Herbie Hancock – V.S.O.P.

   After 15 years of intensive musical activity Herbie Hancock was as much respected artist so the program of Newport Jazz Festival contained a special evening dedicated to his music, was termed as “Retrospective of The Music of Herbie Hancock”. In the age of 36 he was already a giant of modern jazz. Concert presented by George Wein was in fact not quite a retrospective. It featured three Hancock’s bands. First was a quintet with musicians Hancock played from early days of his career. Later this band continued and was called V.S.O.P. Quintet. Second was introduced as Herbie Hancock Sextet, but in fact it was Mwandishi Band. Third was the most recent project, representing current trend in Hancock’s music. Indeed, in 1976 The Headhunters was most popular of all Hancock’s bands. On liner notes Herbie Hancock wrote himself, he concluded this concert was so much one musician tribute, but enabling bigger group of musicians to play together.
   The whole program of this evening has been recorded by CBS and published as the double album under the title V.S.O.P., but this time it was only title of the album signed by Herbie Hancock. Next Hancock’s album was titled The Quintet and signed by V.S.O.P. ensemble. So can be stated this live album gave its name to the band. Two records covering the concert performance are perfect passage through modern jazz and great documentary of Hancock’s artistic achievements. From hard bop and modal jazz quintet, through early fusion sextet to the funky, intensively rhythmic trance music of Headhunters band.

Herbie Hancock – V. S. O. P. (1976)

   Serious shape of Herbie Hancock’s music, its natural flowing connected and interwining with different traditions takes its sources from modern jazz of the 50’s. This is still significantly connected with the idea of music as most efficient language for emotional and spiritual communication. It could be observed on every moment of this recording. When after Piano Introduction Herbie Hancock is joined by Ron Carter and Tony Williams it’s like initiation into the mystery of musical value system. This way Maiden Voyage continues with series of solos by Freddie Hubbard, Wayne Shorter and the leader of the quintet called later V.S.O.P. Next theme Nefertiti is like small jazz interlude before filling the entire second side Eye of the Hurricane.
   The same serious attitude one can find in funk recordings. Opening 4th side Hang Up Your Hang Ups with modal solos of Bennie Maupin on tenor saxophone and Herbie Hancock on electric piano is nothing else than modal jazz amplified with new rhythmic intensity. Power of rhythmic funk continuity based on section Paul Jackson (bg), James Levi (dr), Kenneth Nash (perc.) and two guitarists: Ray Parker jr. and Wah Wah Watson, shows new trance idea of modal jazz. Second record of the album was also the second part of the show. The idea was to show the newer trends in Hancock’s music. But it was the revival of oldest band and the Eye of the Hurricane, what became the start of a real new chapter of Herbie Hancock’s career. After the first fascination with the sound and rhythm of funk, in second half of the decade there was high time for the return of well known forms of jazz expression.

Miles Davis – Bitches Brew

★★★★★

When we meet great artist we always have problem with comprehending his work – the bigger he or she is, the worst problem have anyone who tries to capture in words his individual experience. When Miles Davis (1926-1991) was active musician and artist, standard procedure in writing about his music was to observe small range of his work, for example any of his records or concerts and asking why this comes after another or what can it means in context of something he did before. And it was quite satisfied job because every record of this artist was full, uncompromised statement of artist’s will. Critics had a lot of work to do. But after artist is gone in uproar of eternal jam session, we have different standpoint on his work. It’s complete in new meaning, now in every element of his output we see a piece of the whole and now we can fully understand how great musician he was.
Month after In a Silent Way has been released, in the end of August 1969, Davis back to the same CBS 30th Street Studio in New York. And while in previous album base was still quintet from Filles de Kilimanjaro augmented occasionally with few more pianists and guitarist, the Bitches Brew ultimately ends Davis' quintets era. All instruments except trumpet were multiplied, on reeds played Wayne Shorter (soprano sax) and Bennie Maupin (bass clarinet). The rest was huge rhythmic section with three drummers Lenny White, Jack de Johnette, Charles Alias playing congas and drums (only in Miles Runs the Voodoo Down) and percussionist Jim Riley playing shaker and congas, bass player Dave Holland with Harvey Brooks on Fender bass, Chick Corea, Joe Zawinul and Larry Young on electric piano and John McLaughlin on electric guitar – in many parts all of them playing simultaneously. John McLaughling is playing rhythmic passages, but in some parts he is folowing also modal improvisations and melodic patterns. In many fragments his guitar is standalone as much as Wayne Shorter’s soprano. Thus these two artists play the role of counterpointing Davis' phrases, almost the same way as John Coltrane and Julian Adderly did in the Kind of Blue sextett.

Miles Davis – Bitches Brew

Such setting allowed this section to found the new kind of sound and rhythmic intensity, clearly different from mainstream, cool jazz or hard bop. It was closer to psychedelic funk-rock, sometimes called acid-rock which is suitable especially for its trance elements adopted by Davis in 1969. With loosely constructed wide phrases he was building emotional tension without dividing improvisations into traditional choruses. In fact some compositions still preserve traditional model – for example in Spanish Key – but even close up with traditional forms can't change the general aspect of motif and phrase repeatability. This way he gave pre-ambient sensation of time and space continuance. But internally this music is diverse and highly expressive. In short piece on the 3rd side titled John McLaughlin Miles Davis even did not appear. Next side trumpet is predominating and in end piece of the album, Wayne Shorter’s Sanctuary, Davis played one of greatest cool solo ever.
The lineup recorded in studio was filled out by producer Teo Macero, and once more, just like proceeding In a Silent Way, recorded material was mixed and dubbed, using multi-tracking and tape loops. Inspired by works of studio composers from Experimental Music Center Columbia-Princeton and many other experiments of 1940s and 1950s, using fragments of recorded music, sometimes in very small particles, Macero created construction of whole pieces, building them in the way, musicians never heard while playing. This innovative approach decided Bitches Brew is one of turning points in history of XX-century music. Released in April 1970 and sold in more than half million copies, Bitches Brew became one of greatest Davis’ successes. It was also great achievement of musicians involved in this project, deciding for what they were doing in next dacade.
Not only music has changed, gatefold sleeve designed by Mati Klarwein clearly indicates counterculture of late sixties as reference for intellectual attitude. Headline on the sleeve, over main tittle says: „Directions in Music by Miles Davis”. Literally the same as it was in released January 1969 Filles de Kilimanjaro. And connection between these records is clear. The process of revolutionary transition from opposed modal and cool jazz into fusion of these traditions which started in 1968 when he recorded the Filles de Kilimanjaro in Bitches Brew had fulfilled. Modern jazz of 1960s gone away and future never looked as cool or modern as it once happened. Some modern jazz lovers did not accept these changes and criticized records from electric period of Miles Davis, but the fact is, society has changed and shortly nothing was the same as usual.