Sound-System (album)
Encyclopedia
Sound-System is the thirty-sixth album
by jazz
pianist
Herbie Hancock
and the second of three albums with the Rockit Band.
.
Winning his second Grammy award for Best R&B Performance (his second-straight award), this album tried to capture the success of the previous Future Shock, with some more twists and turns.
"Junku" for instance, featured Foday Musa Suso
and also was written for the 1984 Winter Olympics
in Sarajevo
. It also was used during Hancock's appearance on the long-running NBC
Saturday Night Live
.
"Sound System" sounded like "Junku" in many ways, while "Karabali" featured Wayne Shorter
(playing a lyricon
, instead of a traditional saxophone
) and went back to the days of Hancock's African themed Mwandishi band.
Bonus Track from CD reissue
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
by jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
pianist
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
and the second of three albums with the Rockit Band.
About the Album
The second of the three Rockit band albums, Sound-System was another smash for Herbie HancockHerbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
.
Winning his second Grammy award for Best R&B Performance (his second-straight award), this album tried to capture the success of the previous Future Shock, with some more twists and turns.
"Junku" for instance, featured Foday Musa Suso
Foday Musa Suso
Foday Musa Suso is a musician and composer from the West African nation of Gambia. He is a member of the Mandinka ethnic group, and is a jali...
and also was written for the 1984 Winter Olympics
1984 Winter Olympics
The 1984 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIV Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated from 8–19 February 1984 in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. Other candidate cities were Sapporo, Japan; and Gothenburg, Sweden...
in Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
. It also was used during Hancock's appearance on the long-running NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
.
"Sound System" sounded like "Junku" in many ways, while "Karabali" featured Wayne Shorter
Wayne Shorter
Wayne Shorter is an American jazz saxophonist and composer.He is generally acknowledged to be jazz's greatest living composer, and many of his compositions have become standards...
(playing a lyricon
Lyricon
The Lyricon is an electronic wind instrument, the first wind controller to be constructed.Invented by Bill Bernardi , it was manufactured by a company called Computone Inc in Massachusetts...
, instead of a traditional saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
) and went back to the days of Hancock's African themed Mwandishi band.
Track listing
- "Hardrock" (Herbie Hancock, Bill Laswell, Derek Showard) - 6:10
- "Metal Beat" (Herbie Hancock, Bill Laswell) - 4:56
- "Karabali" (Herbie Hancock, Daniel Poncé) - 5:17
- "Junku" (Herbie Hancock, Bill Laswell, Foday Musa Suso, Aiyb Dieng) - 5:32
- "People are Changing" (Timmy Thomas) - 6:05
- "Sound System" (Herbie Hancock, Bill Laswell, Foday Musa Suso) - 5:55
Bonus Track from CD reissue
- "Metal Beat (Extended Version)" (Herbie Hancock, Bill Laswell) - 6:44
Musicians
- Herbie HancockHerbie HancockHerbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
: PianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, synthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments... - Bill LaswellBill LaswellBill Laswell is an American bassist, producer and record label owner....
: Electric bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, drum programming, tapesTapesTapes is a small city in Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, near to Porto Alegre. It's good for sailing, windsurfing, kitesurfing.... - D.S.T.Grand Mixer DXTGrand Mixer DXT is an American turntablist. He was formely known as Grand Mixer D.ST. "D.ST" is a reference to Manhattan, New York City's Delancey Street on the Lower East Side...
: TurntablesPhonographThe phonograph record player, or gramophone is a device introduced in 1877 that has had continued common use for reproducing sound recordings, although when first developed, the phonograph was used to both record and reproduce sounds...
, "FX" - Nicky SkopelitisNicky SkopelitisNicky Skopelitis is an American guitarist and composer from Greek heritage. He is best known as a guitarist, but also performs on banjo, oud, lute, keyboards and other instruments....
: GuitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, electric drums - Henry KaiserHenry Kaiser (musician)Henry Kaiser is an American guitarist and composer.Recording and performing prolifically in many styles of music, Kaiser is a fixture on the San Francisco Bay Area music scene. He is considered a member of the "first generation" of American free improvisers.-Biography:His grandfather was the...
: Guitar - Bernard FowlerBernard FowlerBernard Fowler is an American musician, songwriter, producer, and actor. He has provided backing vocals with The Rolling Stones for over 20 years on recordings and tours, and has been a featured guest vocalist on the majority of solo albums released by the members of that band. He has also been a...
: vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, vocal arrangements - Wayne ShorterWayne ShorterWayne Shorter is an American jazz saxophonist and composer.He is generally acknowledged to be jazz's greatest living composer, and many of his compositions have become standards...
: LyriconLyriconThe Lyricon is an electronic wind instrument, the first wind controller to be constructed.Invented by Bill Bernardi , it was manufactured by a company called Computone Inc in Massachusetts... - Toshinori KondoToshinori KondoToshinori Kondo is an avant-garde jazz and jazz fusion trumpeter. He resides in Tokyo, New York City, and Amsterdam....
: TrumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air... - Anton FierAnton FierAnton Fier, , is an American drummer, composer and bandleader. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio.Fier was an early member of The Lounge Lizards and The Feelies. He was in The Lodge , worked with Pere Ubu, was briefly in the Voidoids and founded The Golden Palominos...
: drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration... - Daniel Poncé: Percussion
- Foday Musa SusoFoday Musa SusoFoday Musa Suso is a musician and composer from the West African nation of Gambia. He is a member of the Mandinka ethnic group, and is a jali...
: Percussion, guitar, various instruments - Aïyb DiengAïyb DiengAïyb Dieng is a Senegalese drummer and percussionist specializing in hand drums. He has recorded one solo album , and has worked with a wide range of musicians but is perhaps best known for his long-term association with prolific bassist/producer Bill Laswell.-Biography:He was born and raised in...
: Percussion - Hamid DrakeHamid DrakeHamid Drake is an American jazz drummer and percussionist. He lives in Chicago, IL but spends much of his time traveling around the world for concerts and studio dates....
: cymbalCymbalCymbals are a common percussion instrument. Cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys; see cymbal making for a discussion of their manufacture. The greater majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sound a...
s - Will Alexander: FairlightFairlightFairlight is a digital audio company based in Sydney, Australia. In 1979 they created the Fairlight CMI, the first digital audio sampler, quickly used by artists such as Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush, and Jean Michel Jarre. They are now a manufacturer of media solutions tools such as digital audio...
programming - Rob Stevens: Programming
External links
- Sound-System at DiscogsDiscogsDiscogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...