Herbie Hancock and Friends - Spotlight (Day 7)

Back again and we have nothing but heat today. We have a couple of releases from 1976 yet to cover and then we'll be moving on to 1977. 

1976 saw the release of another album that I consider to be flawless. If Man-Child isn't my favorite album of all time, it's probably Secrets. 

Herbie Hancock - Piano, Fender Rhodes, clavinet and various synthesizers.

Bennie Maupin - Soprano and tenor saxophone, saxello, lyricon and bass clarinet.

Wah Wah Watson - Electric guitar and bass (A1 only).

Ray Parker - Electric guitar.

Paul Jackson - Electric bass.

Kenneth Nash - Percussion - .

James Gadson - Drums (A1 only).

James Levi - Drums.

I could honestly go on for days about this album and it would mostly be incoherent babble. Nothing I say will do it justice. While all of the songs are 8 minutes or less, each one has so much going on that it's hard for me to describe it in a concise way. The compositions and arrangements are just perfect to me. The change during the opening "Doin' It" is one of my favorite moments in music. "Gentle Thoughts" might be my favorite song of the era. "Swamp Rat" and Maupin tune "Sansho Shima" are also about as good as it gets in my opinion. And I haven't even mentioned "People Music." I'll just let the music do the talking. If this is an album you're unfamiliar with or a long-time removed from, throw it on and improve your day instantly. Jazz-funk fusion gold.

Next up, we have another solo release from Eddie Henderson. Released on Blue Note, Heritage is another album that I absolutely love. This one has a nice balance of jazz-funk with a few less funky fusion tunes. Mostly familiar faces on this one: 

Eddie Henderson - Trumpet and flugelhorn.

Julian Priester - Alto, tenor and bass trombone.

Hadley Caliman - Bass clarinet, soprano saxophone and flute.

Patrice Rushen - Electric piano, clavinet and synthesizer.

Paul Jackson - Bass.

James Mtume - Percussion.

Billy Hart, Mike Clarke and Woody Theus - Drums.

We start off with the Mtume tune "Inside You" which has a catchy and oft-sampled opening bassline that's a great way to begin a stellar album. Next we have the Priester tune "Acuphuncture" which again features Henderson with the muted trumpet - a sound that I love. Henderson tune "Time And Space" follows and slows the tempo down just a touch. Great playing from Rushen on keys and Caliman on soprano here. Patrick O'Hearn tune "Nostalgia" is next and brings the pace down even further and leads us to Rushen tune "Kudu." A slow to develop tune that may end up having the best groove on the album. The longest track of the album is next and "Dr. Mganga" is from Brent Ramponi. I don't know much about the composer but this one is more spacey fusion than jazz-funk. More of a slightly scattered fusion sound on the closing Henderson tune "Dark Shadow" which features Caliman on the bass clarinet. I tend to prefer the jazz-funk sound of the first half of this album but all-in-all it's solid from start to finish. 

The first album from 1977 that we'll take a look at is from Bennie Maupin. Released on Mercury, Slow Traffic To The Right is a wholly different album than his first release we encountered, The Jewel In The Lotus. Actually quite similar to the first 2 albums of our post, this one features an excellent balance of jazz-funk and fusion.

Bennie Maupin - Bass clarinet, soprano and tenor saxophone, saxello, alto and piccolo flute and synthesizer.

Patrice Rushen - Piano, Fender Rhodes and clavinet.

Onaje Allan Gumbs - Piano (B2 only).

Patrick Gleeson - Synthesizer.

Eddie Henderson - Trumpet and flugelhorn.

Kraig Kilby - Trombone.

Blackbyrd McKnight - Electric guitar.

Paul Jackson - Electric bass (A1 & A2 only)

Ralphe Armstrong - Electric bass.

James Levi - Drums.

"It Remains To Be Seen" starts us off and is a nice funky opening tune followed by the slower tempo and somewhat spacey "Eternal Flame." A great version of "Water Torture" is next with Bennie shining on tenor and Rushen on Rhodes. Another funky one in "You Know The Deal" is next followed by the quick, relaxed tune "Lament." We close with "Quasar" which has a great bassline from Armstrong and that's another one in the books. 

Last for today we'll take a quick look at an album from percussionist Bill Summers. Technically released as Bill Summers And Summers Heat, Cayenne is the groups debut album. Vocals on this one throughout so I've included an instrumental copy with mixed results. Another one with a pretty sizeable list of personnel so please refer to the link for a detailed list, if interested. This one is pretty funky with some hints of Latin jazz worked in as well.

This one starts of hot right out of the gate with the energetic "What's This Mess" which is followed up by a nice groovy tune in "Magic." Next up is the very groovy "Latican Space Mambo" which is worth a listen on name alone. "Don't Fade Away" slows things down just a little and has a nice synthesizer part from Jack Perry. The bouncy "House Party" is next this copy has an extended version at the end of the album. After a quick but funky tune in "Try A Little Tenderness" we have "I've Been Around" which is another gem from the album. "Flying" is another nice little tune with Hadley Caliman on flute before we close with an extended version of "House Party."