VSOP (album)

V.S.O.P.
Live album by
Herbie Hancock
ReleasedApril 1977
RecordedJune 29, 1976
GenreJazz, post-bop, jazz fusion
Length86:35
LabelColumbia
ProducerDavid Rubinson
Herbie Hancock chronology
Secrets
(1976) 		V.S.O.P.
(1977) 		Herbie Hancock Trio
(1977)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide[2]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings[3]

V.S.O.P. is a 1977 double live album by keyboardist Herbie Hancock, featuring acoustic jazz performances by the V.S.O.P. Quintet (Hancock, trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, saxophonist Wayne Shorter, bassist Ron Carter and drummer Tony Williams), along with jazz fusion/jazz-funk performances by the ‘Mwandishi’ band (trumpeter Eddie Henderson, trombonist Julian Priester, flautist Bennie Maupin, bassist Buster Williams and drummer Billy Hart) and The Headhunters (saxophonist Maupin, guitarists Ray Parker Jr. and Wah Wah Watson, bass guitarist Paul Jackson, percussionist Kenneth Nash and drummer James Levi).

The concert was advertised as a "Herbie Hancock Retrospective," and Miles Davis, who was several months into his temporary retirement, was advertised as playing with the V.S.O.P. group (thereby reconstituting Davis’ "Second Great Quintet" for the first time since 1968). According to concert attendees, on the night of the show a handwritten sign was posted on the lobby door announcing that Davis would not be playing, but that Hubbard would be appearing instead.

Track listing

  1. "Piano Introduction" – 4:33
  2. "Maiden Voyage" (Hancock) – 13:18
  3. "Nefertiti" (Shorter) – 5:17
  4. "Introduction of Players/Eye of the Hurricane" (Hancock) – 18:35
  5. "Toys" (Hancock) – 14:00
  6. "Introductions" – 1:47
  7. "You'll Know When You Get There" (Hancock) – 7:00
  8. "Hang Up Your Hang Ups" (Hancock, Jackson, Ragin) – 11:54
  9. "Spider" (Hancock, Jackson, Ragin) – 10:12

Recorded live at the Newport Jazz Festival, New York City Center, New York City, Tuesday, June 29, 1976.

Tracks 1–4 performed by V.S.O.P., Tracks 5–7 performed by Mwandishi, Tracks 8–9 performed by the Headhunters.

Personnel

Musicians

Track 1:

Tracks 2, 3, 4:

Tracks 5, 6, 7:

Tracks 8, 9:

Production

  • Fred Catero – engineer
  • David Rubinson – engineer, producer

References

  1. ^ Ginell, Richard S. (2011). "V.S.O.P., Vol. 1 – Herbie Hancock | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
  2. ^ Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 94. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
  3. ^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 642. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.