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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
52 of 52 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
The players on Maiden Voyage are essentially those of the Miles Davis band - but how different from Miles' records it sounds and feels! In 1965, Herbie Hancock's leadership and vision were rapidly taking shape.
This album placed Hancock firmly in the company of the great jazz musicians. He had proved his mettle as an innovative and individual pianist on such excellent records as Wayne Shorter's Speak No Evil (Blue Note, 1964) and Miles' E.S.P. (Columbia, 1965), both recorded only months before. Now he led a group he knew intimately, and wrote enduring pieces for the date that were to become admired for decades to come.
The title track sets the tone for the whole record: subtle, measured, contemplative. It's the first solo opportunity for the perpetually underrated George Coleman, who displays virtuosity without arrogance, elegance without contrivance, depth of feeling without sentimentality.
Impeccably orchestrated pieces like "Little One" and the closing "Dolphin Dance" establish Herbie Hancock as the complete musician: inimitable pianist, creative composer, charismatic leader, supreme stylist.
23 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Like the sea itself, Maiden Voyage is vast and epic- flirting with adventure and myth. It is Herbie Hancock's tour de force- what the wonderous Speak No Evil was to his Blue Note peer, Wayne Shorter- ie. representing the composer/pianist at his imaginitive peak. We can only imagine what kind of zone Freddie Hubbard, George Coleman, Ron Carter and Tony Williams must have been during the recording of this masterpiece- so wonderfully coherent yet brimming with subtle musical conflict. And Hancock's playing is simply majestic.
The opening track is stunningly simple- you might feel a little uninspired by the low-key opening, but then, all of a sudden, it all opens out beautifully during the trumpet solo. This short flourish embodies the enitre tone of the album and indeed the majesty of the ocean in its sense of wonder and awe.
After the fast-and-furious Eye of the Hurricaine, Hancock, with Little One, reminds us of his ability to produce deeply complex and challenging, yet incredibly beautiful compositions. It's probably my favourite track of the album.
Survival of the Fittest recalls The Egg, from Empyrean Isles(Blue Note, 1964) in its open improvisational structure. The sense of conflict and frantic struggle is briliantly portrayed, and the listener is unsure of whether the music is hideous, or beautiful.
To round off, Herbie returns to laid-back territory with Dolphin Dance- fresh enough to clear our musical palette after what has preceded.
While the briliant playing ability of this wonderful quintet is unquestionable, for me, it's Herbie's writing that makes album what it is. Maiden Voyage works as more of a "Love Supreme-esq" suite, rather than an album of five separate tracks. Not always easily listenable, always completley compelling, music is rarely this powerful.
The opening track is stunningly simple- you might feel a little uninspired by the low-key opening, but then, all of a sudden, it all opens out beautifully during the trumpet solo. This short flourish embodies the enitre tone of the album and indeed the majesty of the ocean in its sense of wonder and awe.
After the fast-and-furious Eye of the Hurricaine, Hancock, with Little One, reminds us of his ability to produce deeply complex and challenging, yet incredibly beautiful compositions. It's probably my favourite track of the album.
Survival of the Fittest recalls The Egg, from Empyrean Isles(Blue Note, 1964) in its open improvisational structure. The sense of conflict and frantic struggle is briliantly portrayed, and the listener is unsure of whether the music is hideous, or beautiful.
To round off, Herbie returns to laid-back territory with Dolphin Dance- fresh enough to clear our musical palette after what has preceded.
While the briliant playing ability of this wonderful quintet is unquestionable, for me, it's Herbie's writing that makes album what it is. Maiden Voyage works as more of a "Love Supreme-esq" suite, rather than an album of five separate tracks. Not always easily listenable, always completley compelling, music is rarely this powerful.
33 of 34 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
As prolific an artist as Herbie Hancock has been over 40 years, this album endures as probably his best. He had made a startling contribution to 60s jazz already with the excellent debut album, 'Takin off' and the follow up, 'Empyrean Isles.' Although they contained more obvious 'hits in the form of 'Watermelon Man' and the wonderful 'Canteloupe Island,' this is his most consistent album.
Part of the lasting appeal of this record is its thematic approach, as all five tracks come across as part of the same whole, almost like a classical suite, with the ocean as its 'subject matter.' This was an unusual and bold step in the field of jazz but the music's descriptive nature is one of the reasons that people remember the whole record rather than just five individual tracks. It is a key part of the album's appeal, and most importantly, it works. The music is successfully subject driven rather than style orientated, and is both highly original and atmospheric throughout.
The obvious masterpiece of the album is the title track itself, a piece which slowly gets under your skin, and gets better with each listen. Hancock's steady repeated pattern gently grounds the whole piece, and Freddie Hubbard plays a superb solo alternating between calm tranquility, and majestic power.
The rest of the album ranges from the gently swinging 'Dolphin Dance,' the quiet beauty of the 'Little One' (also recorded by Miles Davis' quintet on ESP), to the menacing 'Eye of the Hurricane' and the thrill ride of 'Survival of the Fittest.' The whole band is brilliant, each following the leader's concept with music of lasting value. Freddie Hubbard not only confirms, but enhances his reputation as one of the most versatile and important soloists in jazz at the time, Joe Henderson is slightly less to the fore but is still excellent and the rhythm section are on the ball throughout.
One of the great 60s jazz albums and an essential part of anything like a jazz collection.
Part of the lasting appeal of this record is its thematic approach, as all five tracks come across as part of the same whole, almost like a classical suite, with the ocean as its 'subject matter.' This was an unusual and bold step in the field of jazz but the music's descriptive nature is one of the reasons that people remember the whole record rather than just five individual tracks. It is a key part of the album's appeal, and most importantly, it works. The music is successfully subject driven rather than style orientated, and is both highly original and atmospheric throughout.
The obvious masterpiece of the album is the title track itself, a piece which slowly gets under your skin, and gets better with each listen. Hancock's steady repeated pattern gently grounds the whole piece, and Freddie Hubbard plays a superb solo alternating between calm tranquility, and majestic power.
The rest of the album ranges from the gently swinging 'Dolphin Dance,' the quiet beauty of the 'Little One' (also recorded by Miles Davis' quintet on ESP), to the menacing 'Eye of the Hurricane' and the thrill ride of 'Survival of the Fittest.' The whole band is brilliant, each following the leader's concept with music of lasting value. Freddie Hubbard not only confirms, but enhances his reputation as one of the most versatile and important soloists in jazz at the time, Joe Henderson is slightly less to the fore but is still excellent and the rhythm section are on the ball throughout.
One of the great 60s jazz albums and an essential part of anything like a jazz collection.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Herbie`s pastoral
This is an album to live with, play in different moods, let grow on you, get to know & appreciate its subtleties. Read more
Published 11 months ago by GlynLuke
NOT HERBIE HANCOCK'S BEST- FOR BLUE NOTE OR ANY OTHER LABEL
I'd be the last person to decry Hancock's huge and wide-ranging talent, but I think this album is over-rated. Read more
Published on 18 April 2010 by A. W. Kindness
Cool Herbie
In a word 'sublime' If you liked Miles' Kind of Blue, this is for you.
Published on 7 April 2009 by Kirit Champaneria
Don't like jazz? Try this!
Pre-funk Herbie (and all the better for that, some might think)- a classic album which stands the test of time and should be in your collection. Read more
Published on 30 Mar 2009 by Jim B
La Mer
By now, Herbie Hancock was reaching a point were every convention, every facet of jazz he had experienced before was reaching near perfection in his compositions. Read more
Published on 28 May 2004
the voyage of discovery
This is probably the best jazz album of the 1960s by far in terms of a complete listening experience and a complete collaboration by all the musicians involved (I could have... Read more
Published on 23 Nov 2003 by "paulclarkson5"
inspirational poetry
This cd embodies for me the magic of the creative mind. Each of the muscians gives a sublime performance, they are so inspired that it enambles the listener to forget about... Read more
Published on 10 Nov 2000 by lovelynerys@hotmail.com
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