Sony
1979
V.S.O.P. Live Under The Sky
About This Album
Herbie Hancock's V.S.O.P. project with his former bandmates from the Miles Davis Quintet -- Ron Carter, Wayne Shorter, Tony Williams -- and trumpeter Freddie Hubbard was a band that almost single-handedly tried to re-establish acoustic jazz in the United States. And though they made three recordings, all of which were favorably reviewed and heralded by true jazz fans, none of them sold very well, and the band could find few gigs in the United States. The 1978 tour of major cities was thought to be a triumph at the time, but the unit could find few gigs afterward, and so its various members all went back to their other projects. In 1979, they got the opportunity to tour Japan and jumped at the chance. Sony, Hancock's Japanese label, recorded the two evenings, and the first, which took place during a furious rainstorm, was broadcast live on national television! Live Under the Sky marks the first time that this album has been available in the United States in any form. The original album featured eight cuts, and was minus the set's opener, "Eye of the Hurricane." That has been remedied with the 2004 reissue, and in addition, Legacy, in its usual fine manner, has added as a bonus the entire second night concert on a second disc (with encores), making this a complete historical document of one of the most exciting jazz concerts of the late '70s, and a high-water mark in each of the participant's catalogs.
Track List

Disc 1 (try track 2)

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Disc 2 (try tracks 4 and 7)

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