Watch: Herbie Hancock, Wah Wah Watson and Bennie Maupin let loose on Danish TV in 1976

By the mid-1970s, Herbie Hancock had left bop and post-bop behind as he grew increasingly fascinated with electric keyboards and early synthesizers. Long a genre-straddling innovator, Hancock embraced instrumental funk and rhythm-powered experimental avenues on his 1975 album Man-Child and, a year later, Secrets. With a secure, fruitful relationship with Columbia Records, Hancock set about changing the sound and vibe of jazz.

He’d also built a stellar band:

Herbie Hancock – keyboards
Melvin “Wah Wah Watson” Ragin – guitar
Bennie Maupin – saxophone, woodwinds
Paul Jackson – bass
James Levi – drums

In a 1976 interview, Hancock explained that “other things that make the character of this music different than other directions I’ve been involved with in the past is the fact that I’ve got a bunch of keyboards around me when I’m performing this music.”

Adding that drummer Tony Williams turned him onto synthesizers, Hancock said that “in a way, it was sort of a natural evolution for me because not only have I always been interested in sound and its possibilities, but I’ve got this streak in me that that likes electronics. This is a carryover from when I wanted to be an engineer. I love gadgets and I love buttons. And I got plenty of gadgets and plenty of buttons around me. And they really helped me to make the kind of music that I want to make.”

This is all evident in the 40-minute broadcast. Of particular note: Hancock introduces “Gentle Thoughts” as “a song written by Wah Wah Watson that tells us what happens in the minds of gentle people.” The band then rips through a jazz-funk ripper that, to these ears, peaks at Maupin’s glorious sax solo and the move to Hancock’s solo, all guided by Watson’s remarkable wah-wah strum tone. Their set:

“Hang Up Your Hang Ups” (from Man-Child, 1975)
“Gentle Thoughts” (from Secrets, 1976)
“Spider” (from Secrets)