NOW is the band's much anticipated follow-up, which carries on their unique brand of Choir-fronted Hip-Hop-meets-Gospel/Jazz Liberation Music ' very much a modern day echo of the Harlem Freedom Singers and/or Eddie Gale's Black Rhythm Happening.
The Prisoner is Herbie Hancock's final jazz album. The title tracks and liner notes comment on the struggles of black America emerging from early '60s, an extended metaphor of The Prisoner, rising from MLK's “I have Dream” to the “Promise of the Sun“.
1964 was momentous for saxophonist Wayne Shorter, starting the year in Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers before making his own debut (Night Dreamer/JuJu). He joined the Miles Davis Quintet that summer, cementing a seminal lineup in jazz history.
