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The Harmonic and Rhythmic Language of Herbie Hancock's 1970s Fender Rhodes Solos

2009; Routledge; Volume: 3; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/17494060902778126

1749-4079

Jon Opstad,

Music Technology and Sound Studies

Herbie Hancock's Fender Rhodes electric piano solos of the 1970s, recorded primarily within the jazz‐funk contexts of his Headhunters band and other projects (on albums such as Head Hunters, Flood, Man‐Child, and others), represent a high‐point of improvisation over groove‐based forms. These solos built on the developments of Hancock's piano work from the 1960s to reach new heights of harmonic and rhythmic sophistication. Predominantly in riff‐driven settings based on a single harmonic area or few chord changes, he masterfully balanced elements of tension and release over this, with elaborate harmonic development and rhythmic modulation juxtaposed against his harmonically and metrically stable backings, drawing on both jazz and funk aesthetics. This article explores these solos from an analytical perspective, aiming to identify specific harmonic and rhythmic devices and shed new light on this period of Hancock's output.