Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock played several tracks from his Grammy-winning “River: The Joni Letters” album. Herbie Hancock’s music is refreshingly authentic and personable. I found all twelve songs played by Herbie Hancock to be both accessible and profoundly dramatic. The technical ability of every member in the band, which comprised of bass guitarist Dave Holland, drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, and saxophonist Chris Potter, is astonishingly great. I particularly enjoyed listening to Herbie Hancock’s powerful piano solos, which demonstrated his free-fall spontaneity. However, Hancock’s piano solos during his performance and music changing direction, seemingly at will, make the experience unpredictable and sometimes frustrating. The standout feature of Hancock’s performance is his ability to absorb the playing styles of his band members into his renditions. Apart from enjoying Hancock’s performance, I also enjoyed Dave Holland on the electric bass; I am a huge fan of his. Additionally, I enjoyed saxophonist Chris Potter who has seamlessly found a way to vide with Herbie Hancock while retaining his own sense of melody. Vocalist Sonya Kitchell and Amy Keys joined Hancock’s performance to sing covers of Joni Mitchell, U2, and Leon Russell.
Herbie Hancock’s jazz music has a funk and dance fusion that gives his songs a uniquely broad appeal. Herbie Hancock’s songs during the concert started with vocal tune followed by instrumentals. During his powerful piano solos, Hancock’s demonstrates his wonderfully large chromatic interplay in both his chords and right-handed lines from the middle register. Hancock has an interesting technique of playing tone of note-bending synth playing. Hancock also uses other songs during his performance to summon percussive sounds executed by unconventionally using his piano. Herbie Hancock’s performance of River feels like a jazz record based around the open-spirited work of a great core band to deliver the lyrical, beautiful songs.
I have now listened to Herbie Hancock’s concert over three times. I cannot get enough of the infectious grooves and soulful melodies in his music. The most interesting facet of listening to Herbie Hancock’s performance is that I cannot pick out one great thing; the whole performance was great. I have heard many jazz songs before, but Herbie Hancock’s music has left a lasting impression. I now understand why Herbie Hancock is one of the most sampled jazz musicians alive. After watching Hancock’s performance, I believe that Hancock is arguably the greatest living pianist