Maiden Voyage is the fifth album led by jazz musician Herbie Hancock, and was recorded by Rudy Van Gelder on March 17, 1965, for Blue Note Records. It was issued as BLP 4195 and BST 84195. Featuring Hancock with tenor saxophonist George Coleman, trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, bassist Ron Carter and drummer Tony Williams, it is a concept album aimed at creating an oceanic atmosphere. As such, many of the track titles refer to marine biology or the sea, and the musicians develop the concept through their use of space. The album was presented with the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1999.
Contents
Overview
Coleman, Carter, Williams and Hancock himself were all recently a part of the Miles Davis quintet.
According to Bob Blumenthal's 1999 liner notes: "Blue Note logs indicate that an attempt had been made to record 'Maiden Voyage', 'Little One', and 'Dolphin Dance' six days earlier, with Hubbard on cornet and Stu Martin in place of Williams. Those performances were rejected at the time and have been lost in the ensuing years." A different version of "Little One" was recorded by Miles Davis and his quintet (by then including Wayne Shorter instead of Coleman) for the album E.S.P., also released in 1965.
Hancock cites Count Basie's "Shiny Stockings" as the main source of inspiration for "Dolphin Dance".
Reception
The Penguin Guide to Jazz designated the album as part of its Core Collection with a four star rating, calling it "a colossal achievement from a man still just 24 years old". Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic describes the album as "arguably his finest record of the '60s, reaching a perfect balance between accessible, lyrical jazz and chance-taking hard bop".
Legacy
"Maiden Voyage", "The Eye of the Hurricane" and "Dolphin Dance" have become jazz standards and are featured in Hal Leonard's New Real Book vol. 2. While being interviewed for KCET in 2011, Hancock said he considered "Maiden Voyage" to be his favorite of all of the compositions he had written. During an interview on KTLA in 2020, the composer told Frank Buckley that he originally wrote the tune for a television commercial. Hancock was the pianist on another version of "Maiden Voyage" for Bobby Hutcherson's album Happenings which was recorded in February 1966. Hancock rerecorded "Maiden Voyage" and "Dolphin Dance" on his 1974 album Dedication and updated the title track on his 1988 album Perfect Machine. "Dolphin Dance" was rerecorded in 1981 for the Herbie Hancock Trio album. Hancock has released live concert versions of "Maiden Voyage" on CoreaHancock (1979) and An Evening With Herbie Hancock & Chick Corea: In Concert (1980) (both with Chick Corea). Hancock recorded "Maiden Voyage" and "Eye of the Hurricane" with the VSOP Quintet on VSOP: Tempest in the Colosseum (1977).
Personnel
Herbie Hancock – piano
Freddie Hubbard – trumpet
George Coleman – tenor saxophone
Ron Carter – bass
Tony Williams – drums
Cover versions
Artists who have covered "Maiden Voyage", the title track, include:
Bobby Hutcherson, on his 1966 album Happenings
Denny Zeitlein on his 1967 album Zeitgeist
Ramsey Lewis on his 1968 album Maiden Voyage
Brian Auger and the Trinity, on the 1970 album Befour
Grant Green, on his 1970 live album Alive! (CD reissue only)
Blood, Sweat, and Tears, on their 1972 album New Blood
Kellee Patterson, on her 1973 album Maiden Voyage
O'Donel Levy on his 1973 album Dawn Of A New Day
Norman Connors on his 1975 album Saturday Night Special
Bobby Valentín, on his 1975 live album Va a la Cárcel
Mark Murphy on his 1975 album Sings
Jon Lucien on his 1975 album Song For My Lady
Roswell Rudd on his 1977 album Flexible Flyer
Sekitō Shigeo on his 1977 album Special Sound Series Vol. 4: Summertime
Gary Boyle, on his 1978 album The Dancer
Art Farmer on his 1983 album Maiden Voyage
The rock band Phish performed the song in their early concerts. A live version was released on their album Colorado '88.