscape.

The title track is a monument of the size of first part of "A Love Supreme" by John Coltrane. In fact "Maiden Voyage" is Supreme. It's blisfull theme is so colorful that you can nearly see in your mind the maiden voyage, discovering brand new lands. Also interesting is the pleasent play of rhythm section that reminds the sound of sea in the morning or afternoon with calm waves splashing on the shore.

Second memorable track - The Eye of the Hurricane - is surely not as perfect as previous one, but the fiery hard-bop jam also suits the title. Also the last piece, a nice ballad entitled "Dolphin Dance" became quickly a jazz standard.

Hancock shows that he is not "only" capable of composing hard-bop and "new-school" composition, but also a bit of his free-jazz or modern explorations with a track "Survival Of The Fittest". Within few years he will completly leave mainstream for extremely original directions. But still many other young artist and Hancock himself goes back to his brilliant music from "Maiden Voyage" to constatly search for news direction, new lands, new sounds.
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