Thrust was recorded in the heyday of Herbie Hancock’s Headhunters’ phase of Jazz Fusion, and was the follow up to that record. When I first started collecting Soul, Jazz and Funk, this would’ve been right up my alley. There’s the funky workout Hancock gives his keys in Thrust that includes both a drum break and percussion break, all held down by Paul Jackson’s bass playing. MORE

Empyrean Isles was recorded with Freddie Hubbard, Ron Carter and Anthony Williams. Most of its Bop such as the opening One Finger Snap. The following Oliloqui has a very nice bass line that’s just hinted at during the beginning, but that returns in the middle for a nice breakdown. MORE

Fat Albert Rotunda is one of my favorite Herbie Hancock LPs because of its consistently funky and soulful numbers. It was originally based upon short pieces that Hancock came up with for Bill Cosby’s Fat Albert cartoon show, hence the album title. Hancock begins immediately with the Rock influenced bass line to Wiggle Waggle by Buster Williams. MORE

Headhunters, what can you say? A stone cold classic? The album was recorded right here in the Bay in San Francisco. The album showed that Hancock was always ready to push new boundaries with his music. You get the steady and funky rhythms, but over the top you get great solos as well. That’s heard on Chameleon that starts off with a very simple groove, but then Hancock goes off on his keyboards. MORE

Like Headhunters, Sextant was recorded in San Francisco, CA and was the first for Hancock’s new label Columbia. The album consists of just three tracks and reflects Hancock’s experimentation with electronics and African themes. MORE

V.S.O.P. saw Hancock return to his Bop roots for most of the LP. The double album was recorded live in 1976 at the New York City Center as part of the famous Newport Jazz Festival. Hancock performed with Eddie Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Julian Priester, Bennie Maupin, James Levi, Wah Wah Watson, Ron Carter, Paul Jackson, Kenneth Nash, Tony Williams, and Ray Parker. MORE

As the title would suggest, E.H. in the U.K. was recorded in London, England. Harris opens up with the bluesy Baby where he’s scatting through his sax, sticking to the melody like vocals would. The Soul-Jazz of Wait A Little Longer follows that with Harris’ trademark effects laden horn playing. The rest of the numbers however, tend towards MOR schlock or some avant-garde Jazz. MORE

Free Speech contains some of Eddie Harris’ better Soul-Jazz offerings. It starts off with Wait Please. The first half is a nice and laid back groove, but then Harris picks it up a bit to get people to move a little. There’s also Bold And Black with Harris playing his horn through effects over a funky bass riff. Finally, there’s the title cut. MORE

How Can You Live Like That? was produced by Harris and Richard Evans. 1977 was probably too late to expect a decent LP, and that’s proven with the eclectic song writing. MORE

Instant Death starts off with the title cut that has a short and fast drum break intro. The song itself is an upbeat number combining Soul, Jazz and a little Blues as well to mixed results. The first side is actually a mix of styles from the Latin influenced A Little Web to the African inspired Zambezi Dance with plenty of percussion. The second side is Bop. MORE