About

In the 1970s, Herbie Hancock’s "Crossings" was to be found on every IKEA record shelf in the student pads of jazz-fusion fans. The cover, with its psychedelic touch, also contributed significantly to its popularity – although it was unclear where the crossing was going to take us …

Nevertheless, the excellent trumpeter Eddie Henderson – often underestimated as an improviser and composer, and Benny Maupin – who like Hancock had grown up under Miles Davis’s wing, present a wide range of sound-generating instruments – as was all the rage in those days. Synthesizer and Mellotron (a polyphonic tape replay keyboard and as such practically the prototype of the sampler) were permanent members of the group – and even produce here melodic arches of sound! Whether Bennie Maupin’s "Quasar" launches the group and us into extraterrestrial territory (as stated in one review) is a moot point.

This LP is a contemporary historical document, though it certainly doesn’t sound antiquated. That’s why younger listeners too will find pleasure in this experiment from the previous millennium.

This Speakers Corner LP was remastered using pure analogue components only, from the master tapes through to the cutting head. All royalties and mechanical rights have been paid. – Speakers Corner Records

“Tribal insanity - tribal marches - start “Sleeping Giants” off with a bang. Tribal marches laced with electronic sonic sounds. This track is the centerpiece of this album. Encapsulated within this song is all of “Crossings” themes, textures, attitudes, and intentions. Seemingly off-beat, rhythmic and rapid clanging coupled with gyrating improv keyboard play that just grooves. If there is any trace of funk on this album it is stored in “Sleeping Giants”. This over-twenty-minute-long song drives into a hastening competition between each band-mate to out-groove each other, and just when you think our star Herbie is winning this competition you are pulled back by a refrain built on solemn, aware, and present trumpeteering. Shades of intelligent melancholy resonate in this refrain and appears throughout this escapade. Sorrow, tribal pride, funky grooves - this song feels like a display-case for Hancock’s internal everything. There is no solitudinous direction… only glimpses of Hancock and co. The result is a range of atmospheres to contemplate... all of which are good.” – Sputnik Music

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