Stephen Mejias

Rockit!

Stephen Mejias  |  Mar 3, 2008

Yesterday's episode of Sunday Morning on CBS included a segment with Herbie Hancock, whose River: The Joni Letters won two big prizes at the 50th annual Grammy Awards: Album of the Year and Best Contemporary Jazz Album.

I'm sort of sorry to say that, for some time, my idea of Herbie Hancock had been inextricably tied to terrifying images of masturbating mannequins, some turntable scratching, and a goofy-sounding Moog.

I was five years old. To this day, the word "rockit" sends me to a very weird place, makes me feel kind of icky, totally creeps me out. After seeing the segment on Sunday Morning, however, I feel the need to run out and explore Hancock's earlier work. Takin' Off, Maiden Voyage, and Head Hunters seem essential.

There was something else about the segment, though, that caught my interest. In the background of one of the frames, I noticed what appeared to be a familiar pair of loudspeakers. A quick Google search confirmed my suspicions: Herbie Hancock listens to Tetra 606 loudspeakers, big brothers of the 505s, which we reviewed in August 2005.

COMMENTS
john devore's picture
Submitted by john devore (not verified) on March 3, 2008 - 3:06pm

It was Headhunters that got me into HH--man that's a killer record. All three of those records (Headhunters, Thrust and Man-Child) were some heavily deep, funky shit.

Stephen Mejias's picture
Submitted by Stephen Mejias (not verified) on March 4, 2008 - 6:43am

Cool. Thanks very much, John. I will check out this trilogy of deep funk.

rvance's picture
Submitted by rvance (not verified) on March 5, 2008 - 11:19am

John, Thanks for jogging the tweaked synapses in my dusty brain. Man-Child was my first HH- on a pair of Quad 57's in 1975. We were bhanged up white boys lost in the funky blues!

Toni Miller's picture
Submitted by Toni Miller (not verified) on March 28, 2008 - 6:34am

There is a very good reason why Herbie bought the 606s -- they are exceptional listening instruments. Rob Fraboni(producer for the Stones, Dylan, et al) uses his 606s for mastering. Indeed, I'm the proud owner of 506s and cannot wait to upgrade to 606s. Cheers,TM

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