Herbie's Secrets

Talking about Robert Glasper got me thinking of the roots of eclectic black music. Glasper was right in his statement that the Afro-American people gave so much music to the world, so many styles, genres, and absolutely fantastic musicians.  One of the most progressive, creative and ground-breaking black artists of all times is Herbie Hancock. Starting as a young pianist, a prodigy of his time, he quickly found his way to the top league. As a teenager, he was already playing with Miles Davis in the group that was billed “the best band ever” so many times. Soon after that, Herbie expanded his presence in the music world with his unprecedented innovations and trend-setting experiments. His version of funk and groove music, which he developed with the Headhunters at the beginning of the 70’s set the parameters for the whole disco-funk decade.

His first three studio albums with the Headhunters showcased Hancock interest in groove rather than improvisation. “Head Hunters,” “Thrust,” and “Man-Child” contain music concentrated on grooves with brief solos from the horns and Hancock himself. “Secrets” is an album that clearly followed the path of its predecessors, with Paul Jackson’s bass lines being the core element of the groove, but unlike the previous records, “Secrets” tends towards a more relaxing, almost ambient atmosphere. Far from being lounge music, the album sets a rounded mood, with evident Caribbean influence even on the heavier tracks, and overall it emphasizes restrained, rolling grooves rather than overtly high-energy funk. “Man-Child” saw the addition of an electric guitar for the first time in Hancock’s music, while “Secrets” rose the guitar's role in the arrangements to crucial importance throughout. The vibrant rhythm guitar contributions of top Motown session musician Wah Wah Watson are a particularly notable feature of the album. Hancock plays the Rhodes piano throughout the most of the record but also used the then new polyphonic synthesizers to contribute thick pads, foreshadowing ambient music. Besides Bennie Maupin and Paul Jackson, who were Hancock’s regular accompaniment in the funk era, the record features Wah Wah Watson (guitar, Maestro universal synthesiser system / sample and hold unit, voice bag; vocals & bass on Doin' It, ) James Levi (drums,) Kenneth Nash (percussion,) Ray Parker Jr. (guitar, backing vocals on Doin' It”) and James Gadson (drums on Doin' It).