Maiden Voyage is the fifth album led by jazz musician Herbie Hancock, and was recorded by Rudy Van Gelder on March 17, 1965 for Blue Note Records. It was issued as BLP 4195 and BST 84195. It is a concept album
aimed at creating an oceanic atmosphere. Many of the track titles refer
to marine biology or the sea, and the musicians develop the concept
through their use of space and almost tidal dynamics. The album was
presented with the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1999.
According to Bob Blumenthal's 1999 liner notes, "Blue Note logs indicate that an attempt had been made to record 'Maiden Voyage', 'Little One', and 'Dolphin Dance' six days earlier, with Hubbard on cornet and Stu Martin
in place of Williams. Those performances were rejected at the time and
have been lost in the ensuing years." A different version of "Little
One" was also recorded around the same time by Miles Davis and his
quintet (including Hancock, Carter, Shorter and Williams) for the album E.S.P., also released in 1965.
"Maiden Voyage", "The Eye of the Hurricane" and "Dolphin Dance" have now become jazz standards and are featured in Hal Leonard's New Real Book vol. 2. Hancock rerecorded "Maiden Voyage" and "Dolphin Dance" on his 1974 album Dedication and updated the title track on his 1988 album Perfect Machine. "Dolphin Dance" was rerecorded in 1981 for the Herbie Hancock Trio album. Hancock has released live concert versions of "Maiden Voyage" on CoreaHancock (1979) and An Evening With Herbie Hancock & Chick Corea: In Concert (1980) (both with Chick Corea). Hancock recorded "Maiden Voyage" and "Eye of the Hurricane" with the VSOP Quintet on VSOP: Tempest in the Colosseum (1977).
The history of jazz is often told through the exploits of its
firestarters, outsized personalities like Charlie Parker and Miles Davis
who sent shockwaves through every bandstand they visited. That’s the
headline level, and it’s useful for understanding various periods and
styles. But as the music evolved and expanded in the 1960s, priorities
shifted, and so did the roles of the players. There was need for
musicians who were perhaps not always so flamboyant. The collective
pursuit of a sound became as important as individual heroics, and that
created opportunities for gifted team players and facilitators,
musicians who sought to complement what was happening rather than dazzle
people all the time.
Maiden Voyage springs from the mind of one of the most adept
and creative of the sound-sculpting facilitators, pianist and composer
Herbie Hancock. By the time he recorded this, Hancock had been in the
Miles Davis Quintet for several years, an experience he, bassist Ron
Carter and drummer Tony Williams, the rhythm section here, all described
as transformative. Among Hancock’s tasks in that group was to create
expansive landscapes for Davis; the pianist stoked and framed what
became epic discussions by drawing on a range of sources. His
accompaniments might glance at the syncopated jabs of 1920s Ellington,
or the clusters of free jazz, or the gorgeous pastel chords associated
with Debussy. Hancock has said that in the Davis fold he learned about
space and subtlety, about how something small and slight, like a
three-note chord, could trigger torrents of spontaneous creativity. To
hear that in action, consult virtually any recording of the ‘60s
Quintet.
Or check out this record, because Hancock brought those strategies
for conjuring and slyly shaping a tune into his own projects. Maiden Voyage,
arguably his peak solo statement from the 1960s, appropriates elements
of the Davis group dynamic for a transfixingly understated meditation on
the lure of the sea. It’s a classic that’s justifiably revered for its
compositions and its solos, and also, perhaps most importantly, the rich
and delicate interactions that run throughout. The album is a perfect
case study in the art of group interplay; it offers an array of
thoughtful answers to the question “How, exactly, does conversation
happen in jazz?” Hancock starts with the notion of melody: Each of these
five pieces is built around a singable theme, one that’s durable enough
to be inverted, paraphrased or passed around the group in the heat of
improvisation. The melodies of Hancock’s tunes serve as a kind of
through-line, echoing in the margins. Hancock refers to his themes, in
oblique ways, when accompanying trumpeter Freddie Hubbard and tenor
saxophonist George Coleman: He’s cultivating an atmosphere of expansive
openness, and sometimes those glancing references help remind everyone
involved about the dimensions of the canvas, the color palette and
overall tone. This tactic proves particularly wise on the deceptively
challenging “Dolphin Dance:” The mood is placid but the solos get
stormy, and whenever it seems like the music is about to fracture,
Hancock slips in some little phrase that gathers everyone back together.
In the headstrong jazz year 1965, lots of players were screaming
“Look what I can do!” trying to grab attention by any contrived means
possible. Hancock’s Maiden Voyage represents the flipside of
all that: His windblown, undulating, intentionally low-key environment
proceeds from the belief, acquired from Davis, that a minimal setting
can inspire all kinds of meaningful musical conversations. Everybody is
listening carefully, and out to enhance the proceedings. There is great
grace, and concision, in every gesture here, and it’s not an accident
that within these discussions, there are also bold, wailing outbursts
and provocations. That’s what happens when everyone involved is in
pursuit of musical aptness rather than audacity.
Less overtly adventurous than its predecessor, Empyrean Isles, Maiden Voyage nevertheless finds Herbie Hancock
at a creative peak. In fact, it's arguably his finest record of the
'60s, reaching a perfect balance between accessible, lyrical jazz and
chance-taking hard bop. By this point, the pianist had been with Miles Davis for two years, and it's clear that Miles' subdued yet challenging modal experiments had been fully integrated by Hancock. Not only that, but through Davis, Hancock became part of the exceptional rhythm section of bassist Ron Carter and drummer Tony Williams, who are both featured on Maiden Voyage, along with trumpeter Freddie Hubbard and tenor saxophonist George Coleman. The quintet plays a selection of five Hancock
originals, many of which are simply superb showcases for the group's
provocative, unpredictable solos, tonal textures, and harmonies. While
the quintet takes risks, the music is lovely and accessible, thanks to Hancock's understated, melodic compositions and the tasteful group interplay. All of the elements blend together to make Maiden Voyage a shimmering, beautiful album that captures Hancock at his finest as a leader, soloist, and composer.
"In January 1965, jazz pianist Herbie Hancock received a call from a Hollywood jingle agency. Its client, Yardley, needed background music for a TV commercial and wanted a trio playing something jazzy, since the men’s fragrance ad took place in a sophisticated club. But instead of writing straight-ahead jazz, Mr. Hancock arranged a catchy rhythmic line that was closer to rock.
"In the weeks ahead, Mr. Hancock completed the assignment and then used the rhythmic chords as the bones for Maiden Voyage—the title song of what would become his most iconic and majestic album. The recording combined the freer, modal jazz popular at the time with a fresh romantic lyricism and vulnerability. The result is a timeless, career-defining opus of emotional uncertainty and guarded optimism——an album that would become his equivalent to the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds.”
"In the years since the release of Maiden Voyage, the album’s title song, The Eye of the Hurricane and Dolphin Dance have become jazz standards, and the album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999. Today, 50 years after it was recorded on March 17, 1965, Maiden Voyage remains Blue Note’s third-most-popular legacy album and Mr. Hancock’s No. 2 best-selling recording after Head Hunters, his electro-funk hit from 1973."
Track listing
All compositions by Herbie Hancock.
1. "Maiden Voyage" 7:53
2. "The Eye of the Hurricane" 5:57
3. "Little One" 8:43
4. "Survival of the Fittest" 9:59
5. "Dolphin Dance" 9:16
Personnel
Herbie Hancock — piano
Freddie Hubbard — trumpet
George Coleman — tenor saxophone
Ron Carter — bass
Tony Williams — drums
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