More Than Great Herbie Hancock, Oh So Much More!
" It was mentally and physically filed under "Hancock. I had this CD mentally pegged as one of my favorite "Herbie Hancock CDs. "
Big mistake.
As a huge Michael Brecker fan I. . . was quite embarrassed by my mental laziness.
Now, when I rediscovered my copy of DIRECTIONS IN MUSIC as a Herbie Hancock AND Michael Brecker AND Roy Hargrove AND John Patitucci AND Brian Blade CD the joy was off the scale.
A remarkable CD which brings together some of the finest jazz musucians of our time playing their best.
Just wish I cudda been there. . .
Kirtland Peterson.
Noisy and Pretentious
I suppose the bulk of the reviewers here as well as the cheering crowd in Massey Hall are more sophisticated than I. OK, I must be in the distinct minority here, but this is an album that is difficult to listen to, and somewhat avant garde. I've been listening to jazz for over 40 years, had my own jazz radio show and play a little myself. I've enjoyed Herbie Hancock and respect his contributions. I've seen him live twice, once with the Headhunters in 1975 and again about 4 or 5 years ago with Wayne Shorter. Hancock has gone through many phases. I didn't get Mwandishi or Rockit with that guitar/keyboard contraption. Also, I didn't get the performance with Wayne Shorter with all the meandering and drifting. My sense at that time was he is the star, and if you don't get it, tough cookies.
Now we get some superb jazz performers doing their thing, with more meandering, squawking, off key sounding horns (as if they were sucking lemons) and we're supposed to cheer about it. So great, they've made their names, they can screw around with these bizarre arrangements, but I'm not obligated to pretend I like it.
A challenging and rewarding trip
The reason for this is that "Directions in Music" is Hancock, Brecker, and Hargrove. First, I'd like to address the complaint that bassist John Patitucci and drummer Brian Blade didn't make the front cover. Directions in Music is now touring again, and I just got back from seeing their show in Minneapolis, where their drummer and bassist were Terri Lyne Carrington and Scott Colley, respectively. If there is ever a CD released as a result of the current tour, I suspect there will be similar indignation from Colleyacs and Carringtonphiles.
This CD is very advanced jazz. There is a level of abstraction here that demands that this music be listened to actively, if at all. That isn't to say that this is free jazz; there is a predetermined structure behind what you're hearing, but it feels loose and impressionistic. It is worth the trouble of warming up to. The rhythym section is delightfully responsive to the solos of Brecker and Hargrove, and that goes double for Herbie Hancock, who comes off as a complementary counter-soloist more often than not. Brecker and Hargrove use this support to their advantage. Their solos typically will develop slowly and deliberately, starting out ponderous and using spaces effectively as they build tension to a climactic point at which they get to use the full strength of their dexterity.
At this point, I must make the obligatory "______ alone is worth the price of admission" statement about Impressions. My previous experiences with this song have been Coltrane-styled modal romps. The Directions in Music approach to it was a stunning reinvention (a slow-developing Impressions!).
Naima is just an extended solo by Brecker. It should be treated as an intermission. It tended to get a little too showy as it wore on, but you can take it or leave it; other reviewers have chosen to take it.
I have heard nothing about plans for another Directions in Music CD, but if there is one, here's an idea of what to expect. The most obvious change is the addition of electronic effects in a few of the songs. Hancock has his keyboard, Brecker picks up an EWI (electronic wind instrument), and Hargrove even has a second microphone which he uses to get sound effects out of his trumpet. The concert was also in surround sound. The song selection was entirely different, except for a revisting of The Poet. They also played John Coltrane's Cresent, a tune which is designed to be played dramatically, patiently, and deliberately, so it fits Directions in Music like a glove. Brecker's intermission solo is on the EWI this time. He layers over himself until he's a regular one-man band, playing a funky version of Wayne Shorter's Pinocchio. Again, expendable, but perhaps you would be amused.
Pick this up, figure out what it's about, and keep an eye out for a sequel.
NO GREENHORNS
Of the three main players here, only Herbie Hancock actually played with Miles Davis. A loving homage to Miles Davis and John Coltrane. To my knowledge, even Hancock never played with Coltrane. So it is that Michael Brecker in the liner notes writes of listening to Miles and Hancock playing on FOUR PLUS MORE while he was in high school. (Hancock must be feeling old these days. ) Even still at least another generation has come up since Brecker and Hargrove won national recognition, so this is not a bunch of greenhorns laying their praises at the memory of the masters.
What Hancock and company have produced are high quality acoustic performances that are more reminiscent of Davis and Coltrane than note for note reproductions of the originals. Roughly half of the cuts are pieces the dynamics duo recorded themselves at one time; the remainder are musical impressions written in their wake. ("The Sorcerer" falls into both categories. )
With the chances to hear these musicians play live declining, this may be the only opportunity we may get to hear jazz of this caliber outside the confines of the studio. This recording comes highly recommended.
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Directions in Music:Live at Massey Hall
As a musician who is profoundly impacted by this music, with much BIAS, I recommend you give this music a listen. As I listen to this CD, I am brought into an incredible musical journey that completely transcends song forms and grabs hold of the sheer impact that musical lines forged into place have when they reflect the light of the new pathway through the harmonic template.
WOW! I should have flown to Atlanta to see the show.
You can see a complete list of all Herbie Hancock discography, or go back to the Herbie Hancock tabs
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