Herbie Hancock – Speak Like a Child: Blue Note Classic (180g Vinyl LP)

Blue Note Classic Vinyl Reissue Series Edition of Herbie Hancock’s Speak Like a Child on All-Analog 180g LP. Mastered by Kevin Gray Directly from the Original Master Tapes and Manufactured at Optimal in Germany.

Following the release of his 1965 masterpiece Maiden Voyage, the brilliant pianist Herbie Hancock wouldn’t record his Blue Note follow-up until 1968 with the innovative classic Speak Like a Child. The album was a showcase of several aspects of Hancock’s artistry: as a pianist, a composer, and an arranger. The session found Hancock expanding his tonal palette by adding the unique coloring of flugelhorn (Thad Jones), bass trombone (Peter Phillips), and alto flute (Jerry Dodgion) to his trio with bassist Ron Carter and drummer Mickey Roker. However, the leader’s piano would be spotlighted as the main solo instrument throughout this six-song set including Hancock originals like the alluring title track, the churning “Riot,” the plaintive “Goodbye to Childhood,” and the mysterious closer “The Sorcerer,” a dedication to Miles Davis which had been recorded by the trumpeter’s quintet the year prior. On Carter’s spry and cheerful “First Trip” the trio goes it alone delivering a wonderfully agile and swinging performance for the ages.

This gatefold Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition is stereo, all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes, and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal.

Musicians:
Herbie Hancock, piano
Jerry Dodgion, flute
Peter Phillips, trombone
Thad Jones, flugelhorn
Ron Carter, bass
Mickey Roker, drums

Side A:

1. Riot
2. Speak Like a Child
3. First Trip

Side B:

1. Toys
2. Goodbye to Childhood
3. The Sorcerer