This album was recorded during a very turbulent time in American History.....assassinations, the Viet Nam War, youthful rebellion all rolled into one. For black Americans the assassinations of Malcolm X (1965) and Martin Luther King (1968) were uppermost in people's minds. Herbie Hancock was no different and for his final album for Blue Note records, Mr. Hancock had to make a sociological and political statement. The album was the first by his own group that he formed after leaving Miles Davis' band and it featured his Sextet with a few extra horns to expand the ensembles. The compositions are complicated, difficult to play and yet very lyrical and listenable. It is not "protest music" that is loud and strident. The people involved are Johnny Coles on flugelhorn, Garnett Brown on trombone,Joe Henderson on tenor saxophone, Buster Williams on bass and Albert "Tootie" heath on drums and Mr. Hancock on piano. There are five compositions, four by Hancock and one by Buster Williams all arranged by Hancock. There are some extra horns to enrich the ensembles as well...a bass trombone, flute and alto flute and bass clarinet.This is a unique album in Hancock's long history and this music has never been revisited since it was recorded in April 1969. It remains one of Mr. Hancock's masterpieces and is our first Black History Month tribute feature. The Prisoner stands alone in Hancock's recorded legacy.

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