| | Herbie Hancock Takin' Off CD Herbie Hancock Discography of CDs
TAKIN' OFF was Herbie Hancock's first album as a leader. The 1996 reissue of TAKIN' OFF adds alternate takes of "Watermelon Man," "Three Bags Full" and "Empty Pockets."
TAKIN' OFF (1962), Herbie Hancock's debut as a leader, holds up exceptionally well decades after its release, even in light of the vast, eclectic, and excellent solo catalogue that followed. Still in the thick of his groundbreaking work with Miles Davis, Hancock had already established himself as a pianist and composer of the first order, and those qualities shine on TAKIN' OFF. Flanked by superb personnel that includes trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, saxophonist Dexter Gordon, and drummer Billy Higgins, Hancock offers six excellent compositions (including the famous "Watermelon Man") that balance between adventurousness and the rigors of classic hard bop. The Rudy Van Gelder remaster, released in 2007, brings this classic back in glorious clarity.
Digitally remastered by Ron McMaster.
Live Recording
Recorded at the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey on May 28, 1962. Includes liner notes by Leonard Feather.
Personnel: Herbie Hancock (piano); Dexter Gordon (tenor saxophone); Freddie Hubbard (trumpet); Butch Warren (bass); Billy Higgins (drums).
Producer: Alfred Lion.
Reissue producer: Michael Cuscuna. Herbie Hancock Takin' Off Songs Takin' Off Review
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Purchase Takin' Off CD To buy, Click on price to add to cart | Herbie Hancock My Point Of View CD (1963) Remastered
Takin' Off
 $9.45 
The Rudy Van Gelder Edition of MY POINT OF VIEW includes an essay by Bob Blumenthal.
This is part of the Blue Note Rudy Van Gelder Editions series.
After the phenomenal success of TAKIN' OFF, Herbie Hancock's second release for Blue Note was constructed in the mold of its predecessor. The tantalizing MY POINT OF VIEW offers many of the same early Hancock signature moments, but with an expanded palette that reflects the pianist's growing experience. A larger ensemble helped to broaden the range of this release as Blue Note regulars Donald Byrd, Hank Mobley, and Grant Green add to Hancock's sonic textures. Also on board are the advanced trombonist Grachan Moncur III, Bill Evans' bassist Chuck Israels, and the young drum wonder Tony Williams.
As with "Watermelon Man" (the opener on TAKIN' OFF), the opening "Blind Man, Blind Man" is a simple, funky groove that serves to attract non-jazz listeners and invite them into Hancock's creative world. More traditional selections like the delightful "A Tribute to Someone" and the bouncing blues number "And What if I Don't" offer Hancock's masterful take on the standard format. Of special note is the centerpiece track, "King Cobra," an inventive piece that captures stunning work by Byrd, Mobley, ...
| | Herbie Hancock Prisoner CD (1969) Remastered
Takin' Off
$9.45  
Digitally remastered using 24-bit technology by Rudy Van Gelder (2000, Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey).
This is part of the Blue Note Rudy Van Gelder Editions series.
There is no mistaking the influence of the great Gil Evans on Herbie Hancock's THE PRISONER. The dark textures, the creative voicings, and the way in which Hancock assembles his arrangements are evocative of Evans' work with the pianist's former boss, Miles Davis. However, Hancock does more than pay homage here, as he exercises yet another aspect of his exceptional musicianship and applies it to the large ensemble format he had begun to approach on his previous date, SPEAK LIKE A CHILD.
THE PRISONER is significant for other reasons; for one, it was recorded at the beginning of a great upheaval in jazz, when the form incorporated the adoption of electric instruments and rock-influenced rhythms in a move towards the fusion of the '70s. Yet, although Hancock uses an electric piano on some pieces, the session is mostly a performance of beautifully crafted acoustic chamber music with a significant undercurrent of swing. The date also marked the end of Hancock's association with Blue Note, the label that had launched his solo career. Subsequently ...
| | Herbie Hancock Empyrean Isles CD (1964) Remastered
Takin' Off
$8.85 
The Rudy Van Gelder Edition of EMPYREAN ISLES includes an essay by Bob Blumenthal.
This is part of the Blue Note Rudy Van Gelder Editions series.
Herbie Hancock's tenure with Miles Davis had a profound influence on EMPYREAN ISLES. Hancock made even more expressive motions of the freer forms and modal progressions explored by Davis' band. This is no surprise, as Hancock was one of the chief navigators of the Davis group's astounding explorations. On ISLES, Hancock employs Davis bandmates Tony Williams and Ron Carter, along with trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, for a revolutionary recording as significant as Hancock's better-known MAIDEN VOYAGE.
The burning opener "One Finger Snap," presented here in two takes, is a very open-sounding piece. Liquid chords seem to float underneath Hubbard's soaring lines as Williams attacks his drums with brute force. In contrast, the mysterious "Oliloqui Valley," again in two takes, begins with shifting dynamics and moods, opening into a gliding solo section that features Hancock's expert keyboard ...
| | Lee Morgan Search For The New Land CD (1964) Remastered
Takin' Off
$8.85
This release is something of a departure for the bold trumpet stylist. After the Latin-tinged dance-floor jams of THE SIDEWINDER (released about six months prior to this disc), Morgan turns somewhat reflective. The music is quieter, with a good deal of structural space and restrained, almost expressionistic playing. The title track opens the album and evokes a mood of poignancy and careful balance, like a Japanese painting. Even the more up-tempo numbers like "The Joker" and "Mr. Kenyatta" are relaxed and thoughtful, the richly textured passages unfolding in a way that seems both organic and tightly disciplined.
Morgan's playing maintains its articulate brightness, but his notes and phrases ...
| | Herbie Hancock Inventions & Dimensions CD (1964) Bonus Track; Remastered
Takin' Off
$8.99
For his third album, Inventions and Dimensions, Herbie Hancock changed course dramatically. Instead of recording another multifaceted album like My Point of View, he explored a Latin-inflected variation of post-bop with a small quartet. Hancock is the main harmonic focus of the music -- his three colleagues are bassist Paul Chambers, drummer Willie Bobo, and percussionist Osvaldo "Chihuahua" Martinez, who plays conga and bongo. It is true that the music is rhythm-intensive, but that doesn't mean it's dance music. Hancock has created an improvisational atmosphere where the rhythms are fluid and the chords, harmonies, and melodies are unexpected. On every song but one, the melodies and chords were improvised, with Hancock's harmonic ideas arising from the rhythms during the recording. The result is risky, unpredictable music that is intensely cerebral and quite satisfying. Inventions and Dimensions displays his willingness to experiment and illustrates that his playing is reaching new, idiosyncratic heights. Listening to this, the subsequent developments of Miles Davis' invitation to join his quartet and the challenging Empyrean Isles come as no surprise. ~ Stephen Thomas ...
| | Victor Wooten Yin-Yang CDs (1999)
Takin' Off
$17.75 
YIN YANG was nominated for the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Performance.
Like Pastorius, Clarke, and Patitucci before him, Victor Wooten is on a quest to take the electric bass to a new level of consciousness. As anyone who has heard him play can attest, he has more than enough talent to do just that. His third solo release, the double-disc YIN-YANG, displays all of his many talents including his exceptional vocal abilities. The styles covered here are almost too numerous to name: jazz, funk, fusion, R&B, blue grass, avant-garde, and more. Wooten handles them all expertly and sometimes all at the same time. His many stellar guests include saxophonist Kirk Whalum, banjo master Bela Fleck, Dave Matthews' drummer Carter Beauford, as well as the hopelessly funky Bootsy Collins and his endlessly entertaining 16-month-old daughter Kaila. The results are an incredibly creative collection from a tremendously talented virtuoso.
Principally recorded at Masterlink Studios and Monkey Finger Studio, Nashville, Tennessee. Includes liner notes by Victor Wooten.
2-CD;3rd Solo
Personnel: Victor Wooten (guitar, cello, acoustic bass, programming, background vocals); J.D. Blair (vocals, drums, drum programming); Dorothy G. Wooten, Aseem Hetep, Kaila Wooten, Park Law, Allyson Taylor, Jonell Mosser, Kathy Chiavola, Peter Rowan, Tabitha Fair, Bootsy Collins (vocals); Count Bass ...
| | Respectables Les Argent Fait Le Bonheur CD (2008) (Import) Import
Takin' Off
$30.19
| | Eclectic Vince Guaraldi CD (1969)
Takin' Off
$9.69
Here, Vince Guaraldi roams farther afield than ever -- playing piano and electric harpsichord, experimenting with sleek string backdrops, dabbling with the ...
| | Tha Alkaholiks Firewater CD (2006)
Takin' Off
$11.40 
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| | Aberfoyle Springs CD (2001)
Takin' Off
$10.15
| | Evidence Out Of Town CD (2007)
Takin' Off
$13.85
| | Stephan Eicher Hotel S CD (2007)
Takin' Off
$24.45
| | Dawn Landes Dawn's Music CD (2008) (Import)
Takin' Off
$22.35
2008 two CD pressing of Dawn Landes' previously French-only debut album ...
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