Coming Early 2023 pre-order your copy today!

Herbie’s Blue Note debut features the incomparable horn duo of Freddie Hubbard and Dexter Gordon (both at their creative peaks), blowing out Hancock’s angular, bluesy tunes with passion and finesse.

The album kicks off with the classic “Watermelon Man”; the songs are largely uptempo hard-bop until closing with the sparkling, late-night ballad “Alone and I.” The pianist’s forays into experimentation are displayed in the strange rhythm section solos and the lack of thematic resolution on “The Maze” or the 32-bar broken phrasing on “Three Bags Full.”

The sound is pure early-’60s Rudy Van Gelder: muted piano, in-your-face horns and rhythm section in your living room.

XRCD24 is Compatible with ALL CD PLAYERS!
Mastered & Produced by Alan Yoshida & Joe Harley from the Original Rudy Van Gelder Blue Note 2-Track Analog Tapes
Highest Quality Analog-to-Digital Transfers from Tape to CD
Deluxe Packaging with Hi-Resolution Black & White Session Photos by Francis Wolff
Includes Original Album Liner Notes

Musicians
Herbie Hancock – piano
Freddie Hubbard – trumpet
Dexter Gordon – tenor sax
Butch Warren – bass
Billy Higgins – drums