Exploring the music of Herbie Hancock's Mwandishi Band

Bob Gluck is in the process of writing a book about the history and aesthetics of this band, tentatively titled "You'll Know When You Get There: Herbie Hancock's Mwandishi Band." This year he is at work on the final manuscript, which is under contract with The University of Chicago Press.

New: blog about the writing of the upcoming book - http://bobgluck.wordpress.com

Herbie Hancock's "Mwandishi" band (1970-1973) was a remarkably creative and exploratory ensemble. Continuing, yet extending the open approach of Miles Davis' second quintet, of which Herbie Hancock was a member, the band approached every performance as if its repertoire could bring forth something totally new. And often it did. Time magazine named their first recording one of its album's of the year, describing it as "what jazz might have sounded like if it had come up the river from Darmstadt, that European mecca of the avant garde, instead of New Orleans." While this description misses Mwandishi's profound grounding in black music, Mwandishi indeed represented an early true integration of electroacoustic musical sounds and sensibilities with jazz improvisation. The band consisted of Herbie Hancock (electric piano and electronics), Buster Williams (bass), Billy Hart (drums), Patrick Gleeson (synthesizer), Bennie Maupin (sax), Julian Priester (trombone) and Eddie Henderson (trumpet).

Bob Gluck is in the process of writing a book about the history and aesthetics of this band, tentatively titled "You'll Know When You Get There: Herbie Hancock's Mwandishi Band." This year he is at work on the final manuscript, which is under contract with The University of Chicago Press.

Selections from interviews for the book

Herbie Hancock (piano, electric piano and electronics): "That was a remarkable band, and great people. There were so many phenomenal things that happened then... There was a lot of faith in that band: faith in each other, faith in each of our abilities."

Billy Hart (drums): "I never enjoyed music as much, before or since. It was almost a miracle musical experience. Itıs hard to put it in words. You could say it was spiritual, but it was so sensually pleasurable that I dare not put it in the same words. He's an extraordinary musician, even among extraordinary musicians. And that means that heıs an extraordinary person, too."

Julian Priester (trombone): "There were no restrictions ... what we are performing was really based on what everyone else is performing. Everyone is contributing to this unique sound. Everyone is listening to each other, leaving our egos out of the process, just responding to what the overall group invents."

Buster Williams (bass): "We all got on the bandstand every night with the willingness to be transcended and to be directed by the music itself ... The music itself was very spiritual in that it transcended the plane, our bodies, the plain of laity."

Eddie Henderson (trumpet): "It was one of a kind, musically, individually and personally and the interaction that we all had together was something that I had never experienced in my life... It was like a family. We loved each other; we hated each other; weıd get mad. But as soon as the music would start, all was forgiven."

Patrick Gleeson (synthesizer): "[When I joined this Afrocentric band] I felt like Iıd gone home. I felt like Iıd found my place. This is where I belong. This was right ... Herbie, early on, said to me, you know, sometimes when I play something - a collection of notes as a chord, say - I don't have much of a idea what it's going to sound like. But I just do it and then deal with where things are then."

David Rubinson (producer): "Herbieıs a guy who has no boundaries ... On the Mwandishi recordings] his creativity was exposed to the entire creative process of making records and making music. He was insightful and he just opened up like a flower. It was incredible Š once you understand the power of the studio, you can create a vision incorporating those possibilities."

Fred Catero (engineer): "Herbie paid a dear price in the early days for being a visionary. He was a trendsetter. In the jazz world you have certain rules, you donıt step over a line. Otherwise youıre not jazz. But Herbie had a curiosity about him. He was interested in things. As the electronic instruments became more prevalent and better, he became more interested in those. The same with recording techniques; he wanted to experiment. He wanted to try things."
An article by British DJ/Producer Kirk Degiorgio about the Mwandishi band was recent published in the periodical Wax Poetics. Degiorgio is also author of a hoped for re-release of "Mwandishi: The Complete Warner Brothers Recordings," which includes the first two Mwandishi recordings, "Mwandishi" and "Crossings," plus "Fat Albert Rotunda," but not "Sextant," which was released by Columbia Records. The original recordings continue to be available individually.

Sample graphic score by Bob Gluck

For a glimpse of how Patrick Gleeson interpolated sound design from his Moog III synthesizer into the studio recording of 'Water Torture' (Maupin) from Herbie Hancock's 'Crossings', before joining the touring band:

Playing the music

After transcribing tunes from the three Mwandishi recordings, listening carefully to those and other available tapes and writing descriptive notes, Bob realized that he could extend what he was learning by actually performing some of the music. One thing led to another and he has now performed most of the band's repertoire. You'll find some examples of the results on this page. Bob thinks of these recordings as interpretations rather than "covers" of the music. How better to honor the spirit in which this music was composed and performed than to bring oneself to the music, seeking to discover something new every time around?

Bob Gluck's interpretations of Mwandishi music

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