Herbie Hancock
Piano Solo on
Dance Cadaverous

About

Herbie Hancock opens with a single chorus on piano, the first of two solos, followed by Wayne Shorter on tenor sax. The waltz feel at 125 BPM over the 64-bar AA' in B lends the solo a distinctive lilting three-beat pulse. Hancock's piano solo explores different harmonic pathways, while Shorter's tenor brings new melodic ideas to the same shadowy harmonic territory. Recorded for the album Speak No Evil in 1964, the performance captures Herbie Hancock at 23 to 24 years old. Recorded during the same December 1964 Blue Note session, the alternate take features the same structure and solo order as the master: Herbie Hancock's piano chorus followed by Shorter's tenor saxophone chorus over the 64-bar AA' waltz form in B.

Herbie Hancock was 23 to 24 years old at the time.