Surprises (album)

Surprises is an album by jazz flautist Herbie Mann featuring singer Cissy Houston which was released on the Atlantic label in 1976.^[1]

Surprises
Studio album by Herbie Mann
Released	1976
Recorded	1973–76
Studio	Dynamic, Kingston, Jamaica Mori, Tokyo, Japan Mediasound, New York City Atlantic, New York City
Genre	Jazz fusion, rhythm and blues
Length	39:44
Label	Atlantic SD 1682
Producer	Herbie Mann
Herbie Mann chronology
Waterbed (1975) Surprises (1976) Reggae II (1976)

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide	[3]

The Allmusic site awarded the album 3 stars.^[2]

Track listing

All compositions by Herbie Mann except as indicated

1. "Draw Your Breaks" (Derrick Harriott, David Scott) – 4:50
2. "Cajun Moon" (JJ Cale) – 6:17
3. "Creepin" (Stevie Wonder) – 5:00
4. "Easter Rising" (Pat Rebillot, Pat Kirby) – 4:40
5. "Asa Branca" (Luiz Gonzaga, Humberto Teixeira, Divina Eulália Oliveira) – 3:55
6. "The Sound of Windwood" – 2:34
7. "Cricket Dance" – 4:17
8. "The Butterfly in a Stone Garden" – 5:19
9. "Anata (I Wish You Were Here with Me)" (Akiko Kosaka) – 3:07

Personnel

• Herbie Mann – flute
• Minoru Muraoka – shakuhachi (track 6)
• Yosei Sato – shō (tracks 6 & 8)
• David "Fathead" Newman – tenor saxophone (tracks 1–3)
• Pat Rebillot – keyboards
• Gladstone Anderson – piano (track 1)
• Winston Wright – organ (track 1)
• Hux Brown (track 1), Sam Brown (track 6), Radcliffe "Dougie" Bryan (track 1), Jerry Friedman (tracks 2–4, 7 & 9), Bob Mann (track 3–5, 7 & 8), Hugh McCracken (track 2), Jeff Mironov (track 5) – guitar
• Eriko Kuramoto, Harumi Nakamaru, Kazuko Tsubamoto – koto (tracks 6 & 8)
• Somei Sasaki – shamisen (tracks 6 & 8)
• Bob Babbitt (track 4), Jackie Jackson (track 1) Tony Levin (tracks 2, 3 & 5–9) – bass
• Steve Gadd (tracks 2, 3 & 6–9), Rick Marotta (tracks 4 & 5), Michael Richards (track 1) – drums
• Raphael Cruz (track 5), Sammy Figueroa (track 5), Armen Halburian (tracks 2–9), Ralph MacDonald (tracks 2 & 3) – percussion
• Seiko Fujisya, Kisaku Katada, Hiromitsu Katada – taiko (tracks 6 & 8)
• Cissy Houston (tracks 1–5), Akiko Kosaka (track 9) – vocals
• Eunice Peterson, Rannelle Braxton – backing vocals (track 1)
• David Nadien, Gene Orloff, Guy Lumia, Richard Sortomme – violin (track 4)
• Emanuel Vardi, Richard Maximoff – viola (track 4)
• Charles McCracken, Jesse Levy – cello (track 4)

Charts

Chart (1976)	Peak position
US Billboard Top LPs	178
US Billboard Top Soul LPs	56
US Billboard Top Jazz Albums	32

Liner notes

From the liner notes: "Cissy Houston. Only now is she beginning to emerge from her cocoon after so many years with the Drinkards and the Sweet Inspirations. Cissy...is showcased here like a star-in-waiting."

See also

• Jazz portal

• Herbie Mann discography