Herbie Hancock – Headhunters (1973/2012) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Herbie Hancock – Headhunters (1973/2012)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 41:45 minutes | 846 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Columbia – Legacy

Headhunters is a monumental release in Herbie Hancock’s career and a defining moment in jazz-funk. It reached #1 on Billboard’s Top Jazz Albums and #2 on Billboard’s Top R&B Albums. This is one of the most endearing works in the jazz/funk legacy. In 2007, Headhunters was inducted into the National Recording Registry and is included on Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Albums of All Time”.

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Herbie Hancock – Gershwin’s World (1998/2015) [Official Digital Download 24bit/192kHz]

Herbie Hancock – Gershwin’s World (1998/2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 01:07:21 minutes | 2,96 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Verve

(1998) Herbie Hancock’s 40-year career as a recording artist is graced by a series of astonishing musical landmarks.  Few other musicians of the 20th century have exhibited the wide range of interests and mastery of various genres that this jazz legend has brought to his remarkable body of work.  Nonetheless, at the age of 58, Hancock still expresses the kinds of irrepressible curiosity and restless creativity that keep him pushing at the boundaries of modern music.

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Herbie Hancock – Future Shock (1983/2014) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Herbie Hancock – Future Shock (1983/2014)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 44:17 minutes | 894 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Columbia – Legacy

“Future Shock” is pianist Herbie Hancock’s thirty-fifth album and a million-selling Platinum-certified disc. It was Hancock’s first release from his electro-funk era and an early example of instrumental hip hop. Much of the album was initially composed by the team of avant-garde bassist and record producer Bill Laswell, and keyboardist and producer Michael Beinhorn, and played on tour by their group Material in 1982.

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Herbie Hancock – Flood (1975/2013) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Herbie Hancock – Flood (1975/2013)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:14:09 minutes | 1,52 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Columbia – Legacy

Originally released only in Japan, Flood is a classic jazz/funk album. Herbie Hancock’s eighteenth album features songs from previous albums Thrust, Head Hunters, and Man-Child.

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Herbie Hancock – Feets Don’t Fail Me Now (1979/2013) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Herbie Hancock – Feets Don’t Fail Me Now (1979/2013)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 47:45 minutes | 1,00 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Columbia – Legacy

Keyboardist Herbie Hancock dives into the disco fad that became ever popular by the end of the 1970s. This album differentiates itself from the rest of Hancock’s more jazz based albums, incorporating disco beats and his famous Sennheiser vocoder.

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Herbie Hancock – Fat Albert Rotunda (1969/2015) [Official Digital Download 24bit/192kHz]

Herbie Hancock – Fat Albert Rotunda (1969/2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 33:56 minutes | 1,42 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Rhino – Warner Records

Fat Albert Rotunda is the eighth studio album released by jazz legend Herbie Hancock. This is the first album the pianist put out under the Warner Bros. Record label, having previously been signed withBlue Note Records. The album was originally created for the TV special Hey, Hey, Hey, It’s Fat Albert.

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Herbie Hancock – Empyrean Isles (1964/2013) [Official Digital Download 24bit/192kHz]

Herbie Hancock – Empyrean Isles (1964/2013)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 35:17 minutes | 1,36 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Blue Note Records

Recorded June 17, 1964 in Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ

Produced by Alfred Lion

Originally released as Blue Note BLP 4175 (mono) and BST 84175 (stereo)

“In preparing these hi def remasters, we were very conscientious about maintaining the feel of the original releases while adding a previously unattainable transparency and depth. It now sounds like you’ve set up your chaise lounge right in the middle of Rudy Van Gelder’s studio!” – Blue Note President, Don Was.

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Herbie Hancock – Dis Is Da Drum (1994/2015) [Official Digital Download 24bit/192kHz]

Herbie Hancock – Dis Is Da Drum (1994/2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 55:03 minutes | 2,20 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Verve Reissues

In the 1970s, Herbie Hancock created a successful blend of jazz improvisation and contemporary funk rhythms in a succession of albums beginning with the classic Head Hunters. On Dis Is Da Drum, Hancock once again takes a dive into contemporary rhythms, in this case mid-’90s hip-hop. While the blend was not as commercially successful this time around as his crossover forays of twenty years earlier had been, the resulting music still proves to be well worth checking out. Employing cohorts like Bennie Maupin, Wah Wah Watson and multi-percussionist Bill Summers from the old days, and combining them with a huge roster of contemporary jazz, rap and hip-hop musicians, Hancock creates a surprising album full of samples, sequences, drum loops, and rhythm armies. Layered across the top are a variety of solos from Hancock himself, flutist Hubert Laws, trumpeter Wallace Roney, saxophonist Maupin and vocal snippets from various sources. The release of this album was delayed because of disagreements between the artist and his record company over the final mixes. It is, nonetheless, a recording that rewards repeated listening, from the updated version of “Butterfly,” which made its first appearance on 1974’s Thrust, to such irresistible gems as “Mojuba,” “Bo Ba Be Da” and the title track. Not for jazzers whose ears and minds are closed to new sounds and ideas, but proof that jazz is a continually evolving music capable of absorbing the sounds of each new era and expanding its vocabulary as a result. –Jim Newsom

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Herbie Hancock – Directstep (1978/2008) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Herbie Hancock – Directstep (1978/2008)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 30:37 minutes | 628 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Columbia

Directstep is the twenty-fourth studio album by jazz pianist Herbie Hancock. Originally, the record was released only in Japan on December 2, 1978, via CBS/Sony label.

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Herbie Hancock – Dedication (1974/2015) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Herbie Hancock – Dedication (1974/2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 40:35 minutes | 783 MB | Genre: Jazz, Funk
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Columbia

This is a unique experiment in the Hancock discography, recorded in Tokyo in just one day during a tour of Japan. The first side contains two introspective, complex solo acoustic piano tracks, “Maiden Voyage” and “Dolphin Dance,” which are notable since they date from a period when Hancock was supposedly totally immersed in electronics. Side two has two even more unusual pieces — “Nobu,” a one-man show recorded in real time with the sample-and-hold feature of an ARP 2600 synthesizer providing a rhythm section for Hancock’s electric keyboards, followed by “Cantaloupe Island” with a pre-recorded synth bassline. Side two is a fascinating look back at the charms and stringent limitations of mid-’70s analog keyboards, as well as a challenge to Hancock’s on-the-wing inventiveness — and despite some inevitable stiffness in the rhythm, he comes through with some colorful work. This would be the first of several Japan-only Hancock albums from the ’70s, an indication that Japanese jazz fans were (and perhaps still are) far more open-minded and free-spending than their American counterparts. ~ Richard S. Ginell

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Herbie Hancock – Crossings (1972/2014) [Official Digital Download 24bit/192kHz]

Herbie Hancock – Crossings (1972/2014)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 46:02 minutes | 1,86 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Rhino – Warner Records

Cover art included, liner notes not included

The 1971 album, remastered from the original analogue tape. Currently out-of-print in the U.S.

Crossings is jazz pianist Herbie Hancock’s tenth studio album originally released in 1972. The record was the second during Hancock’s Mwandishi period, which featured a string of albums that focused on experimental electronics. Crossings was the first album to feature the newest member to Hancock’s group, synthesizer player Patrick Gleeson.

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Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock – An Evening With Chick Corea & Herbie Hancock (1979/2015) [Official Digital Download 24bit/192kHz]

Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock – An Evening With Chick Corea & Herbie Hancock (1979/2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 01:23:08 minutes | 2,92 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Verve Reissues

An Evening With Chick Corea & Herbie Hancock was the first of two popular live albums recorded by Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock, the second CoreaHancock released a year after the first in 1979. The record features the two performing on acoustic pianos at three different venues across California and one in Michigan. An Evening With Chick Corea & Herbie Hancock features cover works as well as pieces written by the duo and individual works by each artist.

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Herbie Hancock – Mwandishi: The Complete Warner Bros. Recordings (1994/2016) [Official Digital Download DSF DSD64/2.82MHz + FLAC 24bit/192kHz]

Herbie Hancock – Mwandishi: The Complete Warner Bros. Recordings (1994/2016)
DSD64 (.dsf) 1 bit/2,8 MHz | Time – 125:04 minutes | 4,93 GB
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 125:04 minutes | 5,07 GB
Studio Master, Official Digital Download | Artwork: Front cover

This release includes Herbie Hancock’s music from 1969-1971 for the Warner Brothers label, released originally as three albums, one of Herbie Hancock’s most creative periods. The earliest album, Fat Albert Rotunda, features a fine sextet highlighted by tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson, like Hancock a master at maintaining strong rhythmic grooves while stretching outward. The later music, with a regularly working band, becomes increasingly expansive and exploratory. Like Miles Davis on Bitches Brew, Hancock was increasingly interested in layering rhythms and textures, emphasizing percussion, electric keyboards, and potent soloists, and broadening his palette of sounds to eventually include synthesizers. There are significant contributions from the inspiring drummer Billy Hart and some potent, if neglected, soloists in multireed player Bennie Maupin (also on Bitches Brew) and trombonist Julian Priester (a Sun Ra associate), who also provided the extended compositions “Water Torture” and “Wandering Spirit Song,” respectively. This is a sometimes overlooked period in Hancock’s music, bracketed by the quality of his earlier acoustic music, both with Davis and as a leader on Blue Note, and his later commercial success, but it’s some of his most innovative work.

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Herbie Hancock – Mwandishi – The Complete Warner Bros. Recordings (1994/2016) [Official Digital Download 24bit/192kHz]

Herbie Hancock – Mwandishi – The Complete Warner Bros. Recordings (1994/2016)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz  | Time – 02:05:04 minutes | 5,07 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download – Source: HDTracks | Front Cover | © Warner Bros. Records

None can argue that Herbie Hancock’s Blue Note recordings are mostly jazz milestones, the somewhat overlooked Warner Bros. period remains one of his most creatively adventurous, and enduring. The three albums presented here all offer different sides of Hancock after he left Miles Davis. All are presented here in their entirety, with copious notes by Bob Blumenthal, who interviewed Hancock for the package. The set begins with the wildly joyous, deep, funky groove of Fat Albert’s Groove, the music Hancock recorded for Bill Cosby’s Saturday morning cartoon show. These seven tracks, with their three-horn front line (originated for Hancock on his final Blue Note album, Speak Like a Child) of Joe Henderson on flute and tenor, Johnny Coles’ trumpet, and Garnett Brown’s trombone, are singing, lyrical funk grooves that predated Headhunters by a few years and swung way harder by sticking back and lying in the groove as much as possible. Hancock’s electric piano teamed with Tootie Heath and Buster Williams to form an unbeatable, gutsy, and stomping rhythm section. The band was fleshed out on a couple of tracks by additional horns, additional drums and percussion, and electric guitars. After such a melodic entry, Warners’ executives must have been shocked when Hancock brought them the abstract funkified impressionism of his emerging Mwandishi band on its selftitled offering. Comprised of three long tracks, the album showcased Hancock’s use of free jazz and long intervallic inventions on modal frames. Only Buster Williams remained from the previous set. The rest of the sextet includes Billy Hart, Eddie Henderson, Julian Priester, and Bennie Maupin. also This same band with the addition of a few sidemen recorded the Crossings with the addition of synthesizer player Patrick Gleeson. This final record sank from the market like a stone; it found some success a year later, after Hancock had moved to Columbia, to issue Sextant and then Headhunters. Crossings melds street music, modal jazz and the expansive sonic approach of Sun Ra fom this same period; it’s approach keeps jazz close to the street while fully exploring the varying tonal and rhythmic changes that were going on post-Coltrane. Again, only three tracks appear, though the first is a long, brazen expressionistic suite (“Sleeping Giant”). The musical evolution present in this double set reveals the composer, arranger, and pianist as a large scale visionary.

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Herbie Hancock – Empyrean Isles / Maiden Voyage (1964/65/2015) [High Fidelity Pure Audio Blu-Ray Disc]

Sticker on front cover says 24 bit / 96kHz but all audio tracks are 24 bit / 192 kHz.

Artist: Herbie Hancock
Title: Empyrean Isles / Maiden Voyage
Genre: Jazz, Hard Bop, Modal, Piano Jazz
Label: © Blue Note Records/Universal Music Enterprises
Release Date: Empyrean Isles – 1964 (BLP 4175/BST 84175); Maiden Voyage – 1965 (BLP 4195/BST 84195)/2015
Recorded: Empyrean Isles – June 17, 1964; Maiden Voyage – March 17, 1965; Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.
Mastered: tracks 1-4: Bernie Grundman at Bernie Grundman Mastering; tracks 6-10: Robert Vosgien at Capitol Mastering; tracks 11-15: Alan Yashida
Quality: Blu-ray Audio
Length: 02:04:48
Size: 22.6 GB
Video: MPEG-4 AVC 950 kbps / 1080i / 29,970 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 4.1
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 / 192 kHz / 6475 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Audio: English LPCM 2.0 / 192 kHz / 9216 kbps / 24-bit
Audio: English Dolby TrueHD 2.0 / 192 kHz / 5881 kbps / 24-bit (AC3 Embedded: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps)

Jazz icon Herbie Hancock’s solo career blossomed on Blue Note Records in the mid-to-late ’60s with classic albums including Maiden Voyage and Empyrean Isles. Throughout his career, Hancock has always pushed musical boundaries, exploring a wide variety of jazz idioms while bringing his flair and innovation to every single setting. His Blue Note albums of the 1960’s ranged all the way from post bop to Latin jazz, to straight ahead and free form.

Empyrean Isles, recorded when Hancock was 24 and a new member of the Miles Davis Quintet, features the pianist pushing the envelope of hard bop, creating fresh, new music in the process. In a quartet setting with Freddie Hubbard, Ron Carter and Tony Williams, Hancock shows that he was familiar with both avant-garde jazz and groovin’ R&B. His four compositions include the original and most exciting version of “Cantaloupe Island” and the swingingly unpredictable “One Finger Snap.”Empyrean Isles brims with the power and adventure of the best of ’60s jazz while gracefully crossing over into uncharted territory in signature Hancock fashion.

However, 1965’s Maiden Voyage is arguably the best in the bunch. Every single cut on the exquisite 5-track offering from the haunting title track to the gentle, swinging “Dolphin Dance” has found its way into the standard jazz repertoire. Hancock and company – Ron Carter (bass), George Coleman (tenor saxophone), Freddie Hubbard (trumpet) and Anthony Williams (drums) – fashioned a modern jazz milestone here with extraordinary compositions, interplay and solos and in 1999 Maiden Voyagewas recognized as such when it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. (more…)

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