how is herbies 'new directions' band?

[Guest ariceffron]

whos the bass player and drummer? are they good. what tunes are they doing? etc>?

[mikeweil]

On the Verve CD it was John Pattitucci and Brian Blade. The former is too clean for my taste. I was underwhelmed by the CD.

I saw the on TV from a European festival, with George Mraz and Willie Jones III. Mraz played well but didn't quite fit into the band's style. Jones was fantastic, IMO a better choice than Blade.

The reworkings of tunes from Miles' bandbook is a nice idea, but it sounded so educated and "directed". I dunno. I like Herbie best when he cuts loose.

[couw]

I like Herbie best when he cuts loose.

[mikeweil]

Nice comparison!

[Rooster_Ties]

From what I've read here and there, the current tour includes Scott Colley and Terry Lynne Carrington.

Makes sense -- Herbie's last tour was Colley, Carrington, and Gary Thomas.

Edited February 1, 2005 by Rooster_Ties

[Elissa]

Brian Blade may well be a genius but I'd prefer to listen & feel Willie Jones (especially of course with Roy) or to watch Terry Lynne anyday. She is a baddass & last time I saw her band, Scott Colley - one of the swingingest, sexiest bass player ever - was with her too.

On the other hand it always seemed to me Pattitucci couldn't swing from a rope. Somehow that was what HH and Wayne wanted for a while - NOT to swing. Yet even with that rhythm section Wayne of course still never sounded anything but great.

Edited February 1, 2005 by Elis

[Rooster_Ties]

Brian Blade may well be a genius but I'd prefer to listen & feel Willie Jones or to watch Terry Lynne anyday. She is a baddass.

I saw Herbie's last tour about 18 months ago (Colley, Carrington, and Thomas), and FWIW, I thought (musically speaking), that Carrington's playing was the weakest link in the band. Maybe she was just having an "off" night that night, but I didn't feel like she supported the music nearly as well as it needed.

[bertrand]

Herbie, Brecker and Hargrove will be at the Warner Theatre in D.C. on 2/18 (bass and drums not listed). It's apparently a tribute to Wayne Shorter, Chick Corea, and Ray Charles. Interesting mix: someone I love, someone I don't really care for too much, and someone I am rather indifferent to (in that order).

Don't know if I'll go yet - I may be in NYC instead for the Tolliver big band.

Bertrand.

[cannonball-addict]

I've been wondering this myself. If you check Patitucci's website his tour info will tell if he's the bassist with this upcoming 'Directions in Music' revival tour.

I will be going to the show in Pittsburgh - I'll probably write something up for AAJ and maybe post a brief review here. They put up signs all over the city and on campus. They are really making an effort to sell this one out despite poor turnout for comparable events at large venues. This will be a treat - hearing Brecker in a context outside his own band - something I've never seen.

Edit: Yup, according to Scott Colley's new ArtistShare site here (tour info), Scott Colley will be on bass and Teri Lynne will be on drums!

Edited February 1, 2005 by cannonball-addict

[sidewinder]

The group are also coming over to Europe (in May I believe) with 3 London gigs, one of which will be with orchestra. I'll be checking out their quartet gig (with Gary Thomas) in Poole.

[Jim Alfredson]

From what I've read here and there, the current tour includes Scott Colley and Terry Lynne Carrington.

We saw this band at the Clearwater Jazz Holiday after playing the previous afternoon. The festival organizers were so gracious and let us stay another night in the hotel so we could see Herbie.

Terri Lynne Carrington blew my mind. She is absolutely incredible. When I met her backstage I told her, "I only have one word for you... ferocious!!" I would add focused to that as well. She's a fantastic drummer.

[Late]

The quintet — Brecker, Hargrove, Hancock, Colley, Carrington — is here right now, and will be performing Thursday night. I'll try to post a short review after the show. I think I'm most interested in hearing Brecker in this context. This will also be my very first time hearing Hancock live.

Apparently, Hancock had some Italian grand shipped in just for the show. Can't remember the name of it, but evidently there are less than a dozen of these grand pianos in North America. Interesting, to say the least.

[alankin]

They'll be in philly on 2/23.

[jazzdaly]

The group are also coming over to Europe (in May I believe) with 3 London gigs, one of which will be with orchestra. I'll be checking out their quartet gig (with Gary Thomas) in Poole.

Directions in Music are not playing Europe this year.

The groups in the UK are as follows:

Herbie's new quartet, with Benin-born guitarist Lionel Loueke, bassist Dave Carpenter and drummer Ritchie Barsay

Herbie Hancock - Electronica

Two Banks Of Four

+ Rinneradio + Kroyt

Sat 28 May 7.30pm

Herbie meets today’s groovemeisters. The influence and inspiration of Herbie Hancocks’s explorations into soul, funk, electric impro and the dancefloor have had an incalculable effect on today’s club culture - think Rockit, Future Shock and Headhunters, Watermelon Man and Canteloupe Island. Tonight, Herbie rounds up a posse of new electric range-riders.

Two Banks of Four are producers Dillip Harris (Demus) and Rob Gallagher. Together with a terrific trio of vocalists and a rocking horn section they fuse a seductive mêlée of streetwise funk. Finland’s RinneRadio are another trip entirely - ‘a hard-edged techno band led by a cool jazz sax player’ (Melody Maker). Kroyt are in the vanguard of Norwegian nu electronica, industrial jazz with a futuristic aftertaste, sprawling across a fissure between electropop, jazz and art rock.

Herbie Hancock

+ London Symphony Orchestra

[Late]

Heard the "New Directions" Quintet last night, and really enjoyed the show. Now ... "new" directions? New directions? No, not really. In fact, this band conjures up mid-to-late 60's Miles Davis groups more authentically than any other group I've heard live (though I don't get to many live shows). Apparently, the start of their U.S. tour was here — hard to believe in a way — and thus the three days of rehearsing in Eugene. All of the music appears to be new originals by Hancock (no tunes were introduced, but everyone had sheet music), save for a cover of "Pinnochio." If these originals are indeed new, they sound, at least to my ears, heavily under the influence of Wayne Shorter — but in the best way: washes of sound, floating meters, "surprise" meter changes, and then (and this sounds like signature Hancock) some Headhunter-like riffs. Carrington makes a rock beat sound like jazz! She might not have the panache or stage presence of Brian Blade, but she is a damn fine drummer — reminds me more of DeJohnette than Williams given the context — and is rock-steady. Never a flub given the (supposedly) new music.

How old is Hancock? 65? I was surprised at how much youth is still in his approach to the keyboard. This must come from sheer love of the music. I did hear quite a few staple Hancock lines in the course of the night, but when he hit it — meaning when the vibe got more intense — he seemed to really come up with something spontaneous. For a few moments during one long piece, his playing was the most "out" I'd ever heard it. This was fantastic. I wanted that vibe to sustain, for him to get even more (Cecil) Taylor-like, but then the tune would shift to something else. He also played a lot of keyboard in addition to piano. At first I didn't think I'd like this so much, but the sounds he had programmed (except for a cheesy steel drum sound) were so reminiscent to me of Sun Ra mini-moog and clavinet sounds that I really got into it. And Hancock has supreme taste: he knows not to overplay, and his comping is just as interesting (if sometimes not more interesting) than his soloing. He did do a lot of fiddling with what seemed a laptop (or some panel of blinking lights), but I'm guessing he'll work out those kinks along the tour.

How was Brecker? An aside — when Pat LaBarbera came to North Texas in the late 80's, he said (to us little music students) that one of the worst things about playing with Elvin Jones, which was also one of the best things, was that it was almost impossible not to play like, or want to play like, John Coltrane. Brecker put me in that frame of mind — just with Wayne Shorter substituting in the context of Coltrane. And Brecker can play Shorter damn well. Not until later in the show did "Brecker" seem to appear, and that's when I really started to enjoy his playing. He had one EWI feature (never have been able to get with the EWI), and after that feature, his tenor playing seemed more relaxed. He's a "finger player" in the best way: the clarity of his lines is remarkable. Just as with Hancock, when his playing flirted with being "out," I was the most interested. Brecker taking it (truly) out is a lot of fun. I wish he could have started there with some solos, and then seen where it would have taken him.

Hargrove? He's what, 34? I don't know. A solid player, good sound, but — and this is going to sound strange, perhaps — I wanted to hear Wynton instead of Hargrove. It just seemed like Hargrove was trying to play into that late 60's vibe that Wynton seems to have already mastered back in the early 80's. I kept thinking how interesting it would have been to have Wynton there (not my favorite trumpet player, mind you), and to have Herbie and Carrington kick him (musically) in the butt and produce something truly exciting. I guess I just couldn't get excited with Hargrove. He had some great lines, and some sit-up-in-your chair high notes, but I guess I felt like I'd heard it before. I don't want to be too critical, because the guy seems sincere, but my ears just weren't there. (Maybe someone else who was at the show will have a different take.)

Scott Colley seemed to play the Ron Carter role to a T. Great lines, a somewhat stringy sound, never intrusive, and one very interesting solo. My eyes tended to gravitate over to Carrington, though, whenever I'd watch Colley play.

Well, I guess that's about it. Overall, a lot of fun. I'd recommend seeing this group. I bet, as the tour goes on, they're going to gel even more. (Maybe, for instance, Hargrove wasn't having the best of opening nights.) And I bet Carrington is going to generate even more sparks with each new show. She and Hancock seem to have a special musical exchange going on.

Hear this band if you have the chance!

[sal]

Thank you for the reveiw, late. I enjoyed reading it. I'll be seeing them at the beginning of March here in Chicago, so I hope that they've ironed out the wrinkles by then. I agree with your statements about Herbie and Carrington...there's a tight musical connection there. I saw them perform with Wayne Shorter last year and they were great together. Carrington was mentored by Jack Dejohnette for years, so that might explain the stylistic similarities.

[Guest ariceffron]

YEAH THAT IS WEIRD THEY REHERSED IN EUGENE BUT I SAW HERBIE AND WAYNE IN SALEM ONCE SO ITS NOT THAT WEIRD. GOOD REVIEW-- NEW TUNES HUH?!??!

[GregK]

WHERE DO I FIND TOUR DATES???

[sal]

WHERE DO I FIND TOUR DATES???

http://www.vervemusicgroup.com/touring.aspx

[Quincy]

I was at the same show as Late and had pretty much the same enjoyable experience as he did.

The minor quibbles I had were that a couple of times it seemed as if Herbie's piano playing was interrupted by laptop fiddling, but I imagine he'll get his computer playing down as the tour progresses. (No idea if it was a Mac or Windows btw.) There were a few times where I thought the flow was broken by some of the computer additions, but I'm not knocking the use of them as sometimes the effects added a lot.

Some of the "surprise" meter changes bothered me a little. Some of the extra long pauses during "Pinnochio," along with a little funk addition here and there in that song seemed a bit gimmicky to me. Several of the songs had false endings which fooled the audience into clapping early several times, so much so that it seemed that by the end of the show the applause didn't come until people were sure the song was over.

But that's it for my whining. There were times when they were traveling "out there," which really surprised given the marketing for the show. Make that ever changing way it was marketed. When I bought the tickets it was "the music of Miles & Coltrane." The day before the show Shorter's name was added (though of course he is part of the music of Miles), and in subsequent reading I've seen Corea & Ray Charles mentioned. And so when the band walked on, there was Hargrove without his dreads wearing a suit & tie. His hair was too short to be a dead ringer for the Miles '64 look, but seeing him look like that I half expected them to sound like a cover band. So it was quite the surprise when instead in many places there were the Headhunter elements instead of "suit & tie" era Miles. No complaints, just talking about how appearances can be deceiving.

Regarding Hargrove I particularly liked it when he played the flugelhorn as opposed to the high note attack moments on trumpet. I thought it sounded better in the "music of Miles" mode without sounding like someone doing an imitation. (No mute was spotted either.)

I'm with Late about Brecker's EWI solo feature. It just seems to be more a comedic break (which wasn't needed) than a worthwhile part of the show. But oh well, plenty of folks in the crowd seemed to like it.

It was a very good show for opening night, and I'd expect after a few more they'll get on a roll. Just cross your fingers that Herbie's computer doesn't crash during the show.

[Late]

Nice notes Eric (Quincy)! Good to have another impression of the same show. For an opening night, I'd agree, that was a pretty impressive performance. The woman to my left (in her early 60's I'd say) actually fell asleep! Meanwhile, a little girl (about 11) on my right appeared to bop her head through nearly the entire show. (Now watch, that girl was your daughter, and we were actually sitting next to each other ... )

[Quincy]

The woman to my left (in her early 60's I'd say) actually fell asleep!

Now that takes some doing! I noticed that as show started about 15 minutes late that many couldn't make it all the way through without a run to the bathroom. Oh the danger of having brew pubs near the venue!

Meanwhile, a little girl (about 11) on my right appeared to bop her head through nearly the entire show. (Now watch, that girl was your daughter, and we were actually sitting next to each other ... )

Nope, I have a 3 year old. She's terrific. She can leap high in the air and bat down flies, scoop 'em up and eat 'em. We're such proud parents. She also likes cheese. And tuna.

No kids, and doggone it, they don't allow four legged cats at The Hult.

I was in row Q, center left.

I really wish it could have been at The Shedd, but I realize they would have had to charge more than double the price to make up for the loss of seats. The old church has spoiled me as a place to see shows.

[Kari S]

The arrangement to 'Pinocchio' is superb, I think. But when you say "new originals", do mean brand new tunes that aren't on the Directions In Music: Live At Massey Hall cd (it has three, I think)? If so, cool. Perhaps we can expect a new album to emerge sometime, who knows.

And about those UK shows. If I understood correctly, Hancock plays three concerts: with his quartet, with various electric groups and finally with an orchestra? Where can I get tickets!?

[Late]

Kari, I'm not familiar with the Massey Hall disc, so the compositions Quincy and I heard may already be in Hancock's "book." It didn't seem like it, however, as the whole band was often reading from sheet music (namely Hancock). Hargrove appeared to have most of the heads memorized, but even Carrington was reading a chart at times. Hard to tell ... but one thing's for sure — some good writing for that set!

Looks like Hancock was just in Davis, California, or is about to be. Did anyone go?

[randissimo]

From what I've read here and there, the current tour includes Scott Colley and Terry Lynne Carrington.

Makes sense -- Herbie's last tour was Colley, Carrington, and Gary Thomas.

Colley and Carrington were with Herbie when he played the Clearwater Jazz Holiday Oct 2003. We played the day before Herbie did at that festival and went back the next day to hear the trio. Colley & Carrington played brilliantly... I had to laugh when someone behind me said loudly, "Damn! I've never heard a woman drum like that !! "