Herbie Hancock: "Maiden Voyage"

The NFL draft was this past weekend, and it is the ultimate tease. I need football now. I love baseball, don't get me wrong, but the build up to Sundays at the sports bar is far better. I don't get bent out of shape if I miss a Mets game, or just catch the score on ESPN later. But if I miss a Dolphins game on Sunday, I can't live with myself.

This past weekend was GORGEOUS! I spent all afternoon bar hopping in the neighborhood and it was great seeing people out strolling the sidewalks. In one particular bar, we had a MICHELADA, a Mexican beer coctail. Below is a pic of my first sip ever.


Here's a simple recipe:

1. Salt the rim of a Beer Glass
2. Add the juice of one lime and a half lemon
3. A generous dash of Hot Sauce (Valentina is good)
4. Add Salt and ground pepper to taste
5. Dash of Worcestershire Sauce
6. Fill glass half way with ice cubes
7. Fill the rest of the glass with Mexican beer (Sol, Corona, Negro Modelo, Dos Equis)
8. Garnish with a Lime Wedge
9. Mix and enjoy!

I must admit, it is an acquired taste, but delicious!

Also on Saturday night, I saw an amazing jazz band, The New Cookers, who play that post-bop jazz I love in the style of Freddie Hubbard. They were very tight, had great solos and played old and new songs.

Freddie Hubbard was a trumpet player who had great tone. Here's a song that displays his trumpet quite well.

SOTD

"Maiden Voyage"
Herbie Hancock
Maiden Voyage
1965

Interesting Tidbit: This album is centered around ocean themes, and the band creates that sense of being on the water with song titles like, "Eye of the Hurricane" and "Dolphin Dance."

Interesting Tidbit 2: This album propelled Herbie into the forefront of Jazz composition. Basically, this was beginning of his experimentation that would lead to his VSOP sessions, Head Hunters and the Rock-It era.

Interesting Tidbit 3: Herbie was a sideman for Miles Davis at the time, and he takes a lot of his ideas regarding Modal Jazz

I know some of you out there probably don't listen to jazz. Fair enough. But this album is a great introduction. It is very lyrical, very melodic, easy on the ears. Plus you get great sounds from amazing sidemen; Freddie Hubbard, Ron Carter on Bass (one of the best bassists of all time), Tony Williams on Drums (one of the best drummers of all time) and George Coleman on Tenor Sax.

Sorry for the Video Quality! It was the only video of the song!

This is a great song for a relaxing summer day. And it is one of my favorite songs of all time.

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