Jazz LP Feat Cantaloupe Island - Pressed on 180g Audiphile Vinyl - Empyrean Isles from 1964 is the best of Hancock's Blue Note albums and an outstanding example of modal jazz. But beyond that, it's simply one of the finest pure jazz albums ever made, right up there with Kind of Blue and Love Supreme. What helps makes it so great is not just the phenomenal musicians and the flawless performance, but a composer / arranger (Hancock) who really has no equal in the jazz world.
Blue Note's Classic Vinyl Series turns its focus to the one and only Herbie Hancock here for another superb reissue that will keep the jazz heads happy. His long player Empyrean Isles landed in 1964 as his fourth overall. For this one Hancock linked up with his Miles Davis bandmates including Ron Carter on bass and Tony Williams on drums with Freddie Hubbard also on board with his trusty trumpet. The record works through hard bop and modal as well as plenty of soulful jazz sounds and is another standout in Hancock's discography.