The Prophetic Herbie Nichols

The Prophetic Herbie Nichols, Vols. 1 & 2 are a pair of separate but related ten-inch LPs by jazz pianist Herbie Nichols recorded on May 6 & 13, 1955 respectively and released on Blue Note later that year.

The Prophetic Herbie Nichols
Vol. 1
Studio album by the Prophetic Herbie Nichols
Released	1955
Recorded	May 6, 1955 (Vol. 1) May 13, 1955 (Vol. 2)
Studio	Van Gelder Studio Hackensack, New Jersey
Genre	Jazz
Length	26:43 (Vol. 1) 28:30 (Vol. 2)
Label	Blue Note BLP 5068 (Vol. 1) BLP 5069 (Vol. 2)
Producer	Alfred Lion
Herbie Nichols chronology
The Prophetic Herbie Nichols (1955) Herbie Nichols Trio (1956)
The Prophetic Herbie Nichols
Vol. 2

Reception

Although originally unheralded at the time of release Nichols' Blue Note recordings have gained recognition as highly original and ground-breaking compositions and performances. The AllMusic review by Scott Yanow awarded Nichols' The Complete Blue Note Recordings, released in 1997, a five star rating and stated "The music is virtually unclassifiable, and although largely straight-ahead, sounds unlike anything produced by Herbie Nichols' contemporaries. Essential music."

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic

Track listing

The Prophetic Herbie Nichols, Vol. 1

All compositions by Herbie Nichols

Side 1

1. "Dance Line" – 4:24
2. "Step Tempest" – 5:08
3. "The Third World" – 4:08

Side 2

1. "Blue Chopsticks" – 4:20
2. "Double Exposure" – 4:04
3. "Cro-Magnon Nights" – 4:39

The Prophetic Herbie Nichols, Vol. 2

All compositions by Herbie Nichols

Side 1

1. "Amoeba's Dance" – 4:29
2. "Crisp Day" – 3:43
3. "2300 Skiddoo" – 4:29

Side 2

1. "It Didn't Happen" – 5:10
2. "Shuffle Montgomery" – 5:11
3. "Brass Rings" – 5:28

Personnel

Musicians

• Herbie Nichols – piano
• Al McKibbon – bass
• Art Blakey – drums

Technical personnel

• Alfred Lion – producer (uncredited)
• Rudy Van Gelder – recording engineer
• Martin Craig – design
• Leonard Feather – liner notes