Herbie Hancock - Takin' Off - XRCD

2023 release

Features:
Mastered and produced by Alan Yoshida and Joe Harley from the Original Rudy Van Gelder Blue Note 2-Track Analog Tapes.
Highest Quality Analog-to-Digital transfers from tape to CD.
Deluxe Packaging with Hi-Resolution Black & White Session Photos by Francis Wolff.
Includes Original Album Liner Notes
XRCD24 is Compatible with ALL CD PLAYERS.

Herbie's Blue Note debut features the incomparable horn duo of Freddy Hubbard and Dexter Gordon (both at their creative peaks), blowing out Hancock's angular, bluesy tunes with passion and finesse.

The album kicks off with the classic "Watermelon Man"; the songs are largely uptempo hard-bop until closing with the sparkling, late-night ballad "Alone and I." The pianist's forays into experimentation are displayed in the strange rhythm section solos and the lack of thematic resolution on "The Maze" or the 32-bar broken phrasing on "Three Bags Full."

The sound is pure early-60's Rudy Van Gelder: muted piano, in-your-face horns and rhythm section in your living room.

Musicians:
Herbie Hancock, piano
Freddie Hubbard, trumpet
Dexter Gordon, tenor sax
Butch Warren, bass
Billy Higgins, drums

Selections:
1. Watermelon Man
2. Three Bags Full
3. Empty Pockets
4. The Maze
5. Driftin'
6. Alone and I
Bonus Tracks:
7. Watermelon Man (Alternate Take)
8. Three Bags Full (Alternate Take)
9. Empty Pockets (Alternate Take)

"Astute listeners know that the very first Blue Note CD issues are sonically superior to the more recent RVG remasters. Well, these XRCD24s absolutely crush them both, displaying high-frequency air, midrange presence, and bottom-end definition and weight missing on earlier CDs and many LPs as well."