Daniel A Posted July 30, 2003 Report Share Posted July 30, 2003 Herbie played with an all-Swedish group at the ongoing Stockholm Jazz Festival last Saturday. While not exactly under-rehearsed, the group did not convince in their covers of Hancock's early 70s tunes like 'Butterfly' and 'Hang Up Your Hang-Ups'. The nominal leader - Peter Johannesson - perhaps isn't one of the top drummers in Sweden. The reason he occasionally performs - and even records - with Herbie is that they became friends when Herbie toured in Sweden many years ago, Johannesson then still in his teens. Anyway, Hancock himself seemed particularly unfocused. His playing was a mere bag of gimmicks, and he appeared to have some problems with his timing. His whimsical introduction of the band made it seem like he was high. Or was he just jet-lagged in the extreme? What are the recent reports of Hancock's live appearances. Is he losing it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kari S Posted July 30, 2003 Report Share Posted July 30, 2003 I was supposed to come to Stockholm just to see Hancock and Hargrove's RH Factor, and I'm partially glad I didn't after all. I heard the Hargrove concert on the radio and it certainly wasn't what I expected it to be. I saw the Directions In Music band last summer and although I thoroughly enjoyed the performance, I'm sad to say that it was Hancock whose solos definitely lacked coherence and structure. He seemed more interested in pursuing "the climax" as soon as possible, so he ended up banging the piano in ecstacy in almost all the tunes - instead of focusing on building his solos by using lines of phrases (of which he is the master! remember "The Riot" on Speak Like A Child...). Could it be his age? Although he looks at least twenty years younger, it's his rambling speech that has at least in some interviews told a different story. I doubt that jet lag had anything to do with this performance since (I think) he flew in from Trondheim. And then again, I saw Wayne Shorter (70...) this summer, and his performance was absolutely masterful in use of restraint, space, harmonics and dynamics. Perhaps he (Hancock) just was tired or something. His touring schedule is pretty hectic, and I think Stockholm might have (sadly) been just a "rest stop" in his schedule. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmitry Posted July 30, 2003 Report Share Posted July 30, 2003 Perhaps he was tired of lugging around all those Bose stereos. Did you get a demo during the concert? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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