While Herbie Hancock had been recording brilliant albums for Blue Note since 1961, Speak Like A Child was made right after he left the Miles Davis Quintet and became a very powerful musical force as a bandleader. Speak Like A Child was Hancock’s musical vision, the music that he had dreamed of for years. Definitive audiophile mastering by Kevin Gray and Steve Hoffman from Original Master Tapes!

Beautiful, dreamy, but also creative and intense, with complex instrumentation that remains light and swift, just like a child. Perfect album from Herbie Hancock genius mind and stunning piano skills. Must have music sounding better than ever before!

The tonalities and harmonies were achieved by voicing together the unique frontline of flugelhorn, bass trombone and alto flute, and the results are quite dreamlike. Speak Like A Child welcomes listeners to the magical musical world of Herbie Hancock, a place where catchy melodies co-exist with his adventurous and utterly unpredictable solos, where his pent-up musical desires were finally being let loose, and where the haunting atmosphere is both calming and inwardly passionate. Nothing like this had ever been heard before, in jazz or in music.

"Speak Like a Child is a transitional album, in more ways than one. Originally released in 1968, it is only somewhat reflective of the rapidly changing musical and political fashions of the day. More to the point it spotlights a particularly emotive Herbie Hancock on the eve of his own transformation, looking backwards over the preceding decade with no small melancholy.

There will probably always be a breed of jazz purists who curse the day that jazz took note of the upstart rock and roll. Certainly, listening to the sophisticated and eminently satisfying post-bop swing on this disc, it's not hard to see how the advent of fusion just a year or two later could have been seen as a visceral betrayal. This is, for the most part, gentle and spry music, the sound of six confident musicians in easy rapport. The album title itself is an exhortation towards the past, and the song titles (the title track, 'Toys,' and 'Farewell to Childhood') tell a similar story of regretful maturity at odds with the perpetual impulse towards stasis and comfort." - PopMatters 2005

• Limited Edition
• Only 1500 non-numbered Units available Worldwide
• Remastered from the Original Rudy Van Gelder Blue Note Master Tapes
• Remastered by Kevin Gray and Steve Hoffman at AcousTech
• Cut by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio
• Double LP Cut at 45rpm for ultimate dynamics
• 180 gram Virgin Vinyl pressed at RTI USA
• Ultra-Durable Extra Thick Album Covers
• Gatefold Album with Session Photos in stunning High Resolution

Musicians:

Herbie Hancock, piano
Thad Jones, flugelhorn
Ron Carter, bass
Peter Phillips, bass trombone
Jerry Douglas, alto flute
Mickey Roker, drums

Track Listing:

1. Riot
2. Speak Like A Child
3. First Trip
4. Toys
5. Foodbye To Childhood
6. The Sorcerer

Click here to listen to samples on AllMusic.com