Herbie Hancock - Takin' Off LP

Has any other jazz musician had as stunning a recording debut as Herbie Hancock 22 at the time of Takin' Off when he was working regularly as the pianist with the Donald Byrd-Pepper Adams Quintet, Hancock caused many waves in the jazz world with his first Blue Note album. Not only did he introduce his hit "Watermelon Man" (which Mongo Santamaria would soon rocket to international fame) and not only did he hold his own with such giants as Dexter Gordon and Freddie Hubbard, but Hancock was already displaying a strikingly original piano style.