egroj world: Herbie Hancock • Quartet

Sunday, May 19, 2024

Herbie Hancock • Quartet

Review by Richard S. Ginell
This is an extremely symbolic album, for Herbie Hancock and the V.S.O.P. rhythm section essentially pass the torch of the '80s acoustic jazz revival to the younger generation, as personified by then 19-year-old Wynton Marsalis. Recorded during a break on a tour of Japan, a month before Marsalis made his first Columbia album, the technically fearless teenaged trumpeter mostly plays the eager student, imitating Miles, Freddie Hubbard, and Clifford Brown, obviously relishing the challenge of keeping up with his world-class cohorts. Things start out conventionally enough with a couple of Monk standards, and then they progress into the mid-'60s Miles Davis post-bop zone, with Ron Carter and Tony Williams driving Marsalis and Hancock relentlessly forward. Several staples from the Miles/V.S.O.P. repertoire turn up ("The Eye of the Hurricane," "The Sorcerer," "Pee Wee"), and there is one wistful ballad, "I Fall in Love Too Easily," where Marsalis sounds a bit callow, not yet the master colorist. Hancock remains a complex, stimulating acoustic pianist, the years of disco having taken no toll whatsoever on his musicianship. This looked like it would be a Japan-only release, but since the buzz on Marsalis was so loud, CBS put it out in the U.S. in 1983, fanning the flames even more.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/quartet-mw0000201262

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Reseña de Richard S. Ginell
Este es un álbum extremadamente simbólico, ya que Herbie Hancock y la sección rítmica V.S.O.P. esencialmente pasan la antorcha del renacimiento del jazz acústico de los 80 a la generación más joven, personificada por Wynton Marsalis, que entonces tenía 19 años. Grabado durante un descanso en una gira por Japón, un mes antes de que Marsalis grabara su primer álbum en Columbia, el trompetista adolescente, técnicamente intrépido, interpreta sobre todo al estudiante ansioso, imitando a Miles, Freddie Hubbard y Clifford Brown, obviamente disfrutando del reto de seguir el ritmo de sus compañeros de clase mundial. Las cosas empiezan de forma bastante convencional con un par de estándares de Monk, y luego progresan hacia la zona post-bop de Miles Davis de mediados de los 60, con Ron Carter y Tony Williams conduciendo a Marsalis y Hancock implacablemente hacia adelante. Aparecen varios temas básicos del repertorio Miles/V.S.O.P. ("The Eye of the Hurricane", "The Sorcerer", "Pee Wee"), y hay una balada melancólica, "I Fall in Love Too Easily", en la que Marsalis suena un poco apagado, sin ser todavía el maestro del color. Hancock sigue siendo un pianista acústico complejo y estimulante, y los años de música disco no han hecho mella en su musicalidad. Parecía que iba a ser un lanzamiento exclusivo para Japón, pero como el rumor sobre Marsalis era tan fuerte, la CBS lo publicó en EE.UU. en 1983, avivando aún más las llamas.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/quartet-mw0000201262

www.herbiehancock.com ...

Tracks:
1 - Well You Needn't - 6:26
2 - 'Round Midnight - 6:38
3 - Clear Ways - 5:01
4 - A Quick Sketch - 16:24
5 - The Eye Of The Hurricane - 8:03
6 - Parade - 7:56
7 - The Sorcerer - 7:17
8 - Pee Wee - 4:32
9 - I Fall In Love Too Easily - 5:53

Credits:
    Bass – Ron Carter
    Coordinator [Production Coordinator] – Tony Meilandt
    Drums – Tony Williams*
    Edited By [Digital Editor] – Jim Pace
    Engineer [Assistant Engineer] – Ohono*, S. Watanabe*, Tomito*
    Engineer [Keyboard Engineer] – Bryan Bell
    Engineer [Recording Engineer] – Tomoo Suzuki
    Mastered By – SM*
    Photography By – George Hall (3)
    Piano – Herbie Hancock
    Producer – David Rubinson & Friends Inc.*, Herbie Hancock
    Technician [Equipment] – Lee Ethier
    Trumpet – Wynton Marsalis

Recorded [July 28, 1981] at CBS Sony Studios, Shinanomachi, Tokyo, Japan

Genre: - Jazz
Style: - Contemporary Jazz
Year: - 1982
https://www.discogs.com/master/21197-Herbie-Hancock-Quartet