For his third album,
Inventions and Dimensions,
Herbie Hancock changed course dramatically. Instead of recording another multifaceted album like
My Point of View, he explored a
Latin-inflected variation of
post-bop with a small quartet.
Hancock is the main harmonic focus of the music -- his three colleagues are bassist
Paul Chambers, drummer
Willie Bobo, and percussionist
Osvaldo "Chihuahua" Martinez, who plays conga and bongo. It is true that the music is rhythm-intensive, but that doesn't mean it's dance music.
Hancock has created an
improvisational atmosphere where the rhythms are fluid and the chords, harmonies, and melodies are unexpected. On every song but one, the melodies and chords were improvised, with
Hancock's harmonic ideas arising from the rhythms during the recording. The result is risky, unpredictable music that is intensely cerebral and quite satisfying.
Inventions and Dimensions displays his willingness to experiment and illustrates that his playing is reaching new, idiosyncratic heights. Listening to this, the subsequent developments of
Miles Davis' invitation to join his quartet and the challenging
Empyrean Isles come as no surprise. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
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