Calling a two-disc retrospective of the varied and celebrated career of
Herbie Hancock "essential" is a tall order to fill. Sony/BMG's Legacy does, as would be expected, an incomplete but decent job at offering a fine representative look at the artist, and at choosing best-known cuts to do so. This set is admirably cross-licensed by producer
Bob Belden, who also wrote the great liner notes. Disc one is a journey in and of itself and offers a fine portrait not only of
Hancock's changes as a musician, but also the changes in jazz brewing at the time. It begins with "Watermelon Man" from Takin' Off,
Hancock's first Blue Note recording in 1962, and follows curiously enough with a fine reading of "'Round Midnight" off
Sonny Rollins' Now's the Time offering for RCA in 1964. You get "Cantaloupe Island" and the title track from
Maiden Voyage before
Hancock's Columbia recordings as a member of
the Miles Davis Quintet in 1966 begin. The two quintet cuts are "Circle" and "Sorcerer." There is no electric
Miles-era material found here. This compilation follows the artist to Warner Brothers for "Tell Me a Bedtime Story" off Fat Albert's Rotunda (the serial music for
Bill Cosby's groovy kids cartoon show), and then moves into the solo material with "Hidden Shadows" from
Sextant and "Chameleon" from
Head Hunters. The disc ends with "Joanna's Theme," from the soundtrack to the film Death Wish. When one considers what's been covered so far, the journey is actually amazing. Platter two continues with more fusion tracks, from
Thrust, and a couple from the undervalued
Mr. Hands issued in 1980, 1978's Sunlight, the truly awful
Monster, and the innovative
Future Shock (yes, it's "Rockit"; what else?). But there are also tracks from the many acoustic recordings he did for Columbia such as the Herbie Hancock Trio disc with
Tony Williams and
Ron Carter. Ditto material from V.S.O.P., the
Gershwin's World outing, and of course the solo album
New Standard in 1995. Fans can argue all day about what should have been left out and what should have been included but wasn't, but what does matter is how the wild twists and turns in
Hancock's career have showcased him to be a chameleon as well as an innovator. While one may wish to place
Maiden Voyage or
Head Hunters in a newbie's hands, this serves as an undeniably well-rounded historical introduction. ~ Thom Jurek