{"product_id":"herbie-hancock-takin-off","title":"Herbie Hancock - Takin' Off","description":"\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRecorded in a single day - May 28, 1962, at Rudy Van Gelder's legendary Englewood Cliffs studio - \u003cem\u003eTakin' Off\u003c\/em\u003e is Herbie Hancock's debut as a bandleader, made when the pianist was just twenty-two. Fresh off a run of sideman work with trumpeter Donald Byrd, Hancock assembled a formidable quintet for the occasion: Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, veteran tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon, bassist Butch Warren, and drummer Billy Higgins. All six tracks are Hancock originals, a bold move for a first-time leader, blending the tuneful, blues-rooted feel of classic Blue Note hard bop with a harmonic curiosity and cool, cerebral touch that were already distinctly his own.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe album opens with \"Watermelon Man,\" a deceptively simple, funky theme Hancock wrote with commercial appeal deliberately in mind - advice from his mentor Byrd - and while the original didn't chart, Mongo Santamaría's Latin-jazz cover of it became a Top 10 hit the following year, cementing the tune as a jazz standard Hancock himself would revisit a decade later on \u003cem\u003eHead Hunters\u003c\/em\u003e. The rest of the record, from the exploratory \"The Maze\" and \"Driftin'\" to the spare closing ballad \"Alone and I,\" reveals the deeper story: a young composer already writing with the confidence and imagination that would soon make him one of the defining pianists of the 1960s.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #000000;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eArtist(s): \u003c\/strong\u003ePiano – Herbie Hancock\u003cbr\u003eBass – Butch Warren\u003cbr\u003eDrums – Billy Higgins\u003cbr\u003eTenor Saxophone – Dexter Gordon\u003cbr\u003eTrumpet – Freddie Hubbard\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRecording Info: \u003c\/strong\u003eRecorded on May 28, 1962, at Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey\u003cbr\u003eEngineer: Rudy Van Gelder\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSourced from a Blue Note LP\u003cspan style=\"color: #000000;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #000000;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eComponents used for Transfer:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis transfer leverages precision analog playback and mastering-grade digital conversion. The signal path begins with a VPI HW-40 Anniversary turntable paired with an Ortofon MC Anna cartridge, fed through a Merrill Audio Jens Phono pre-amp for accurate RIAA equalization.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e The analog signal is then converted using a Merging Hapi converter, powered by a Teddy Pardo dedicated linear power supply, synchronized to an Antelope Audio 10MX atomic clock for temporal accuracy. All components receive isolated power conditioning through a Shunyata Research Everest 8000 with Sigma-X cords, while grounding infrastructure utilizes Shunyata ALTAIRA hubs to minimize noise floor and preserve sonic detail throughout the transfer chain.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e1 Watermelon Man 7:05\u003cbr\u003e2 Three Bags Full 5:25\u003cbr\u003e3 Empty Pockets 6:11\u003cbr\u003e4 The Maze 6:46\u003cbr\u003e5 Driftin' 6:56\u003cbr\u003e6 Alone And I 6:28\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cem\u003e\u003cimg height=\"103\" width=\"112\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0778\/3319\/files\/VRR-Logo-for-Blog_480x480.jpg?v=1681127948\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0778\/3319\/files\/dsd256_badge_480x480.png?v=1516987294\" alt=\"\" width=\"110\" height=\"98\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePlease Note: This release was edited in DXD PCM from a DSD256 Master\u003cbr\u003ethen the DXD edited master was used to generate the final DSD files using\u003cbr\u003eMerging Technologies Album Publishing.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDXD (352.8KHz 24\/32 bit PCM) is one of the best and least destructive formats for post-processing DSD originated digital recordings\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCopyright © \u0026amp; ℗ High Definition Tape Transfers 2026, including all compilation, transfer, remastering, and restoration aspects\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ctable width=\"664\" height=\"60\"\u003e\n\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0778\/3319\/files\/Herbie_Hancock_-_Takin_Off_Booklet.pdf?v=1788436997\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cimg width=\"229\" height=\"65\" style=\"float: none;\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0778\/3319\/files\/download_liner_notes_735eceed-201e-4f62-b888-d1fed8b53db5_medium.jpg?3217511782796413000\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/hdtt-samples.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/Herbie+Hancock+-Takin+Off+Sample.flac\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003e\u003cimg width=\"229\" height=\"65\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0778\/3319\/files\/download_Sample_24_96_ce2d27c7-5f84-4e02-8a32-ac81bd7164a7_medium.jpg?1320818084609747374\"\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/hdtt-samples.s3.amazonaws.com\/Handel%2BOvertures%2BRichter%2BLPO+sample.flac\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e \u003c\/a\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/tbody\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #000000;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePlay Sample Tracks\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ciframe width=\"525\" height=\"341\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/hdtt-music-player.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/Herbie+Hancock+-+Takin'+Off\/audioplayer.html\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"High Definition Tape Transfers","offers":[{"title":"DSD256 Direct Stream Digital Download","offer_id":52423200211164,"sku":"HDTT24473","price":26.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"DSD128 Direct Stream Digital Download","offer_id":52423200243932,"sku":"HDTT24472","price":23.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"DSD64 Direct Stream Digital Download","offer_id":52423200276700,"sku":"HDTT24471","price":19.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"24\/352.8 DXD PCM Flac Digital Download","offer_id":52423200309468,"sku":"HDTT24470","price":23.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"24\/192 PCM Flac Digital Download","offer_id":52423200342236,"sku":"HDTT24469","price":19.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"24\/96 PCM Flac Digital Download","offer_id":52423200375004,"sku":"HDTT24468","price":16.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Regular Premium Compact Disc","offer_id":52423200407772,"sku":"HDTT24467","price":23.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Budget Compact Disc","offer_id":52423200440540,"sku":"HDTT24466","price":12.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0778\/3319\/files\/Cover_984088c2-2495-4b28-aa6b-cf72a8656c06.jpg?v=1788435441","url":"https:\/\/www.highdeftapetransfers.ca\/de\/products\/herbie-hancock-takin-off","provider":"High Definition Tape Transfers","version":"1.0","type":"link"}