Herbie Hancock
Takin' Off

It's as if, perhaps an idiotic metaphor, Herbie Hancock is piloting (for the first time, no less) a plane with passengers Dexter Gordon (tenor sax), Freddie Hubbard (trumpet), Butch Warren (double bass), and Billy Higgins (drums) on board. They are guided by the pilot, through his piano, but are free to move around as they please inside the plane, within Hancock's structures. What a strange aircraft, where passengers can stand up and go more or less wherever they want! It shows that the pilot trusts them, knowing they won't go where they shouldn't.

Exciting, concrete, exuberant is Gordon's personal trajectory in "Watermelon Man", with gospel hues on a modified blues, as personal and melodic as it is on "The Maze". And what about Freddie Hubbard? I don't know, it seems that Hancock's musical conceptions are just what he needs, as on the pianist's records he always brings out the best in himself! Even before competing in originality and imagination with George Coleman on "Maiden Voyage" (God bless), Freddie already demonstrates a perfect understanding with Herbie here, reaching indescribable heights in "Driftin'" (another track with an R&B/gospel flavor), "Watermelon Man" (did you get that it's a masterpiece?), and especially "The Maze". What flair, what personality, what beauty! But to soar at high altitude, one must first have solid foundations to rely on, and the Warren/Higgins base is more than suited to this task. Two underrated musicians, always at the service of melody without falling into banality. Particularly beautiful are the bass lines, funky when necessary, classy walking bass, with excellent synergy with Billy's drums. An example? "The Maze" (always her), listen to what they do on "The Maze"! Canonical swing and suddenly, during the piano solo, the two of them below move freely, "keep time on your own, Herbie, we want freedom", more broken but highly melodic rhythmic figures, a device that furthermore adds even more liveliness to one of the best tracks on the album. There’s no need to spend words on the pilot, yes in short, on Herbie Hancock: jazz attitude with references to blues and gospel, peculiar style and a volcano of ideas. He doesn't miss on his first album as a leader, rather he comes out with, to be frank, a masterpiece, an underrated album to rediscover (really, why isn't it considered among the best jazz records ever? who knows!)

And, after the exuberance of "Driftin'", the group lands, even quite moved, on the notes of one of Mr. Hancock's most beautiful compositions, "Alone And I". Now it is dark, the passengers bid farewell after a memorable journey, the lyricism of the piano mingles with Gordon's nocturnal sax, with Hubbard's sweetness...there is room for a bit of introspection after the bursts of sound of "Empty Pockets" and "Three Bags Full", there is a need for some quiet...until the next takeoff.