Lastly, if you dont know me dont ask me

Mwandishi was where Herbie Hancock was starting to really gather steam as a prominent figure in the world of jazz. Released in the early 1970s the 3-piece album is 44 minutes of superb free jazz. But it's also noteworthy for me because Hancock got to really explore his depths as a composer within the album's 3 songs. Opening with "Ostinato (Suite for Angela)" the music gradually builds into a freeform improv and Hancock doesn't shy away with a 15/8 meter that is simply all over the place. The song sounds like a pot of hot water that is tipping over every five seconds, while the lid skips and shake as it tries to hold the contents from spilling over. A sax bookends the track and I really love the way each instrument is allowed to convey the melody around scaling improvisation.



The second side of this record features the entire closing song, "Wandering Spirit Song." For 20 minutes Hancock gets to explore tension and release. He starts it with what sounds like flickering lights and he adds layers of instruments and sounds so that the music can build and build. Here Hancock is delving into more avant-garde classical music than jazz but for me, thats the beauty of jazz. Hancock needed talented jazz musicians to flesh out his music and the sounds crescendo, the winds release the tension with beautiful long, swelling notes. He got his chance to play with the meter earlier and now he's perfected the wanderer in all of us.



It's what jazz is all about: taking it all in for the experience. And being mind-blown afterwards because of how ahead of its time it really was/still is. If you're still wondering what the title of this post means then you need to hear episode two of THE MIDNIGHT GENIUS HOUR asap. Episode 3 is on the way...