I have always admired Herbie Hancock; he's an innovator in music and has a sound that one recognizes instantly. His impressionistic chords, funky timing and adventurous solo's move me each time. I've often listen to his playing, and tried to discover what makes his touch so special. This can't be expressed in a few sentences. The British composer Jon Opstad wrote an interesting article: The Harmonic and Rhythmic Language of Herbie Hancock’s 1970s Fender Rhodes Solos, published in the American academic journal Jazz Perspectives. I recently found it on the internet, after a lengthy search for analyses of Herbie's playing. Opstad writes:

"Through his 1970s Fender Rhodes solos, Hancock took outside playing to a new level in harmonic sophistication and sheer musicality in such a way that has had a significant influence on later generations of improvisers, but which has gone largely ignored by jazz critics and analysts. With some of Hancock’s most innovative work recorded in funk and vocal pop contexts, some of which can sound dated to modern ears, a substantial degree of this innovation has gone unrecognised."

I think there are many fans who would want to refute Opstad's assertion, but in fact little has been published about Hancock. I promised myself to make a change in that and am working on a book about Herbie. Here's a small pre-taste.

Kino

ps: here's the music http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MkAf_1GD-4#t=2m56s