Album of the Day

A Kennedy Center honoree on this day in 2013, keyboardist Herbie Hancock first came to prominence in Miles Davis' quintet, going solo in the late 1960s as the legendary trumpeter began exploring jazz fusion. Herbie's own exploration of that sound can be heard on a trio of albums he cut for Warner Bros. concluding with 1972's CROSSINGS. That set consists of three epic workouts: Hancock's side-long five-part suite “Sleeping Giant” and saxophonist Bennie Maupin's “Quasar” and “Water Torture.” Though about half of the sextet here are horn players,  Patrick Gleeson's Moog and Herbie's work on electric piano and Mellotron steer things straight into outer space. Featuring soundscapes that are by turns beautifully alluring, funky and just plain weird, CROSSINGS is ripe for rediscovery by electronic fans as well as jazz buffs.