Herbie Hancock | Secrets
Herbie Hancock | Secrets [Columbia/Sony, 1976] – Revisited
As you know, more often than not it’s a delight to dig into the crates (shelves) and pull out a gem by one of your favorite artists. At this juncture, I give props to the legendary Grammy winning, visionary, composer, arranger, producer, jazz/funk keyboardist Herbie Hancock and his 1976 album “Secrets.” All particulars aside, he stands firmly at the head of the pack of A-list artists as a mentor, player, and composer in the music industry.
“Secrets” is nicely marinated with infused and intricate textures that Mr. Hancock has been noted to grace listeners with over the years. For those of you whose been around a minute, you should recall during the 60’s and 70’s on most jazz recordings you had four to ten cuts on a jazz album. With “Secrets,” Hancock strategically aligns his voice into “seven” alluring, yet accessible compositions to groove, listen and enjoy with each spin.
On the opener, “Doin’ It” speaks with a blend of funk shaped signatures that’s apparently molded for the discerning ears of jazz-funk lovers. Then comes the hypnotic nuances of “People Music,” (look below) features reed man Bennie Maupin and the revered classic “Cantaloupe Island” transforms from it’s original state into a quirky head-boppin’ offbeat rhymes & rhythms kind of groove. One thing for sure, these gems will draw you into an atmosphere outlined with dexterous melodies, and sophisticated hyper-funk grooves.
Furthermore, Herbie wraps up this sumptuous foray of gems with four intoxicating pieces including “Spider” nettled at the forth spot. It’s voice captures sonically the percussive upbeat harmonics we come to expect from Herbie’s palette of tasteful songs during this period [even now for that matter]. “Gentle Thoughts,” is probably my favorite cut on the album. The timeless melodies here are seductive, vibrant and hip. At the sixth position is “Swamp Rat,” although it’s unusually titled is a monstrous jam crafted particularly for the taste of fusion lovers!! Their interplay is relentless throughout this project and the funicular beats generated by the musicians are relevant even by today’s definition of what groove is or should be. Finally, the potent “Sansho Shima” bares the bones of a Japanese influenced fusion composition [pianist - "Hiromi" would throughly enjoy playing] making this one of the most enthralling cuts on the album.
Yeah, I know, …. yada, yada a lot said about Herbie Hancock and this magnificent release titled “Secrets.” Frankly, this is one of many fusion based recordings by him I will highly recommend that you pick up whenever you decide to adventure into the intriguing world of “Hancock.”
Rob Young
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