But itвЂ™s conceivable that the record company encouraged him to add a more accessible track to promote the LP and encourage radio play. Hancock has never revealed why he included such a commercial-sounding tune on an otherwise envelope-pushing collection of songs. With its infectious refrain, вЂњCantaloupe IslandвЂќ sounded like a close relative of вЂњWatermelon Man,вЂќ the pianistвЂ™s 1962 debut single, though ironically, it appeared on one of his most experimental albums Empyrean Isles, his fourth outing for Blue Note. Listen to Herbie HancockвЂ™s вЂњCantaloupe IslandвЂќ now. And in an unusual move, the pianist only used one horn player when the norm in jazz was two virtuoso trumpeter Freddie Hubbard. Helping Hancock keep the addictive rhythm rolling were bassist Ron Carter and drummer Tony Williams, two of his trusted colleagues from the Miles Davis group. It was a funky, 16-bar groove with bluesy inflections and built on a repeated piano vamp that alternated between three minor chords. And to cap it all, the young 24-year-old pianist from Chicago was a vital member of arguably the most important and groundbreaking group in contemporary jazz: the Miles Davis Quintet.Д«ut вЂњCantaloupe IslandвЂќ was very different from the more abstract music Hancock was creating with Miles. Besides having three critically acclaimed solo albums under his belt, a year earlier, one of HancockвЂ™s songs, вЂњWatermelon Man,вЂќ had broken into the Top 10 of the US pop charts after receiving a Latin makeover from Cuban percussionist Mongo SantamarГa. When Herbie Hancock recorded вЂњCantaloupe IslandвЂќ in June 1964, he was already on his way to becoming the jazz superstar that we know today.

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