Dedication by Herbie Hancock is an anomalous entry in the discography of the revered jazz-fusion
keyboardist. The album was recorded over the course of a single day, in the middle of a tour of Japan at
Koseinekin Hall in Tokyo, and for years would be available exclusively in Japan. Produced a month ahead of his
1974 studio album Thrust, the follow-up to his career-defining album Head Hunters, Dedication's tracks were
noteworthy for how drastically different they were from the material that followed. Gone was the
dangerously funked-out rhythm section goodness of the Headhunters; instead Hancock is alone, performing four
solo pieces on grand piano, electric keys, and synthesizer.
Side one features Hancock at his most introspective, featuring romantic, ballad-like takes on two of his 60s
pieces: "Maiden Voyage", and "Dolphin Dance." Side two, on the other hand, is almost a polar opposite,
utilizing early techno rhythms through Fender Rhodes electric keyboards, and the sample-and-hold features of
the ARP 2600 synthesizer, rendering spacey, exploratory jams such as the original track "Nobu", and
an electro-funky take on "Cantaloupe Island". (Two tracks which predicted Hancock's eventual electro-funk
dominance in the 1980s.)
A unique and momentous obscurity of Herbie Hancock's catalog, Dedication has never seen a vinyl release
outside of Japan prior to now. Nearly 30 years later, Get On Down has sought to allay that, with a premium-grade
Record Store Day reissue worthy of any jazz collector's archives, or any crate digger's armament.
