Customer Reviews
Mysterious and haunting, mesmersing and hypnotic - this is more than just music - By: The Fish, 05 Oct 2006 
Like the sea itself, Maiden Voyage is vast & epic- flirting with adventure & myth. It is Herbie Hancock's tour de force- what the wonderous Speak No Evil was to his Blue Note peer, Wayne Shorter- ie. representing the composer/pianist at his imaginitive peak. We can only imagine what kind of zone Freddie Hubbard, George Coleman, Ron Carter & Tony Williams must have been during the recording of this masterpiece- so wonderfully coherent yet brimming with subtle musical conflict. And Hancock's playing is simply majestic.
The opening track is stunningly simple- you might feel a little uninspired by the low-key opening, but then, all of a sudden, it all opens out beautifully during the trumpet solo. This short flourish embodies the enitre tone of the album & indeed the majesty of the oceanin its sense of wonder & awe.
After the fast-and-furious Eye of the Hurricaine, Hancock, with Little One, reminds us of his ability to produce deeply complex & challenging, yet incredibly beautiful compositions. It's probably my favourite track of the album.
Survival of the Fittest recalls The Egg, from Empyrean Isles(Blue Note, 1964)in its open improvisational structure. The sense of conflict & frantic struggle is briliantly portrayed, & the listener is unsure of whether the music is hideous, or beautiful.
To round off, Herbie returns to laid-back territory with Dolphin Dance- fresh enough to clear our musical palette after what has preceded.
While the briliant playing ability of this wonderful quintet is unquestionable, for me, it's Herbie's writing that makes album what it is. Maiden Voyage works as more of a "Love Supreme-esq" suite, rather than an album of five separate tracks. Not always easily listenable, always completley compelling, music is rarely this powerful.
La Mer - By: , 29 May 2004 By now, Herbie Hancock was reaching a point were every convention, every facet of jazz he had experienced before was reaching near perfectionin his compositions. He had already acheieved fame & lucratove offers from Blue Notes records, so finance was more or less assured. He was lucky. He had time to plan his works & choose the musicians he wanted. And Hancock was not a man to let such an opportunity just whizz by. This album proves that.
The sound & it's purpose is almost overpowering. It is a brilliant manifestation of the sea through sound. Particularly the opening & closing tracks capture the life of the sea & the sway & lull of the waves.
The playing on the musicians part is as always superb. Vocal resonance eminates from the saxophone & trumpet courtesy of Freddie Hubbard & George Coleman, bass strengthens the sound & gives it that woody, but flexible edge (Ron Carter). Tony Williams plays the drums as though they were an extention of his mind! The correctness of it all is overpowering. Herbie himself is genius at the keyboard. Particularly on Maiden Voyage, that piece which demands so much control & precision not onlyin tone, but dynamic & communication - it's handled brilliantly.
As I said earlier, Hancock had now reached a point where everything was just right. But, his mind would soon lean himin another, vastly more inventive direction. This album however, when compared also with the 60's standards 'Speak Like a Child' & 'My Point of View', is a more mature take on jazz. Jazz, which is flexible to every corner & desire the composer imposes - here it still feels at home. As at home as it feels on 'Headhunters', or the bouncy, brilliant tunes on 'Takin' Off'. Not only is that testament to jazz, but it is testament to Hancock's vision & techniquein the studio.
This is simply a definitive jazz record, it is one of a kind & not only that - it sounds darn good for it.
Hancock's Finest Hour - By: Adam Ventress, 22 Feb 2004 As prolific an artist as Herbie Hancock has been over 40 years, this album endures as probably his best. He had made a startling contribution to 60s jazz already with the excellent debut album, 'Takin off' & the follow up, 'Empyrean Isles.' Although they contained more obvious 'hitsin the form of 'Watermelon Man' & the wonderful 'Canteloupe Island,' this is his most consistent album.
Part of the lasting appeal of this record is its thematic approach, as all five tracks come across as part of the same whole, almost like a classical suite, with the ocean as its 'subject matter.' This was an unusual & bold stepin the field of jazz but the music's descriptive nature is one of the reasons that people remember the whole record rather than just five individual tracks. It is a key part of the album's appeal, & most importantly, it works. The music is successfully subject driven rather than style orientated, & is both highly original & atmospheric throughout.
The obvious masterpiece of the album is the title track itself, a piece which slowly gets under your skin, & gets better with each listen. Hancock's steady repeated pattern gently grounds the whole piece, & Freddie Hubbard plays a superb solo alternating between calm tranquility, & majestic power.
The rest of the album ranges from the gently swinging 'Dolphin Dance,' the quiet beauty of the 'Little One' (also recorded by Miles Davis' quintet on ESP), to the menacing 'Eye of the Hurricane' & the thrill ride of 'Survival of the Fittest.' The whole band is brilliant, each following the leader's concept with music of lasting value. Freddie Hubbard not only confirms, but enhances his reputation as one of the most versatile & important soloistsin jazz at the time, Joe Henderson is slightly less to the fore but is still excellent & the rhythm section are on the ball throughout.
One of the great 60s jazz albums & an essential part of anything like a jazz collection.
the voyage of discovery - By: , 23 Nov 2003 This is probably the best jazz album of the 1960s by farin terms of a complete listening experience & a complete collaboration by all the musicians involved (I could have included Miles, Eric Dolphy or others but to me this is the crystal sound of a true artist at work). The title track has become a classic & out of very simple materials, the insight by Herbie beingin the voicings of the chords rather thanin any awesome display of skill. This is therefore a very harmonically based album but with some wonerful melodies (Dolphin Dance being a particular swinging, languid number). This is perhaps one of Jazz's first concept albums - a meditation on the power & poetic nature of the sea. The rhythm section is, as always considering that it is Miles' houseband, superb but George Coleman's sax given ample foil by Freddie Hubberds wonderfully agressive trumpet playing is absolutely riviting. Contemplative, lyrical, right on the button. Buy it if you are unlucky enough to have never heard it. If you have heard it buy this CD issue - the sound is superb.
Huge, elegant, poised - By: , 02 Jun 2001 The players on Maiden Voyage are essentially those of the Miles Davis band - but how different from Miles' records it sounds & feels! In 1965, Herbie Hancock's leadership & vision were rapidly taking shape.
This album placed Hancock firmlyin the company of the great jazz musicians. He had proved his mettle as an innovative & individual pianist on such excellent records as Wayne Shorter's Speak No Evil (Blue Note, 1964) & Miles' E.S.P. (Columbia, 1965), both recorded only months before. Now he led a group he knew intimately, & wrote enduring pieces for the date that were to become admired for decades to come.
The title track sets the tone for the whole record: subtle, measured, contemplative. It's the first solo opportunity for the perpetually underrated George Coleman, who displays virtuosity without arrogance, elegance without contrivance, depth of feeling without sentimentality.
Impeccably orchestrated pieces like "Little One" & the closing "Dolphin Dance" establish Herbie Hancock as the complete musician: inimitable pianist, creative composer, charismatic leader, supreme stylist.
