Herbie Hancock
Piano Solo on
Little One

About

Herbie Hancock contributes three choruses of piano on his own composition "Little One" at approximately 124 BPM, the most extended solo on this tender waltz from the Maiden Voyage album. His improvisation over the 24-bar form in F flows with an unhurried grace that mirrors the waltz rhythm's gentle rocking motion, revealing the deep well of lyricism beneath his more well-known harmonic innovations. Following George Coleman and Freddie Hubbard, Hancock's three-chorus statement illuminates the composition from the inside, his intimate knowledge of the harmonic architecture allowing him to find expressive nuances that only the composer could fully exploit. The performance leads naturally into Ron Carter's closing bass feature.

Herbie Hancock was 24 to 25 years old at the time.