18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Startingly beautiful..breathtaking, stunning..., May 20, 2006
This review is from: Piano (Audio CD)
This recordings is so free of any excesses, it's a wonder.
So many times you get a master pianist recording a solo album and having a situation where the pianist goes on pyrotechnical tangents that seem to stray completely from the theme of the pieces.
NOT SO HERE!!! This recording comes close to sheer perfection as a solo piano recording because Herbie exhibits such fine ear for the pieces while improvising marvelously over them that it's breath taking. His use of space and rhythm is impeccable. He lets the phrases resonate and takes you on a journey of sorts on each piece. There are no signature licks but careful attention to each piece while embellishing and redefining.
Romantic and emotionally relevant, there is not a clinical moment in the whole recording.
It's hard to pick a favorite here. This is the kind of recording you just put on and listen from beginning to end.
This one is a must-have.
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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Herbie Hancock's private voyage to Heaven, April 10, 2008
This review is from: Piano (Audio CD)
If ever there's a stairways to heaven, I want this music to be there with me.
Herbie is a genius with the keys. But you already know that and you certainly don't need me to remind you of the undisputed truth.
Just for a moment forget about categories. Don't think of Herbie as a jazz musician. He is a creative genius, period. Always was and always will be. My favorites are his trio recordings, either for Blue Note or CBS. But that's his jazz side.
This is more private. A session, just he, the piano and you. His most personal gift to us, his fans and music lovers.
Music is a universal language anybody can understand. Herbie is opening doors here. As if freed of boundaries, he is floating onto a cloud of notes - and he takes you with him!
His music, his playing the keys, it is a pure delight to the ears, your heart - and your imagination. This man is so creative with the instrument, ahh, what can I say, just get it!
I bought it the moment it came out as a Japanese pressing, but when I noticed they reissued it with a few extra takes I bought it again, to have on the side if ever I need a gift for someone dear.
Guess what, I ordered another one. The gift is still here, waiting for the right moment, but I wanted the extra takes for myself. They're that good!
Put it into your player and for a moment forget about the world. There is just sound, the sound of music, of Sonrisa (my favorite)
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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hancock and Steinway, February 24, 2005
This review is from: Piano (Audio CD)
Aurally stunning, this direct-to-disc recording (no tape or unwieldy electronic processing in the way of the music) is an intimate private concert. Forget all your preconceptions about Herbie; this is a maturing keyboard virtuoso in peak form in an almost perfect acoustic environment. No editing, no dubs, and the alternate takes are equally breathtaking as the final choices.
Great liner notes and 24-bit remaster make this recording a credit to your collection.
Wow.
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