Empyrean Isles

Recording history and tape provenance

By mid-1964, Hancock had spent just over a year as pianist in Miles Davis's group alongside Ron Carter and Tony Williams, developing a rhythmic and harmonic language together that was already reshaping how the rhythm section functioned in Davis's own recordings. Empyrean Isles marks the first time that same trio recorded Hancock's own material without Davis or a saxophonist present, and the absence of a second horn forced a genuine compositional problem: how to avoid a thin, top-heavy sound with only cornet and piano carrying the melodic weight. Hancock's solution – writing heads that function more like compressed improvisations than fully worked-out ensemble melodies – gave the quartet unusual interpretive freedom, particularly on "The Egg," built from a repeating ostinato that opens onto extended solo space, including a bowed bass solo from Carter.

Freddie Hubbard, playing cornet rather than his usual trumpet for a warmer, more burnished tone, had already demonstrated an affinity with Hancock on the pianist's 1962 debut Takin' Off and his own Hub Tones. DownBeat gave the album four stars on release; the Penguin Guide to Jazz selected it for its Core Collection, and it's since been widely regarded – alongside its 1965 follow-up Maiden Voyage – as the peak of Hancock's acoustic 1960s output. Later CD reissues added alternate takes of "One Finger Snap" and "Oliloqui Valley"; several critics, including Bob Belden in his liner notes for The Complete Blue Note Sixties Sessions, have argued the alternate "One Finger Snap" solo is actually superior to the issued master.

Original Blue Note pressings (1964)

Mono: BLP 4175 on blue-and-white "New York, USA" labels / Stereo: BST 84175 on "A Division of Liberty Records, Inc." labels – the two formats' original pressings carry different label eras despite sharing a release date, reflecting Blue Note's transition to Liberty ownership happening mid-stream. Genuine collector debate exists over which specific mono variant constitutes the true first pressing: per Fred Cohen's Blue Note collector's guide, a non-deep-groove copy is now considered the actual first pressing rather than the deep-groove copies some collectors previously assumed were earliest. Check the deadwax for the Van Gelder stamp on both sides – some stereo copies show it on side 2 only, a documented but lesser variant.

The reissue hierarchy

Music Matters 33⅓ – the audiophile benchmark

Cat. MMBST-84175 | Format: 180g LP, 33⅓, gatefold with session photos, limited to 3,500 copies. Remastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio, from the original Rudy Van Gelder master tapes. Pressed at RTI. Reviews are enthusiastic and consistent: "clarity, air, ambience, punch, beautiful drum + cymbals, dead quiet vinyl." Out of print. Discogs

Blue Note Classic Vinyl – the recommended entry point

Cat. 4859562 | Format: 180g LP, stereo, 2023. Mastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio, from the original master tapes, pressed at Optimal. One especially detailed owner review calls it flatly one of the best-sounding entries in the whole Classic Vinyl series: "there is no way any other version is as free of background noise, making me able to hear Ron Carter's jaw dropping bass solo on 'Oliloqui Valley' like never before." At least one reviewer has reported an individual copy shipping with minor cosmetic surface scuffs – an isolated report, not evidence of a systemic issue like the 75th Anniversary series below, but worth knowing if you're buying without a return option. Discogs

Jazz Heritage LP (1991) – the vinyl alternate-takes reissue

Cat. 912944X | Format: LP, stereo, expanded reissue. A specialty reissue that's easy to overlook, since it's usually not what people mean by "reissue" for this title, but it fills a real gap: confirmed via Discogs and cross-referenced discography sources, this pressing includes the alternate takes of "One Finger Snap" and "Oliloqui Valley" – material commonly assumed to have first appeared on the 1999 Blue Note Rudy Van Gelder Edition CD, but which was actually already available on vinyl eight years earlier via this Jazz Heritage release. Not a high-fidelity audiophile pick and not widely discussed, but the only vinyl source for the alternate takes if you want them on wax rather than CD. Pricing not well-established; check current listings.

Mid-1960s to mid-1970s US reissue, dark blue label – an underrated tier

A dark blue Liberty/UA-era label reissue retains the Van Gelder stamp on both sides, since it shares metalwork with the original pressing – confirmed by a dealer inventory video showing an NM example of this exact variant. As with similarly-treated late represses of other titles in this catalogue, a genuine RVG stamp on a later reissue is a legitimate way to get close to original-pressing sound without first-press pricing. No single confirmed catalogue number; look for the dark blue label design and confirm the RVG stamp in the deadwax yourself.

Blue Note 75th Anniversary (2015) – mixed pressing quality

Cat. B0022238-01 | Format: 180g LP, stereo. Lacquers cut by Bernie Grundman and Chris Bellman (with at least one variant showing side B cut at Masterdisk instead). This title falls within Blue Note's broadly criticized 75th Anniversary series, and reception is genuinely split at the pressing level – some owners report clean, quiet copies with no issues, while a substantial number report warping, non-fill, and off-center spindle holes, particularly on copies pressed at United Record Pressing (URP), a plant widely blamed across the whole 75th Anniversary line for inconsistent QC. Worth buying only from a seller with an easy return policy.

Pressings to avoid

Unofficial clear-vinyl pressing: A clear-vinyl edition limited to 500 copies circulates that multiple Discogs reviewers have identified as an unofficial, unlicensed release rather than a legitimate Blue Note product – one buyer noted being surprised to learn this after purchase. Sound quality reports are mixed to acceptable, but treat it as a budget curiosity rather than a genuine collector target, and verify what you're buying before paying above nominal prices for it.

Buyer's guide by budget

$ (Budget): The Blue Note 75th Anniversary (2015) if you find a confirmed clean copy, or prefer buying from a seller with an easy return policy given documented QC variance.

$ (Budget): The Blue Note Classic Vinyl – Kevin Gray mastering, widely praised as one of the finest sounding entries in its series.

$$$$ (Premium): The Music Matters 33⅓ (MMBST-84175) on the secondary market – the definitive modern pressing for serious collectors.

$$$$$ (Grail / Rare): An original Blue Note BST 84175 stereo, Liberty label in honest condition, with Van Gelder stamp confirmed.

Pressing tier summary

References

• Discogs (master): https://www.discogs.com/master/47777-Herbie-Hancock-Empyrean-Isles
• Discogs release and community listings for all pressings referenced in the tier table above (original BLP 4175/BST 84175, Music Matters MMBST-84175, Blue Note Classic Vinyl, dark blue label reissue, 75th Anniversary B0022238-01)
• YouTube, JazzLoveJapan, "Herbie Hancock The Empyrean Isles Blue Note RVG US Vinyl LP": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yikSYWWQ-EY
• YouTube, Surcos de Jazz, "Herbie Hancock - Empyrean Isles (Blue Note Classic 2023)": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4H_1T3PGnI
• YouTube, Ten-Minute Record Reviews, "Herbie Hancock - Empyrean Isles (Episode 153)": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUoFbRQHHGA
• Progrography, "Herbie Hancock - Empyrean Isles (1964) Review": https://progrography.com/herbie-hancock/herbie-hancock-empyrean-isles-1964/

Related guides: Maiden Voyage · Head Hunters · Out to Lunch!