This has been a desert island disc for me for as long as I can remember. Can you call this jazz? Can you even call it music? It's something that feels like a whole lot more. This music teems with life, people, thought, emotion, creativity, joy, and insane energy like no jazz I've ever heard before or since. And Ron Carter flat out rocks the bottom out of it on acoustic bass. Give these guys a nobel.

The two selections that always kill me are "Jessica" and the hard rocking "Lawra". Jessica features a beautiful arrangement: the bass plays the lovely and poignant melody solo, accompanied by rich, dissonant, single note arpeggios from Hancock which lay out the complex terrain the soloists will then negotiate. Later, the bass is doubled by the trumpet which refines the texture even more.

The same group did a poignant and deeply beautiful version of Maiden Voyage on another live album called "VSOP" but that recording exists only on vinyl. Still the live version of Maiden Voyage is available on some compilation CD. Get it and live well!

This jazz is not a set of solos with other instrumentalists passively watching. Hancock, the Socrates of this group, pushes the band into a state of musical aporia: he doesn't accompany solos, he questions them, challenging each musician with his absurdly inventive figures; and he's coming with both jazz and modern western musical arguments. And when it's his solo he dives deeply into the darkest part of the woods and then, when you think he's lost, he's emerged out into the bright light.

Tony Williams seems to be playing in a state of ecstasy: he pounds new worlds into being and the horns have to dance in his garden or die. Ron Carter rocks out on acoustic bass - he keeps the pulse and he untethers Williams and Hancock to play with the rhythm and meter.

Hubbard plays superb and complex music on his solos; Wayne Shorter then steps beyond music and shows us that a horn can be as expressive as natural language.

Essentially a second quintet ghost band, VSOP sounds better in 2003 than it did in 1977. One of Freddie Hubbard's last great outings before he blew out his lip, it's too his credit that he doesn't try to emulate Miles as closely as say a Wallace Roney does. For me. Delores and Third Plane are standouts but the band is in fine form and the interplay between Tony Williams and Herbie reaches many of the same heights as on Live at the Plugged Nickel.

I personally enjoy listening to this album because of it's sound quality. Obviously due to the stellar line-up the improvisation would be good and it certainly exceeds this expectation. But this album goes further. It has the best sound of any live recording I have heard. Hancock's piano can be heard swirling away over every subtle nuance of William's ferocius drumming. Carter's bass is heard amazingly well. I amagine he would have been using a fingerboard pickup aswell as the bridge pickup to get the sound of his bass' deep rumblings. Being a bassplayer myself i am pleased with this outcome. As always the horns of Hubbard and Shorter ring out loud and clear.
Overall I recommend that you purchase this album whether you be a fan of Hard Bop, Be Bop, Free Bop or even perhaps Fusion.

The musicians in the VSOP quintet, Freddie Hubbard, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Tony Williams all played on numerous records with each other in the 60's, sometimes all together, sometimes one or two or three with other musicians. In any form, their albums were always exceptional. In the late 70's, after nearly a decade of experimentation with jazz fusion (Shorter's Weather Report, Hancock's Headhunters, William's Lifetime Band, etc.) the five reunited for several albums and tours. The music they made was nothing short of incredible.

If the group had remained as a solid, tight "band" for a long period of time, like Miles Davis' quintets of the late 50's and middle 60's, or Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, VSOP would have undoubtedly be recognized as one of the most influential and finest working bands in jazz history. On this album, the group combines freebop with a bit of what they had picked up in fusion...more erratic drums, a heavier sound, etc. It all comes together beautifully to create an album that really builds off the aesthetic of 1960's Miles Davis. Everyone is top notch here, with no one stealing the show, and no one lagging behind. Each band member contributes at least one tune. My personal favorite is One of a Kind by Freddie Hubbard (which features a luminous soprano solo by Shorter) Third Plane by Ron Carter (excellent solos all around) Dolores by Shorter (Hubbard's finest moment here, IMO, and the churning group improvisation of Darts.

What's really fantastic about this band, and this album, is the LISTENING. They are all picking up on what each other is doing, and thus are constantly building, slowing down, picking things back up, burning, cooling off, all as one. Hearing Hubbard and Hancock interact, Shorter and Williams duel, and Ron Carter at like the unbreakable tree in the storm is just inspiring. This really is freebop (or however you term it) at it's best, and for anyone well versed in the jazz language, and who has heard the music of these players, this is quite simply a stunning, and immensely enjoyable listening experience. I find myself invigorated when I listen to this album, and I think you will too. My only sadness is the days of this band are gone, and will never return, as Hubbard can no longer play, Ron Carter is in semi-retirement, Williams has passed on, and Shorter and Hancock are involved in other activities. Thus, it's imperative people listen to albums like these, so we can always treasure the moments of glory created when these five exquisite musicians were in the same band, working together to create one of the highest forms of aural art: jazz.

I actually heard this album before I was familiar with Miles Davis's mid-sixties work, so at the time I had no idea of the collective history of these musicians. All I knew was that this music was different, sometimes in subtle ways, from anything I'd ever heard before. Every member had a level of technique that implied many years of lessons and practice--but all that skill was put in service of music that could be breathtakingly simple. (Or not. Sometimes they rip the joint up.) In other words, they'd studied at the school of Miles.
Here, of course, Miles's place is taken by Freddie Hubbard, a formidable talent in his own right. The overall blend is nearly perfect, with each member contributing compositions. As expected, each member is both an accomplished soloist and a sympathetic accompanist. And the previous years of playing together provide a solid foundation for this work. There is not a single false move in the seventy-plus minutes of live performance captured here.
So, no secret: I love this stuff. Why should you? Because this is real artistry, not entertainment. Which is not to say it's ponderous--just deep. And about as alive as anything you'll ever hear.