Empyrean Isles

1964 studio album by Herbie Hancock
Empyrean Isles
Studio album by
Herbie Hancock
ReleasedNovember 1964[1]
RecordedJune 17, 1964
StudioVan Gelder Studio
Englewood Cliffs, NJ
GenreHard bop, modal jazz, soul jazz
Length35:20
LabelBlue Note
BLP 4175
ProducerAlfred Lion
Herbie Hancock chronology
Inventions & Dimensions
(1963)
Empyrean Isles
(1964)
Maiden Voyage
(1965)

Empyrean Isles is the fourth studio album by American jazz pianist Herbie Hancock, recorded on June 17, 1964 and released on Blue Note in November later that year.[2][3] The quartet features trumpeter Freddie Hubbard and rhythm section Ron Carter and Tony Williams.

Background

Recording and composition

The album was recorded at Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, on June 17, 1964.[4] Freddie Hubbard plays cornet rather than his typical trumpet.[4] The four compositions are Hancock originals written over a two-year period.[5]

The Miles Davis Quintet

Six months after recording Empyrean Isles, Herbie, Ron and Tony would record E.S.P. with Miles Davis, the first of six studio albums by Davis's Second Great Quintet.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
Jazz Journal[6]
Jazzwise[7]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide[8]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz[9]

The Penguin Guide to Jazz awarded the album four stars.[9]

AllMusic reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine called it "a record that officially established Hancock as a major artist in his own right."[5]

Track listing

Original release

All tracks are written by Herbie Hancock

Side 1
No.TitleLength
1."One Finger Snap"7:20
2."Oliloqui Valley"8:28
Side 2
No.TitleLength
1."Cantaloupe Island"5:32
2."The Egg"14:00
Total length:35:20

1999 CD reissue

All tracks are written by Herbie Hancock

No.TitleLength
1."One Finger Snap"7:20
2."Oliloqui Valley"8:28
3."Cantaloupe Island"5:32
4."The Egg"14:00
5."One Finger Snap" (alternate take)7:37
6."Oliloqui Valley" (alternate take)10:47

Personnel

Technical personnel

Charts

Chart performance for Empyrean Isles
Chart (2023) Peak
position
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[10] 67

References

  1. ^ Billboard Dec 5, 1964
  2. ^ DiMartino, Dave (2016). Music in the 20th Century (3 Vol Set). Routledge. p. 273. ISBN 978-1-317-46430-3. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  3. ^ Salzman, Jack; Smith, David L.; West, Cornel (1996). Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History. Macmillan Library Reference. p. 1185. ISBN 978-0-02-897365-4. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  4. ^ a b Herbie Hancock: Empyrean Isles (CD liner notes). Blue Note Records. 98796.
  5. ^ a b c Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (2011). "Empyrean Isles - Herbie Hancock | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
  6. ^ Jones, Dave (20 June 2019). "Herbie Hancock: Empyrean Isles". Jazz Journal. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  7. ^ Nicholson, Stuart. "Herbie Hancock: Empyrean Isles". Jazzwise. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  8. ^ Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 93. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
  9. ^ a b Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 641. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
  10. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Herbie Hancock – Empyrean Isles" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
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