Bobby Hutcherson Happenings CD

Personnel: Bobby Hutcherson (vibraphone, marimba); Herbie Hancock (piano); Bob Cranshaw (bass); Joe Chambers (drums).
Recorded at the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey on February 8, 1966.
Personnel: Bobby Hutcherson (vibraphone, marimba); Bobby Hutcherson; Herbie Hancock (piano); Joe Chambers (drums); Bob Cranshaw.
Audio Remasterer: Rudy Van Gelder.
Liner Note Author: Bob Blumenthal.
Recording information: The Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ (02/06/1966).
Photographer: Francis Wolff.
HAPPENINGS was vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson's fourth Blue Note release as a leader. Where its predecessors DIALOGUE and COMPONENTS were packed with challenging avant-bop, HAPPENINGS instead brings things down a notch. With pianist Herbie Hancock, drummer Joe Chambers, and bassist Bob Cranshaw on board, Hutcherson keeps the tone fairly light, performing his original compositions (the exception is Hancock's "Maiden Voyage") with a mellow, swinging style that emphasizes modal exploration. The performances are all top-notch, and the album still weighs in as one of the best in Hutcherson's fine catalogue.
Bobby Hutcherson's first quartet outing, Happenings, casts the brightest spotlight on the vibraphonist's soloing abilities, matching him once again with pianist Herbie Hancock (who is also heavily featured) and drummer Joe Chambers, plus bassist Bob Cranshaw. For that matter, the album also leans heavily on Hutcherson's compositional skills; save for Hancock's "Maiden Voyage," six of the seven numbers are Hutcherson originals. Given his reputation as a modernist, most of the pieces here are structured pretty simply -- there's a lot of straightforward modal hard bop, giving Hutcherson and Hancock plenty of room to solo. They handle much of the material with a light, mellow touch, trading off meditative licks even on the more up-tempo pieces and poignant, lyrical lines on the ballads "Bouquet" and "When You Are Near." The two exceptions are the opening and closing numbers: "Aquarian Moon" is challenging post-bop, while the sinister "The Omen" finds Hutcherson opening up the bag of tricks he learned from the freely structured group dialogues Chambers wrote for albums past. Sharp stabs from the piano signal transition to a new, sometimes unaccompanied lead instrument, and Hutcherson's darting marimba lines build up a claustrophobic tension. That doesn't change the overall feel of the album, though, which ends up a charmingly relaxed, low-key outing and a nice addition to Hutcherson's Blue Note catalog. ~ Steve Huey
Bobby Hutcherson's first quartet outing, Happenings, casts the brightest spotlight on the vibraphonist's soloing abilities, matching him once again with pianist Herbie Hancock (who is also heavily featured) and drummer Joe Chambers, plus bassist Bob Cranshaw. For that matter, the album also leans heavily on Hutcherson's compositional skills; save for Hancock's "Maiden Voyage," six of the seven numbers are Hutcherson originals. Given his reputation as a modernist, most of the pieces here are structured pretty simply -- there's a lot of straightforward modal hard bop, giving Hutcherson and Hancock plenty of room to solo. They handle much of the material with a light, mellow touch, trading off meditative licks even on the more up-tempo pieces and poignant, lyrical lines on the ballads "Bouquet" and "When You Are Near." The two exceptions are the opening and closing numbers: "Aquarian Moon" is challenging post-bop, while the sinister "The Omen" finds Hutcherson opening up the bag of tricks he learned from the freely structured group dialogues Chambers wrote for albums past. Sharp stabs from the piano signal transition to a new, sometimes unaccompanied lead instrument, and Hutcherson's darting marimba lines build up a claustrophobic tension. That doesn't change the overall feel of the album, though, which ends up a charmingly relaxed, low-key outing and a nice addition to Hutcherson's Blue Note cata