HERBIE HANCOCK — Speak Like a Child (review)

HERBIE HANCOCK — Speak Like a Child album cover Album · 1968 · Post Bop Buy this album from MMA partners
5/5 ·
dreadpirateroberts
This is probably third on my list of favourite Hancock albums and it's one of his finest.

Beautiful without slipping into overly sentimental territory, the album is a mix of cool and post bop and reveals another facet to Hancock's range of compositional prowess - give him a genre at random and no doubt he could work within it, then push it's boundaries while he was at it - as he incorporates trombone, flugelhorn and flute to the sound of his piano and a small rhythm section of bass and drums.

It's possible to break this one into two clear moods - songs like 'Riot' and 'First Trip' exemplify the harder side of the material and 'Speak Like a Child' and 'Goodbye to Childhood' represent the cooler, more reflective moments. 'First Trip' is notable for being a trio piece composed by Carter, whereas the other uptempo songs include the full band, with 'Riot' or 'Toys' revealing what sounds like a mini orchestra playing the bookends to Hancock's solos. And it's a surprising pleasure when those horns and flute are used on 'Speak Like a Child', also allowing Hancock a different palette to solo over, which he does with his usual grace. He's just as subtly effective on 'Goodbye to Childhood' which employs a similar structure, though it's more focused on the piano and has more space between phrases.

Put simply, any fan of Herbie Hancock's Blue Note era should invest in this album.

Note that the Rudy Van Gelder Remaster includes three bonus tracks, two alternates of 'Riot' and a stripped back version of 'Goodbye to Childhood' where Hancock solos for the majority of the song unaccompanied. Five stars.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Jazz Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

JMA TOP 5 Jazz ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
A Love Supreme Post Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
Kind of Blue Cool Jazz
MILES DAVIS
Buy this album from our partners
The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady Progressive Big Band
CHARLES MINGUS
Buy this album from our partners
Blue Train Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
My Favorite Things Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners

New Jazz Artists

New Jazz Releases

Cassie Kinoshi's Seed. With NikNak & London Contemporary Orchestra : Gratitude Fusion
SEED ENSEMBLE
Buy this album from MMA partners
Giant Beauty Avant-Garde Jazz
AHMED أحمد
Buy this album from MMA partners
Green Lights Hard Bop
TROY ROBERTS
Buy this album from MMA partners
Story Of Mankind Vocal Jazz
BENJAMIN KOPPEL
Buy this album from MMA partners
Benjamin Koppel & Mames Babegenush : World of Yesterday Pop/Art Song/Folk
BENJAMIN KOPPEL
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Jazz Online Videos

Miles Away
ALEX MERCK
js· 2 days ago
Stablemates
RON BLAKE
js· 3 days ago
Critique of Swing in Two Parts, Pt. 1
PIOTR ORZECHOWSKI (PIANOHOOLIGAN)
js· 4 days ago
FULL ALBUM - Oliver Lutz - Utopia w/ Leif Berger, Constantin Krahmer
OLIVER LUTZ
js· 5 days ago
Lift
DAVE WILSON (US/NZ)
js· 7 days ago
More videos

New JMA Jazz Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Jazz News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed