‘Head Hunters’. The record seemed to mark yet another direction for the pianist and composer who had developed his sound under the tutelage of Miles Davis who had recognized Hancock’s prodigious talent early on, enlisting him into his Second Great Quintet. After exploring the avant-garde with his own outfit and recording the trio of ‘Mwandishi’ albums, Hancock wanted to ground his music, returning back to Earth after his stratospheric ventures. It has also been said that he was underwhelmed by the response by both fans and critics and the financial situation was possibly an additional incentive to pursue another music direction. There were also new musical inspirations that compelled his artistic desire to try something different. The R&B-inflected rock of Sly and the Family Stone, James Brown’s live improvisations and Stevie Wonder’s cross-over future funk were certainly seeding ideas in Hancock’s psyche. Read more about the album here.
Join us to first listen to music that either inspired or was relevant to this LP such as Miles Davis and Donald Byrd, followed by the story and contemporary relevance of the album. Then the lights go down, the volume goes up and we play the album from beginning to end on vinyl on our audiophile hi-fi. Listening guidelines apply.
London
Sunday, 2 February, 5 to 8 pm
The Hanbury Arms, 33 Linton Street, London N1 7DU
Tickets: £8 on the door and £8 + service charge here
Presenter: Colleen ‘Cosmo’ Murphy
Audio Menu: Dynavector D17D3 MC Cartridge, Rega P9 Turntable, Klimax DSM with Preamp, Linn Klimax Solo Power Amps, Chord Signature Speaker Cable, Chord Signature Tuned Aray interconnects, ISOL-8 Substation Integra Power Conditioner and Bowers & Wilkins 802 Diamond Loudspeakers
New York City
Sunday, February 23, 5 – 8 pm
The Panther Room at Output, 74 Wythe Avenue, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY 11211
Tickets: $10 on the door and online here
Presenter: Jeannie Hopper from WBAI’s Liquid Sound Lounge
Audio Menu: Rega Apheta MC Cartridge, Rega P9 Turntable, Moon 310 LP Phono Preamp, Moon P7 Line Preamp, Cardas balanced cabling, MC2 Power Amplification, Funktion-One Loudspeakers
Tokyo
Sunday, March 2, 9:30 – 11:30 pm
Lighthouse Records, 3F 2-9-2 Dogenzaka, Shibuya, Tokyo 150-0043
Tickets: 1000 Yen on the door or for reservations e-mail cas@lighthouserecords.jp. FBメッセージもしくは下記メールにてご予約頂いた方優
Follow on Twitter @CASTokyo
Presenter: Norihide Masuo
Audio Menu: Grado Statement Sonata 1 MC Cartridge, Koetsu Step Up Transformer, SME 3012R Tonearm, Thorens TD520 Turntable, Mark Levinson 26 Preamp, Mark Levinson 23.5L Power Amp, Klipschorn Loudspeakers
