Often, the music doesn't follow conventional patterns, but that doesn't mean that it's alienating or inaccessible. It is certainly challenging, but Hancock's compositions (and his arrangement of Charles Williams' 'Firewater') have enough melody and space to allow listeners into the album. Throughout the record, Hancock, Coles, and Henderson exchange provocative, unpredictable solos that build upon the stark melodies and sober mood of the music.

 

The Blue Note Tone Poet Series was born out of Blue Note President Don Was' admiration for the exceptional audiophile Blue Note LP reissues presented by Music Matters. Was brought Joe Harley (from Music Matters), a.k.a. the "Tone Poet," on board to curate and supervise a series of reissues from the Blue Note family of labels.

 

Released in 1969, Herbie Hancock's album, The Prisoner, is a powerful but overlooked masterpiece. A moving tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, this nonet session features some of the most exceptional instrumentalists in jazz including Joe Henderson, Johnny Coles and more. Hancock said of The Prisoner: "I've been able to get closer to the real me with this album than on any other previous one." Blue Note Tone Poet Series features all-analog, remastered 180-gram vinyl in deluxe gatefold packaging.

 

 

1. I Have A Dream

2. The Prisoner

3. Firewater

4. He Who Lives In Fear

5. Promise Of The Sun