| The Piano | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | LP: June 21, 1979 CD: 2004 | |||
| Recorded | October 25–26, 1978 | |||
| Studio | CBS Studios, Tokyo | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Length | LP: 31:26 CD: 52:04 | |||
| Label | LP: CBS/Sony CD: Columbia | |||
| Producer | David Rubinson Herbie Hancock | |||
| Herbie Hancock chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Tom Hull | B [2] |
The Piano is the twenty-first album by Herbie Hancock.
As with Directstep (recorded one week previously), this album was recorded, and originally only released, in Japan. It was one of Hancock's most successful albums in Japan, perhaps because it was entirely solo piano. Hancock tackles jazz standards such as "My Funny Valentine", "On Green Dolphin Street" and "Some Day My Prince Will Come" while also performing four original compositions.
This album was initially released exclusively in Japan and first issued there on CD in 1983. In 2004, over 25 years after its recording, the album was released with four additional alternate takes of the same session. It was the first and only (until 2014) of Hancock's Japanese releases available internationally.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "My Funny Valentine" | Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart | 7:42 |
| 2. | "On Green Dolphin Street" | Bronisław Kaper, Ned Washington | 3:20 |
| 3. | "Some Day My Prince Will Come" | Frank Churchill, Larry Morey | 4:36 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Harvest Time" | Herbie Hancock | 4:48 |
| 2. | "Sonrisa" | Herbie Hancock | 3:40 |
| 3. | "Manhattan Island" | Herbie Hancock | 3:56 |
| 4. | "Blue Otani" | Herbie Hancock | 3:24 |
| Total length: | 31:26 | ||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8. | "My Funny Valentine" (Take 3) | Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart | 6:08 |
| 9. | "On Green Dolphin Street" (Take 2) | Bronisław Kaper, Ned Washington | 4:04 |
| 10. | "Some Day My Prince Will Come" (Take 3) | Frank Churchill, Larry Morey | 5:16 |
| 11. | "Harvest Time" (Take 3) | Herbie Hancock | 5:10 |
| Total length: | 52:04 | ||
Herbert Jeffrey Hancock is an American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the post-bop sound. In the 1970s, Hancock experimented with jazz fusion, funk, and electro styles, using a wide array of synthesizers and electronics. It was during this period that he released perhaps his best-known and most influential album, Head Hunters.
Head Hunters is the twelfth studio album by American pianist, keyboardist and composer Herbie Hancock, released October 26, 1973, on Columbia Records. Recording sessions for the album took place in the evening at Wally Heider Studios and Different Fur Trading Co. in San Francisco, California.
Maiden Voyage is the fifth album led by jazz musician Herbie Hancock, and was recorded by Rudy Van Gelder on March 17, 1965, for Blue Note Records. It was issued as BLP 4195 and BST 84195. Featuring Hancock with tenor saxophonist George Coleman, trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, bassist Ron Carter and drummer Tony Williams, it is a concept album aimed at creating an oceanic atmosphere. As such, many of the track titles refer to marine biology or the sea, and the musicians develop the concept through their use of space. The album was presented with the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1999.
E.S.P. is an album by Miles Davis, recorded on January 20–22, 1965 and released on August 16 of that year by Columbia Records. It is the first release from what is known as Davis's second great quintet: Davis on trumpet, Wayne Shorter on tenor saxophone, Herbie Hancock on piano, Ron Carter on bass, and Tony Williams on drums. The album was named after a tune by Shorter, and was inspired by the fact that, "since Wayne Shorter's arrival, the five members of the quintet seemed to communicate by mental telepathy."
Sorcerer is an album by the jazz trumpeter and composer Miles Davis. It is the third of six albums that his 1960s quintet recorded. It also includes one track from a 1962 session with vocalist Bob Dorough, which was the first time Wayne Shorter recorded with Davis. Davis does not play on the second track, "Pee Wee". The album's cover is a profile photo of actress Cicely Tyson, who at the time was Davis's girlfriend.
Nefertiti is a studio album by the jazz musician Miles Davis, released in March 1968. Recorded at Columbia's 30th Street Studio over four dates between June 7 and July 19, 1967, the album was Davis' last fully acoustic album. Davis himself did not contribute any compositions – three were written by tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter, two by pianist Herbie Hancock, and one by drummer Tony Williams.
Miles in the Sky is a studio album by the jazz trumpeter and composer Miles Davis. It was released on July 22, 1968 through Columbia Records. It was the last full album recorded by Davis' "Second Great Quintet" and marked the beginning of his foray into jazz fusion, with Herbie Hancock playing electric piano and Ron Carter playing electric bass guitar on opening track “Stuff”. Additionally, electric guitarist George Benson features on “Paraphernalia”.
Oblique is an album by vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, featuring performances by Herbie Hancock, Albert Stinson, and Joe Chambers. The album was recorded on July 21, 1967. Oblique was Hutcherson's second recording in a quartet setting, after Happenings, The personnel on Happenings are identical, save the replacement of Bob Cranshaw with Stinson, but did not get released by Blue Note until 1979 as a limited edition in Japan, followed by a regular issue in 1990.
Speak No Evil is the sixth album by Wayne Shorter. It was released in June 1966 by Blue Note Records. The music combines elements of hard bop and modal jazz, and features Shorter on tenor saxophone, trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, pianist Herbie Hancock, bassist Ron Carter and drummer Elvin Jones. The cover photo is of Shorter's first wife, Teruko (Irene) Nakagami, whom he met in 1961.
Adam's Apple is the tenth album by post-bop jazz artist Wayne Shorter. Recorded in 1966 and released in 1967, it included the first recording of his composition "Footprints", later recorded by the Miles Davis Quintet for the album Miles Smiles (1967). Shorter is featured with pianist Herbie Hancock, bassist Reggie Workman and drummer Joe Chambers. The CD release includes the Hancock composition "The Collector" as a bonus track.
Possibilities is the forty-fifth studio album by American jazz pianist Herbie Hancock, released on August 30, 2005, by Hear Music and Vector Recordings.
V.S.O.P : Live Under the Sky is a 1979 live album by the V.S.O.P. Quintet, a record of a performance at the 1979 Live Under the Sky Festival as it was performed live in Japan over two days. The first day, which took place during a furious rainstorm, was broadcast live on national television. The original release featured the first day, while the 2004 re-master/re-release also featured the second concert. This, the fourth VSOP release, once again featured pianist Herbie Hancock, saxophonist Wayne Shorter, drummer Tony Williams, bassist Ron Carter and trumpeter Freddie Hubbard.
Water Babies is a compilation album by American jazz trumpeter Miles Davis. It compiled music Davis recorded in studio sessions with his quintet in 1967 and 1968, including outtakes from his 1968 album Nefertiti and recordings that foreshadowed his direction on In a Silent Way (1969), while covering styles such as jazz fusion and post-bop. Water Babies was released by Columbia Records in 1976 after Davis had (temporarily) retired.
The All Seeing Eye is the ninth jazz album by saxophonist Wayne Shorter, recorded on October 15, 1965, and released on the Blue Note label as BLP 4219 and BST 84219 in 1966. The album features performances by Shorter with trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, trombonist Grachan Moncur III, alto saxophonist James Spaulding, pianist Herbie Hancock, bassist Ron Carter and drummer Joe Chambers. Shorter's brother, Alan composed and plays fluegelhorn on the final track, “Mephistopheles”. The AllMusic review by Scott Yanow states: "it is clear from the start that the music on this CD reissue is not basic bop and blues... the dramatic selections, and their brand of controlled freedom has plenty of subtle surprises. This is stimulating music that still sounds fresh over three decades later".
Directstep is the twentieth studio album by jazz pianist Herbie Hancock. The record was released exclusively in Japan on January 21, 1979, via the Japanese CBS/Sony label. Participating musicians include saxophonist Bennie Maupin, keyboardist Webster Lewis, bass guitarist Paul Jackson, guitarist Ray Obiedo, percussionist Bill Summers, and drummer Alphonse Mouzon.
The Procrastinator is an album by jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan released posthumously on the Blue Note label, featuring performances by Morgan, Wayne Shorter, Bobby Hutcherson, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Billy Higgins. It was originally issued in 1978 as a double LP featuring tracks recorded in three different sessions: July 1967, September 1969 and October 1969. It was the last time Morgan recorded with Shorter in an association that lasted almost eight years.
CoreaHancock is an acoustic live album by Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock. It was recorded over the course of several live performances in February 1978 and released in 1979. Corea has top billing on this album, as Hancock did for An Evening with Herbie Hancock & Chick Corea: In Concert, another recording of the same tour released on Hancock's label. The CD version heavily edits what was released on the final side of the vinyl version.
Miles in Tokyo is a live album recorded on July 14, 1964, by the Miles Davis Quintet at the Tokyo Kōsei Nenkin Kaikan, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. It was released in the United States on CD in 2005 and is the first recording of Davis in Japan. It is the only album to showcase an early incarnation of his Second Great Quintet featuring Sam Rivers on tenor saxophone, following George Coleman's departure; after this, Wayne Shorter's appointment completed the classic lineup which recorded such albums as ESP and Miles Smiles, through to Miles in the Sky.
The Americanization of Ooga Booga is a live album by South African jazz trumpeter Hugh Masekela. MGM released the record in June 1966.
Mirror Mirror is a studio album by jazz pianist Eliane Elias consisting of duets Elias performs with pianists Chick Corea and Chucho Valdés. Candid released the album on September 10, 2021.