Herbie Hancock: Secrets (1976)

Having long since established his funk credentials, Herbie Hancock continues the direction of Head Hunters and its U.S. successors here, welding himself to the groove on electric keyboards while Bennie Maupin again shines sardonic beams of light on a variety of reeds. In "Doin' It," the most successful track, Hancock makes a more overt bid for the dancefloor, for the tune is basically one long irresistible groove with a very commercial-sounding bridge.

Again Hancock chooses to recompose one of his standards; "Cantelope [sic] Island" is almost unrecognizable converted into a sauntering, swaggering thing. A streamlining process has set in -- the drumming has been simplified, some of the old high-voltage drive has been muted -- yet there are still enough enjoyable, intelligently musical things happening here to hold a Hancock admirer's attention.

Tracklist:
1. Doin' It
2. People Music
3. Cantaloupe Island
4. Spider
5. Gentle Thoughts
6. Swamp Rat
7. Sansho Shima
Secrets
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Steps Ahesd: Magnetic (1986)

The last Steps Ahead recording to feature Michael Brecker, this album finds the band exploring the use of electronic instruments and synthesis. Michael Brecker's use of the Akai E.W.I. (electronic wind instrument) is astonishing.

Tracklist:
1.Trains (7:31) [Mike Mainieri]
2.Beirut (8:15) [V.Bailey, M.Brecker, P.Erskine, C.Loeb, M.Mainieri]
3.Cajun (6:16) [Michael Brecker]
4.In a Sentimental Mood (3:30) [Duke Ellington]
5.Magnetic Love (5:33) [Mike Mainieri, Scott Martin]
6.Sumo (5:50) [Michael Brecker]
7.All the Tea in China (5:05) [Peter Erskine]
8.Something I Said (4:23) [Peter Erskine]
9.Reprise (Magnetic Love) (1:15) [Mike Mainieri, Scott Martin]
Personnel:
VICTOR BAILEY- bass
MICHAEL BRECKER- tenor sax, steiner EWI
CHUCK LOEB, HIRAM BULLOCK, PAUL JACKSON- guitar
MIKE MAINIERI- vibes, synthesizers, keyboards
KENNY KIRKLAND, PHIL ASHLEY- synthesizers
PETER ERSKINE- drums, synthesizer, percussion
DIANNE REEVES- lead vocal (5)
DIVA GRAY, JANIS PENDARVIS, JOCELYN BROWN — background vocals
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Herbie Hancock: Thrust (1974)

The follow-up to the breakthrough Headhunters album was virtually as good as its wildly successful predecessor: an earthy, funky, yet often harmonically and rhythmically sophisticated tour de force. There is only one change in the Headhunters lineup -- swapping drummer Harvey Mason for Mike Clark -- and the switch results in grooves that are even more complex. Hancock continues to reach into the rapidly changing high-tech world for new sounds, most notably the metallic sheen of the then-new ARP string synthesizer which was already becoming a staple item on pop and jazz-rock records.

Again, there are only four long tracks, three of which ("Palm Grease," "Actual Proof," "Spank-A-Lee") concentrate on the funk, with plenty of Hancock's wah-wah clavinet, synthesizer textures and effects, and electric piano ruminations that still venture beyond the outer limits of post-bop. The change-of-pace is one of Hancock's loveliest electric pieces, "Butterfly," a match for any tune he's written before or since, with shimmering synth textures and Bennie Maupin soaring on soprano (Hancock would re-record it 20 years later on Dis Is Da Drum, but this is the one to hear). This supertight jazz-funk quintet album still sounds invigorating a quarter of a century later.

Tracklist:
01. Palm Grease
02. Actual Proof
03. Butterfly
04. Spank-A-Lee
Thrust
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