| The Piano | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | LP: June 21, 1979 CD: 2004 | |||
| Recorded | October 25–26, 1978 | |||
| Studio | CBS Studios, Tokyo | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Length | LP: 31:26 CD: 52:04 | |||
| Label | LP: CBS/Sony CD: Columbia | |||
| Producer | David Rubinson Herbie Hancock | |||
| Herbie Hancock chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Tom Hull | B[2] |
The Piano is the twenty-first album by Herbie Hancock.
As with Directstep (recorded one week previously), this album was recorded, and originally only released, in Japan. It was one of Hancock's most successful albums in Japan, perhaps because it was entirely solo piano. Hancock tackles jazz standards such as "My Funny Valentine", "On Green Dolphin Street" and "Some Day My Prince Will Come" while also performing four original compositions.
This album was initially released exclusively in Japan and first issued there on CD in 1983. In 2004, over 25 years after its recording, the album was released with four additional alternate takes of the same session. It was the first and only (until 2014) of Hancock's Japanese releases available internationally.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "My Funny Valentine" | Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart | 7:42 |
| 2. | "On Green Dolphin Street" | Bronisław Kaper, Ned Washington | 3:20 |
| 3. | "Some Day My Prince Will Come" | Frank Churchill, Larry Morey | 4:36 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Harvest Time" | Herbie Hancock | 4:48 |
| 2. | "Sonrisa" | Herbie Hancock | 3:40 |
| 3. | "Manhattan Island" | Herbie Hancock | 3:56 |
| 4. | "Blue Otani" | Herbie Hancock | 3:24 |
| Total length: | 31:26 | ||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8. | "My Funny Valentine" (Take 3) | Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart | 6:08 |
| 9. | "On Green Dolphin Street" (Take 2) | Bronisław Kaper, Ned Washington | 4:04 |
| 10. | "Some Day My Prince Will Come" (Take 3) | Frank Churchill, Larry Morey | 5:16 |
| 11. | "Harvest Time" (Take 3) | Herbie Hancock | 5:10 |
| Total length: | 52:04 | ||
