Herbie Hancock – Man-Child (Speakers Corner)

The gradual change to the Afro-American style mix of soul, jazz and funk led Herbie Hancock after the early avant-garde years with the Blue Note label to popular paths. Asked about the concept of his family-friendly album and soundtracks for Bill Cosby's cartoon series "Fat Albert Rotunda", Hancock explained that instead of choosing jazz musicians who can also play funky, he preferred funk musicians with a jazz feeling. The funky album "Man-Child" shows how conclusively this concept also works the other way round, with Wayne Shorter, Bennie Maupin and Ernie Watts on the line-up list. But wait! Extensive self-portrayals in session manner do not take place. Here the team plays its way to the star, stratifying and condensing grooving patterns around Hancock's carefully wired electronic braids. The result is a cool funky style that remains committed to the collective, but offers the individual actor just enough space to devote a few personal notes of his style to the listener with short solo interludes.