The Maze is a jazz tune by Herbie Hancock from his 1962 debut album Takin’ Off. The track features Dexter Gordon on tenor sax, Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Butch Warren on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums, and it helped define the cool hard bop sound of the era. It is built on an eight-bar, six-chord form with pedal points, and the liner notes describe it as a maze where the final solution is never reached, ending without a definite tonic. Hancock was only 22 at the time, and the piece showcases his early genius and the album’s standout collaboration. A remastered version appeared in 2007 on The Maze (Remastered 2007).
