An album of original Hancock compositions, written with the sea in mind. The title theme is a pretty little morsel, well exploited by Hubbard and George Coleman, a large-toned tenor player, who plays particularly well on the slow tempoed tracks. Hubbard gets a bit frantic on the Hurricane opus, but Hancock produces a tumbling solo of cascading flurries of notes that suit any composition. Little One is a reflective kind of a tune. Hubbard can play better than he does here. Coleman plays with a dark but mellow sound, but the whole composition has a strange sense of fretfulness about it that is almost disturbing.
Hubbard really comes into his own with his long solo on Survival. An exceptional young trumpet player, he builds up the tension, layer upon layer, to a high screaming climax. Hancock’s long solo leading into Williams drum passage, is delicate, but a trifle disjointed. The single-note lines in the upper register sound a little out of place after the fury that has gone before. Dolphin Dance is another pretty theme. Hancock shows here that he can write spritely as well as sad music, and the result is a bunch of good solos from all the horns. Williams and Carter both perform very well. The drummer shows that he has imagination and taste, and the bassist is brilliant throughout, and particularly on Hurricane.
Discography
Maiden Voyage; The Eye Of The Hurricane; Little One (21 min) – Survival Of The Fittest; Dolphin Dance (20 min)
Freddie Hubbard (tpt); George Coleman (ten); Herbie Hancock (p); Ron Carter (bs); Anthony Williams (d).
(Blue Note 4195 45s. 3d.)
