Cantaloupe Island – 1991
Herbie Hancock
A passionate version of Hancock’s standard by an all-star quartet
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Herbie Hancock’s “Cantaloupe Island” was first recorded on his 1964 album Empyrean Isles with a quartet that also included trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, bassist Ron Carter, and drummer Tony Williams.
The song has remained in Hancock’s repertoire up until the present time and has been recorded many times by others including a sampled version by the group Us3 (as “Cantaloop”) in 1993.
This extended version from Tokyo’s Live Under The Sky in 1991 is given powerful funk rhythms by drummer Omar Hakim and bassist Stanley Clarke and features a ferocious soprano solo by Wayne Shorter, an intense workout from Hancock, and a colorful improvisation by Hakim.
There is plenty of fire displayed during this jubilant version.
Personnel:
Herbie Hancock, piano
Wayne Shorter, soprano
Stanley Clarke, bass
Omar Hakim, drums
-Scott Yanow
Thelonious Monk