Best of

Herbie Hancock | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Original Release Date: November 1, 1988
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Blue Note Records
• ASIN: B000005HEX
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #66,272 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #18 in Music > Indie Music > Jazz > Jazz Fusion
  • #60 in Music > Indie Music > Jazz > Modern Post Bop

Editorial Reviews

Mirroring his onetime boss and mentor Miles Davis' own protean output, Herbie Hancock has explored hard-bop, soul-jazz, fusion, funk-rock, soundtracks, hip-hop-inflected pop ("Rockit"), and many permutations in between. His early work for Blue Note, though, offers the best entrie for newcomers. Compiled from five of his albums for the label and covering a period from 1962-1968, this fine sampler includes highlights off his debut, Takin' Off ("Watermelon Man"), the classic Maiden Voyage (the title track and "Dolphin Dance"), and the early electric album Speak Like a Child (the title track and "Riot"). Add to this more indelible cuts like "Cantaloupe Island" and "One Finger Snap," not to mention the presence of numerous '60s jazz legends (Dexter Gordon, Freddie Hubbard, Thad Jones, Hank Mobley, Billy Higgins, et al.), and you have perfect way to get a taste of some of the best modern jazz.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars His Best Early Work, July 2, 2000

By 

Alf Kremer (Denver CO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Best of (Audio CD)

OK, there's only so many hours in a day, and some of it (supposedly) has to be spent sleeping and working. Therefore we can't listen to all of the albums we want to. Thankfully, there are albums like this one, which distill most of the best of Herbie Hancock's early work into an easy to carry 5" CD. Any gripe I could give are minor - f'r'instance, a track from PRISONER wouldn't've hurt. But for anyone who's interested in the jazz work of Herbie Hancock - oh, heck, anyone who's interested in jazz at all - would do well to pick this up.

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Songs without words, June 8, 2001

By 

3rdeadly3rd (Brisbane, Queensland Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Best of (Audio CD)

I got switched on to Herbie Hancock via his sample on Us3's "Cantaloop" and haven't looked back since. This album really shows what a talented pianist/composer he is.

Coming as I do from a rap background, I didn't think that instrumentals clocking up to 9 minutes could really hold my interest - ths CD proves me wrong. A lot of the tracks are really songs with no words, a "chorus" is played, then one of the instruments does a solo/verse, then back to the chorus again. What's more, the talent and love with which these people play is incredible to hear.

I must have listened to tracks like "Watermelon Man", "One Finger Snap", "Driftin'" and "Canteloupe Island" a bit too much because I can hear them even now when writing the review. Every single one of these pieces is great in so many ways. Not being a musician myself, I can't really express it very well. Suffice to say that the music here really is moving.

Some of the standout moments here (all the tracks are standouts) are as follows:

The intro/chorus on "Driftin'"

The sax solo on that same track

Most of "Watermelon Man"

The horn playing on "Canteloupe Island"

The drum solo on "One Finger Snap"

I'm not entirely certain whether these show Hancock at his best (having composed the pieces) or the other players at their best playing them - but it certainly shows talent. Hancock seems to have had a knack of surrounding himself and his brilliant piano skills with other performers of comparable talent.

After listening to this so many times, I only have one question in my mind - what on earth is a fluglehorn?

That aside, this is a truly great album by one of the best artists in the business. Well worth the money.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Essential Compilation, November 23, 1999

By 

negu (Athens, GA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Best of (Audio CD)

I think this compilation is fantastic. The extent of my knowledge of jazz is Miles Davis, Thelonius Monk, John Coltrane and a few others- the most popular artists- and Herbie Hancock is definately among the greatest. Each of these songs is catchy, moody, thematic and wonderful. The disc is one of my favorites, and it's made me excited to learn more about jazz music.