Herbie Hancock - V.S.O.P. (1977) [2007 SACD]

V.S.O.P. is a 1977 double live album by pianist and keyboard player Herbie Hancock, featuring acoustic jazz performances by the V.S.O.P. Quintet (Hancock, Freddie Hubbard, Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter and Tony Williams), and jazz fusion and jazz-funk performances by the Mwandishi band (with Eddie Henderson) and The Headhunters (featuring Bennie Maupin and Paul Jackson).

In the spring of 1976, Herbie Hancock’s manager David Rubinson approached impresario and producer of the Newport Jazz Festival, George Wein, with the idea of staging a retrospective of Hancock’s work. Wein endorsed the idea, so Hancock made a phone call to Miles Davis to ask whether he would do a one-time reunion of the classic quintet with Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams. When Davis declined, Hancock invited his long-time Blue Note collaborator Freddie Hubbard to join the ensemble.

On June 29, 1976, they took the stage at the City Center in New York and captivated the audience with blistering renditions of “Maiden Voyage,” Wayne Shorter’s “Nefertiti,” and “The Eye Of The Hurricane.” The concert continued with a set of the original Mwandishi Band and was concluded by Hancock’s then current funk band (with the same line-up as on Secrets). It was especially the resounding success of the quintet’s performance, and the 1977 release of this seminal concert, that would have a major impact on Hancock’s later career, effectively ushering in a resurgent wider audience for acoustic jazz.

Tracks:

DISC 1
01. Piano Introduction
02. Maiden Voyage
03. Nefertiti
04. Introduction Of Players/Eye Of The Hurricane

DISC 2
01. Toys
02. Introductions
03. You'll Know When You Get There
04. Hang Up Your Hang Ups
05. Spider

Personnel:

Bass – Buster Williams (tracks: 5 to 7), Paul Jackson (2) (tracks: 8, 9), Ron Carter (tracks: 1 to 4)
Drums – Tony Williams* (tracks: 1 to 4), Billy Hart (tracks: 5 to 7), James Levi (tracks: 8, 9)
Flute – Bennie Maupin (tracks: 5 to 7)
Guitar – Wah Wah Watson* (tracks: 8, 9), Ray Parker Jr. (tracks: 8, 9)
Keyboards – Herbie Hancock (tracks: 1 to 9)
Percussion – Kenneth Nash (tracks: 8, 9)
Saxophone – Bennie Maupin (tracks: 8, 9), Wayne Shorter (tracks: 1 to 4)
Trombone – Julian Priester (tracks: 5 to 7)
Trumpet – Freddie Hubbard (tracks: 1 to 4)
Trumpet, Flugelhorn – Eddie Henderson (tracks: 5 to 7)