This first episode of Season 7 of the VMP Anthology Podcast introduces some of the folks we’ll hear from this season sharing their thoughts on Herbie Hancock’s artistry, what makes him special, and why he’s such a joy to work with. We start with Wayne Shorter, Larry Klein, and Ron Carter, and hear from Bernie Grundman, who remastered this box set, as well as Robert Glasper and Corinne Bailey Rae.

Without further ado, here’s the Story of Herbie Hancock.

In this episode, we cover the first two albums in your VMP Anthology box set: Takin’ Off and Maiden Voyage. In this episode we’ll hear how Herbie lying about his draft status helped him get into the Blue Note studio, and stories of making Takin’ Off and Maiden Voyage, and in between we’ll hear from legendary bassist Ron Carter, who played on Maiden Voyage, and singer Corinne Bailey Rae, who shares her love of early Herbie here.