Maiden Voyage (LP)

Jazz icon Herbie Hancock's solo career blossomed on Blue Note Records in the mid-to-late '60s with classic albums including Maiden Voyage, Empyrean Isles and Speak Like a Child. However, 1965's Maiden Voyage is arguably the best in the bunch. Every single cut on the exquisite 5-track offering from the haunting title track to the gentle, swinging "Dolphin Dance" has found its way into the standard jazz repertoire. Hancock and company - Ron Carter (bass), George Coleman (tenor saxophone), Freddie Hubbard (trumpet) and Anthony Williams (drums) - fashioned a modern jazz milestone here with extraordinary compositions, interplay and solos and in 1999 Maiden Voyage was recognized as such when it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.