Takin' Off

Takin’ Off marked Herbie Hancock’s first album under his own name. All of the compositions are by the pianist himself, who is backed by an exceptional group including Freddie Hubbard, Dexter Gordon, Butch Warren, and Billy Higgins. The album includes “Watermelon Man,” one of Hancock’s best-known compositions, which crossed over to the pop charts and quickly became a jazz standard, later covered by artists such as Mongo Santamaria. Pressed on 180-gram red vinyl, this edition also includes striking photographs by Jean-Pierre Leloir, offering a visual portrait of the early 1960s jazz scene.