Music Monday: Herbie Is More Than Rockit

There are some artists who have a body of work that is far better and deeper than the average person knows about. They end up making a splash with a song that is wildly popular, but far from representative of their work.

Like many of my age, my first exposure to Herbie was with his groundbreaking song RockIt. I don't mean to minimize the importance of RockIt (which won Grammies and spawned a generation of break dancers and music that used technology in new ways), but that was a brief phase in Herbie's amazing career.

The Miles Davis Years: So What

My main MO for finding great jazz musicians is to start with Miles Davis and work my way out. He played with amazing people who went on to have stellar careers. Herbie's work with Miles was a great beginning.

Post-Davis Bop (Maiden Voyage and Empyrean Isles): Cantaloupe Island

These two albums are musts for anyone who wants to dip their toe in the jazz river. The hook in Cantaloupe Island is tremendous.

Fusion: Chamelion part 1 and part 2

Headhunters is accessible, funky, and fun.

(relatively) Modern Work

Rockit (love the video)

With Wayne Shorter: Aung San Suu Kyi (part 1 and part 2)

Herbie has done a ton of work since the 80's, so I have lots of work to do catching up with him.