Re: herbie hancock

Jakub Kulesza (jkulesza@undergrad.math.uwaterloo.ca)
Fri, 25 Oct 1996 12:39:42 -0400 (EDT)


On Sat, 26 Oct 1996, Sterl wrote:

> dig this ppl
>
> ive been waiting for the herbie gig all year , and now the promoters have given
> my city the flick...
>
> has anyone seen him live...please tell
>
> oz ppl = hes going to sydney, melb, adelaide, and even perth , sh.t

I caught him twice during the current tour - first in Toronto in July and
then again in Santa Rosa in September. Both concerts were amazing. He's
touing as the Herbie Hancock Quartet, with Gene Jackson on drums, Craig
Handy on saxes and Dave Holland on bass. For those yearning for the days
of Rockit or even Dis Is Da Drum, stay home, because the current tour is
focusing on straight-ahead jazz. But if it's jazz you're lookin' for,
you're not likely to do much better today than the HHQ. When I saw him in
July, they stuck mainly to the material on The New Standard but in
Sepetember they were doing a lot more jamming and even played a song or
two from the Blue Note days. But one of the best tunes they played at both
shows was actually Dave Holland's dream of the elders. This guys SMOKES on
bass and this song has him starting solo for about 5 minutes or so.
Unreal. Gene Jackson also does an excellent job on the kit, especially
during the Stevie Wonder cover. In Toronto, he had a wild solo, part way
through which he knocked over on of his cymbal stands, so Herbie came
running across the stage to right it.

Anyway, as I mentioned, the band seems to be playing a lot better together
now that they're further into the tour, and there is a lot of interaction
between Herbie and Dave especially (both are Miles alumni BTW). If you get
a chance, go see this show and catch some living legends in action.

peace,
Jakub.