Jazz Legend Hancock Even a Master at Playing Beer Bottles

New Era
Published: August 25, 2007
By JOHN DUFFY, Correspondent

Some may wonder why after more than 40 years in the business Herbie Hancock is still as hip and revered as ever, still a godfather among vinyl-sniffing turntablists, hip-hop beatmakers and searching musicians of all stripes. Then you go and see him play and it all becomes clear.

Few artists could get a standing ovation even before they play a single note. But Friday night at the Strand Capital Performing Arts Center, Hancock did (and a real ovation too, not just people getting out of their seats because the house lights go down). Deftly balancing between grand piano and various synthesizer sounds - thanks to computer controlled switching - Hancock delivered an inspired and uplifting program that highlighted his long career and still gave notice of his desire to always move forward.

Hitting the highest peaks of a career that defines the word prolific (more 40 albums not including compilations) meant that whole decades were bypassed. But what the concert lacked in completeness it more than made up for in the sheer joy and ability evident in every band member, from Hancock himself to bassist Nathan East through drummer Vinnie Colaiuta and guitarist Lionel Loueke.

Hancock and his band began the show winding their way through "Actual Proof" and a lengthy "Watermelon Man." Having played that song in various permutations since he wrote it in 1962, as he explained, Hancock took a detour courtesy of Loueke, a Benin-born virtuoso, whose composition "Seventeens" was grafted in seamlessly. The song is named "Seventeens" because that is how many dizzying beats are in each measure.

Bassist East mimicked the signature wind melody of "Watermelon Man" with his voice. Then, after several minutes of pouring and emptying to achieve the right note, Hancock played the two-note melody on an Amstel bottle. That's right he can even play jazz on musical beer bottles. East also stood in for the various singers not present who took part in Hancock's 2005 disc "Possibilities": John Mayer on "Stitched Up," Joss Stone and Johnny Lang on the U2/B.B. King tune "When Love Comes to Town" and Stevie Wonder's "I Just Called to Say I Love You."

Regarding that tune, Hancock could have picked a hundred better Wonder songs to explore and should therefore be given high marks for tackling an insipid piece of fluff. But even Hancock's urbane chord substitutions, cleverly inserted under East's rendition of the melody, could not make more of the song than what it is.

A hot take on "Cantaloupe Island" put things back to right with an aggressive vamp, some tireless drumming from Colaiuta, and Hancock's most inspired playing of the night. But for all the funk and fury of the night, the most memorable moments were those that were the most sublime. Using digital loops, a device known as a vocal harmonizer, and various picking and tapping methods on his guitar, Loueke created a World-jazz hybrid that could have carried an entire program on its own.

Hancock's solo version of his 1960s masterpiece "Maiden Voyage," oozing with glissando waterfalls and overtones created by pressing a sustained pedal virtually the entire time, was ample evidence that for all his detours and restless exploration Hancock at his core is a jazz pianist. And one of the most inventive alive. And at the end of the tune, as if to acknowledge this, even the humble Hancock gave a satisfied nod.