Pianist, keyboardist, synthesist, composer, arranger, producer, and bandleader Herbie Hancock has been involved in jazz, fusion, pop music, R&B, disco, hip-hop, electronica and other genres, including his beloved traditional post-bop. He pioneered use of the Vocoder. Hancock’s 14 Grammy Awards and one Oscar are emblematic of the Buddhist principles of inclusion and collaboration that course through the ebb and flow of his career.
At the heart of Herbie Hancock’s career are his 16 productive years as a Columbia and CBS/Sony (Japan) recording artist from 1972 to 1988, by far his longest, most prolific association with any record label. Those 16 years comprised the evolution from the “Mwandishi” Sextet, to the Head Hunters to the Herbie Hancock Group. The breakthrough of the V.S.O.P. recording and touring groups with Freddie Hubbard, Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams ignited the traditional jazz revival of the 1980s.
Along with the Herbie Hancock Trio and Quartet lineups, Herbie Hancock is also heard on a landmark solo electric keyboard/acoustic piano project in 1974, a full album solo acoustic piano project in 1978, and the memorable duet concert project with Chick Corea (also 1978). Also featured: Hancock’s first digital and direct-disc records in Japan; his MTV-pioneering downtown New York “Rockit” breakthrough with Bill Laswell and Material; and the Death Wish and Oscar-winning Round Midnight original motion picture soundtracks.
Eight of the albums included in Herbie Hancock: The Complete Columbia Album Collection 1972-1988 have never been released in the United States (or outside of Japan), three others have never been issued on CD in the U.S. (Sunlight, Magic Windows, Lite Me Up), and some that were released on CD have been out of print for years.
The collection is packaged in a chest with removable lid, housing 28 single albums and three double-CD albums (for a total of 34 discs). Each album will be included in a mini-LP CD cardboard replica of the original jacket, with original artwork including gatefold jackets where applicable.
Along with the discs will be a 200-page book, published exclusively for this collection. In addition to dozens of rare photographs, the book will contain several sections, starting with a comprehensive 5,500-word historical essay written by producer Bob Belden. Belden has won three Grammy Awards for his work with Columbia/Legacy on The Miles Davis Series, including album notes (twice) and compilation producer. An accomplished jazz composer, arranger, bandleader, and recording artist in his own right, Belden has served as CD reissue producer at Legacy for the Hancock albums Head Hunters, Sextant, Thrust, The Piano, V.S.O.P.: Live Under the Sky, Future Shock, Sound-System, and Perfect Machine.
The book will also contain individual commentaries on all 31 albums by Hancock discographer and historian Max Schlueter. The third major element of the book is one of the most detailed discographies ever included in a Legacy box set, assembled by box producer Richard Seidel. Included are full musician lineups and instrumentation, recording data (dates, producers, engineers, mixers, studios, etc.), exact original release dates in both the U.S. and Japan, cross references for additional appearances of various songs elsewhere in the box, Billboard chart information, R.I.A.A. certifications, and a short-form discography of Hancock’s solo recording career before and after his Columbia years.
Also contained in the book will be sidebars on Hancock as pianist, composer and synthesist, written by Belden. Schlueter has written a sidebar on record producer David Rubinson, who produced all but six of the albums in the box set, and is also known for his productions of Santana, Taj Mahal, the Pointer Sisters and the Chambers Brothers. A special sidebar is devoted to Hancock’s late sister Jean Hancock, who contributed lyrics to many of his songs. And another unique feature of the book is a glossary of the more than 60 different electronic instruments played by Hancock and the other musicians over the course of the recordings.
Buy Herbie Hancock: The Complete Columbia Album Collection 1972-1988