Hancock Mwandishi Band

[JSngry]

Just curious how well-documented this band is in terms of live tapes that circulate amongst collectors? I remember one bootleg LP in the 70s, but tht's it to my knowledge. Seems like there's GOT to be more stuff out there.

This was another band about which a lot of people say that the records only tell a fraction of the story.

[kdd]

I have a bootleg CD called Toys

[Rooster_Ties]

What I'd really kill for are tapes of Herbie's "Prisoner" band (with Joe Henderson), as described in the liners to the RVG of "The Prisoner".

THAT'S that Herbie band I'd really like to hear. Any tapes of THAT floating around??

[PHILLYQ]

Jim,

There is a 2disc set called 'VSOP' under HH's name that presented a career retrospective. It has one disc of the VSOP quintet, and the other disc is split between the funk band and the Mwandishi band(Bennie Maupin, Billy Hart, Julian Priester, Buster Williams, Eddie Henderson). It's not available domestically, but I was able to get it on Ebay, I think from one of the board members. That's the only official release of that band live. I was also at that concert.

Edited March 18, 2004 by PHILLYQ

[JSngry]

Yeah, I got that VSOP thing back in the day. Caused a BIG sensation.

I'm talking about bootlegs. How many of THOSE are floating around? Not even grey-market, just pure collectors things that have never been made available commercially.

What's the deal w/this "Toys" CD?

[Eloe Omoe]

What's the deal w/this "Toys" CD?

It comes from a concert in Nice, France, on July 21, 1971.

Tracks:

1. You Will Know When You Get There (20:30)

2. Toys (22:20)

3. Be What (18:05)

The title of my copy is "Herbie Hancock Sextet - 1971", (Blu Jazz 022). It was one of a series of bootleg CDs that were given away with a jazz magazine here in Italy in the '90s. There were some crazy things among those CDs, mainly a George Russell 1964 sextet concert in Paris (with Thad Jones, Garnett Brown, Joe Farrell, Barre Phillips and Tootie Heath), and an Albert Ayler disc with unissued tracks from the Foundation Maeght concert of July 25, 1970.

Best, Luca

[relyles]

Jim

You might want to check etree to find out some of the shows that are circulating. I found at least one or two Mwandashi shows under Hancock's name and I did not check all of the shows listed. Here is a link to the shows under Hancock's name Herbie Hancock. Clcik on the year(s) that you are interested in and the shows traded on etree will appear. The way etree works there could also be shows under different names or under the group name.

Edited March 18, 2004 by relyles

[king ubu]

... a George Russell 1964 sextet concert in Paris (with Thad Jones, Garnett Brown, Joe Farrell, Barre Phillips and Tootie Heath)...

now how's that about "killing to hear this"? Florence is not so far away, so be aware

ubu

[Eloe Omoe]

now how's that about "killing to hear this"?

Funny thing is, the Parisian audience would have liked to try and kill Mr Russell. There's almost a riot at the end of every piece (four long tracks), and Russell is clearly embarrassed by the strong hostility his music gets that evening. "The last piece you didn't like," he says at one point, "but you'll like the next one even less"...

Luca

[king ubu]

"The last piece you didn't like," he says at one point, "but you'll like the next one even less"...

thanks for sharing, Luca!

ubu

[Trumpet Guy]

Dr.Eddie Henderson has spoke about his collection of live tapes of this band...

[kdd]

Yup, mine is from Nice. Now about that George Russell thing, sounds very interesting, I'm curious to hear the music and I can add it to my hostile French audience collection along with the Miles bootleg with them booing Coltrane

Edited March 19, 2004 by kdd

[Eloe Omoe]

Now about that George Russell thing, sounds very interesting, I'm curious to hear the music

OK. Anyone interested can drop me a line.

Luca

[king ubu]

as for recordings in circulation - the ones's I've come across in the meantime:

1969-07-24 - Juan-les-Pins / Antibes (FR), La Pinède (line-up unknown, poss. w/Johnny Coles)

1971-07-21 - Nice (FR)

1971-08-04 - Hamburg (DE), Jazzhouse

1971 (poss. 1971-07) - Aarhus (DK)

1973-03-22 - Boston, MA (USA), Jazz Workshop

1972-03-18 - Baden (CH), Kantonsschule

1972-10-08 (prob.) - Detroit, MI (USA), Baker's Keyboard Lounge

1973-02-20 - Detroit, MI (USA), Strata Concert Gallery

1973-11-13 - Boston, MA (USA), Berklee School of Music

[Michael Weiss]

The French website ina.fr has beaucoup video of this band!!!

[Daniel A]

as for recordings in circulation - the ones's I've come across in the meantime:

1969-07-24 - Juan-les-Pins / Antibes (FR), La Pinède (line-up unknown, poss. w/Johnny Coles)

What does the band play on the Antibes recording, and how's the sound quality?

[Jazzjet]

as for recordings in circulation - the ones's I've come across in the meantime:

1969-07-24 - Juan-les-Pins / Antibes (FR), La Pinède (line-up unknown, poss. w/Johnny Coles)

1971-07-21 - Nice (FR)

1971-08-04 - Hamburg (DE), Jazzhouse

1971 (poss. 1971-07) - Aarhus (DK)

1973-03-22 - Boston, MA (USA), Jazz Workshop

1972-03-18 - Baden (CH), Kantonsschule

1972-10-08 (prob.) - Detroit, MI (USA), Baker's Keyboard Lounge

1973-02-20 - Detroit, MI (USA), Strata Concert Gallery

1973-11-13 - Boston, MA (USA), Berklee School of Music

There's another one from the Tivoli, Copenhagen in 1971.

[king ubu]

as for recordings in circulation - the ones's I've come across in the meantime:

1969-07-24 - Juan-les-Pins / Antibes (FR), La Pinède (line-up unknown, poss. w/Johnny Coles)

What does the band play on the Antibes recording, and how's the sound quality?

Sorry for the late reply - I think the titles remain unidentified, it's just a short one, two tracks. Here's the etree db entry.

[ghost of miles]

Not a live recording, but the recent JazzTimes piece on the Mwandishi band alludes to a "lost" album (a soundtrack, iirc) by the group that's coming out as part of a Hancock Columbia box-set this autumn. This one, I take it. Haven't really been able to come across any other confirmation of such material appearing on the set, though.

[JSngry]

I wonder if they mean

http://www.discogs.com/Herbie-Hancock-The-Spook-Who-Sat-By-The-Door/release/635602

[bobgluck]

A new book in progress by Bob Gluck traces the evolution of Herbie Hancock's music through 1973, focusing on the Mwandishi band. The title is: “You’ll Know When You Get There: Herbie Hancock and the Mwandishi Band” (University of Chicago Press, forthcoming). Gluck’s new blog discusses the most poignant issues that have arisen in the process of writing the book, which should be out in a year.

The blog may be found at: http://bobgluck.wordpress.com.

Herbie Hancock has always followed his own muse. During the Mwandishi period, 1970-1973, his muse included a group of like-minded, intensely creative fellow musicians. Mwandishi band represented the ripening of Hancock’s Sextet, his first touring ensemble as a bandleader. It became the experimental laboratory where he first integrally joined the core musical elements that would form the building blocks that has served his musical creativity throughout his career. His rhythmic sensibilities, lyricism, use of abstraction, imaginative approach to timbre, fascination with electronics, and risk taking first come together in a mature, integrated manner in this context. The results were three years of deeply personal and expressive music that transcended boundaries.

Bob Gluck is author is musician, educator, and writer.

[six string]

The OP has probably found what he was looking for by now but I just came upon this so pardon.... I have a few of those live sets listed above and they are in good sound.  I believe some are FM broadcasts.  The oldest one is March 1973 with no specific day or venue and ot is two tracks, Hornets and You'll Know When You Get There.

[mikeweil]

In the meantime HiHat released this on LP and CD: