Empyrean Isles

This article is about the 1964 Herbie Hancock album. For the location in Ancient Greek cosmology, see Empyrean.

Empyrean Isles
Studio album by Herbie Hancock
Released	November 1964 [1]
Recorded	June 17, 1964
Studio	Van Gelder Studio (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey)
Genre	Hard bop modal jazz soul jazz
Length	35:20
Label	Blue Note
Producer	Alfred Lion
Herbie Hancock chronology
Inventions & Dimensions (1963) Empyrean Isles (1964) Maiden Voyage (1965)

Empyrean Isles is the fourth studio album by American jazz pianist Herbie Hancock, released on Blue Note Records in November 1964. ^{[2] [3]} The album features Hancock alongside trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, bassist Ron Carter, and drummer Tony Williams.

Recording and composition

Empyrean Isles was recorded at Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, on June 17, 1964. ^[4] Freddie Hubbard played cornet rather than his typical trumpet on the session. ^[4] The four compositions on the album, including the future standard "Cantaloupe Island", are Hancock originals written over a two-year period. ^[5]

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[5]
Down Beat	[6]
Jazz Journal	[7]
Jazzwise	[8]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide	[9]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz	[10]

The Penguin Guide to Jazz awarded Empyrean Isles four out of four stars. ^[10]

AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album five out of five stars, calling it "a record that officially established Hancock as a major artist in his own right." ^[5]

Track listing

Original release

All tracks are written by Herbie Hancock.

Side 1

No.	Title	Length
1.	"One Finger Snap"	7:20
2.	"Oliloqui Valley"	8:28

Side 2

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Cantaloupe Island"	5:32
2.	"The Egg"	14:00
Total length:		35:20

1999 CD reissue

All tracks are written by Herbie Hancock.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"One Finger Snap"	7:20
2.	"Oliloqui Valley"	8:28
3.	"Cantaloupe Island"	5:32
4.	"The Egg"	14:00
5.	"One Finger Snap" (alternate take)	7:37
6.	"Oliloqui Valley" (alternate take)	10:47

Personnel

• Herbie Hancock – piano
• Freddie Hubbard – cornet
• Ron Carter – double bass
• Tony Williams – drums

Technical personnel

• Alfred Lion – producer
• Rudy Van Gelder – engineer
• Reid Miles – design
• Francis Wolff – photography
• Nora Kelly – liner notes

Charts

Chart performance for Empyrean Isles

Chart (2023)	Peak position
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [11]	67

References

1. Billboard Dec 5, 1964
2. DiMartino, Dave (2016). Music in the 20th Century (3 Vol Set). Routledge. p. 273. ISBN   978-1-317-46430-3 . Retrieved December 16, 2019.
3. Salzman, Jack; Smith, David L.; West, Cornel (1996). Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History. Macmillan Library Reference. p. 1185. ISBN   978-0-02-897365-4 . Retrieved December 16, 2019.
4. Herbie Hancock: Empyrean Isles (CD liner notes). Blue Note Records. 98796.
5. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (2011). "Empyrean Isles - Herbie Hancock | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved June 26, 2011.
6. Down Beat: February 25, 1965 vol. 32, no. 5
7. Jones, Dave (June 20, 2019). "Herbie Hancock: Empyrean Isles". Jazz Journal . Retrieved February 3, 2024.
8. Nicholson, Stuart. "Herbie Hancock: Empyrean Isles". Jazzwise . Retrieved February 3, 2024.
9. Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 93. ISBN   0-394-72643-X.
10. Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 641. ISBN   978-0-141-03401-0.
11. "Offiziellecharts.de – Herbie Hancock – Empyrean Isles" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved March 24, 2023.