Directions In Music: Live At Massey Hall

Performer: Herbie Hancock
Artist: John Patitucci; Brian Blade
Engineer: Doug Doctor; Rob Griffin
Producer: Michael Brecker; Jason Olaine
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: /Michael Brecker/Roy Hargrove. Personnel includes: Herbie Hancock (piano); Michael Brecker (tenor saxophone); Roy Hargrove (trumpet, flugelhorn); John Patitucci (bass); Brian Blade (drums). Recorded at Massy Hall, Toronto, Canada on October 25, 2001. DIRECTIONS IN MUSIC won the 2003 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album. "My Ship" (Herbie Hancock) won the 2003 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo. "Naima" (Michael Brecker) was nominated for the 2003 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo. A double-milestone year for jazz, 2001 marked the 75th anniversary of the births of both Miles Davis and John Coltrane. With that in mind, Herbie Hancock went on tour with a quintet modeled after his V.S.O.P. bands of the '70s and '80s and the Tribute to Miles band of the '90s, which in turn were modeled after the 1965-1968 Miles Davis Quintet. The question this disc proposes: Can you go home yet again? Hancock preferred to dodge that one, saying that he was attempting to push the music onward in the Davis/Coltrane spirit of adventure rather than play for nostalgia. But essentially, despite the often unblinkingly hard-nosed soloing and the sometimes radical reworking of the old tunes, the conception of this idiom is that of Miles, and Michael Brecker's often brilliant, searching tenor sax work owes its soul to the example of Trane. Although the quintet's Los Angeles gig on October 11, 2001, was rather disappointing, the Toronto concert recorded here was a big improvement, with two weeks of roadwork evidently having the desired tightening effect. Though Hancock's piano gradually became more abstract and disconnected with its surroundings over the years, here he is in touch with his colleagues. Brecker provides the most fervent individual statement with an unaccompanied rendition of "Naima" that amounts to a virtual encyclopedia of tenor saxophone technique. Roy Hargrove does a serviceable job on trumpet and fl�gelhorn, trying to fill some heavy shoes, and as accomplished as the rhythm team of John Patitucci (bass) and Brian Blade (drums) is, you miss the irreplaceable combustion of Ron Carter and especially the late Tony Williams (compare the original Davis recording of "The Sorcerer" with this inward, less dynamic, less driving version). The most strikingly reworked cover tune is a slow, drawn-out, mournful take on "Impressions," almost an elegy for Coltrane, and Brecker delivers the eulogy with fire in the belly. There is new material from Hargrove ("The Poet"), Brecker ("D Trane"), and the three headliners ("Misstery"), none of which expands much beyond the parameters of the Davis and Coltrane models. While this quintet does not kick over old boundaries, it does make good, uncompromisingly intelligent music. ~ Richard S. Ginell The influence that Miles Davis and John Coltrane had on jazz is incalculable; it is breathtaking to think that they were in the same band for a number of years. The focus of this tribute CD is the work they did separately in the 1960's: Miles' second quintet and Coltrane's great quartet. This live set from Toronto's Massey Hall features a cross-generational super-quintet. Passing the torch and keeping the fires burning is what keeps jazz alive and kicking. Young lion Roy Hargrove rises to the occasion and ably keeps up with his elders in this band's frontline. Standouts are Michael Brecker's deconstruction of Coltrane's classic "Naima," the inspired ensemble re-workings of "My Ship" and "So What/Impressions," Herbie Hancock's forever hip, etude-like accompaniments for his bandmates, and the intuitive rhythm support of John Patitucci and the resourceful Brian Blade.

Entertainment Weekly (6/21/02, p.85) - "...This triumvirate exudes post-bop authority and fame...going down some dangerous harmonic avenues..." - Rating: B+ Q (8/02, p.122) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...Pretty exceptional..." Uncut (8/02, p.104) - 4 out of 5 - "...Always lively, sometimes very fine indeed...All in all, a good buy." Down Beat (7/02, p.52) - 3.5 stars out of 5 - "...A star-driven affair...both beautiful and captivating..." JazzTimes (6/02, pp.83-4) - "...Compelling music prompting serious discussion about retaining the vitality of one era's innovations when they become the standard operational procedures of the next..." Mojo (Publisher) (1/03, p.73) - Ranked #9 in Mojo's "Best Jazz Albums of 2002" Mojo (Publisher) (6/02, p.116) - "...Features Hancock leading a superb quintet...through MIles/Trane-related material....frighteningly good and hungrily played..."

One of the most open-eared and forward-thinking jazz musicians of his day, Hancock has, more than just about anyone else, consistently tried to broaden the music's horizons by mixing it with the most interesting elements of contemporary pop. Hancock has consistently pushed the envelope, from his earliest days with Miles Davis to his jazz-rock fusion of the early '70s and his early embrace of synthesizers and electronic instruments, his early-'80s experiments with hip-hop and sampling, or more recently, his acoustic piano reinterpretations of songs--the new standards, in his parlance--by everyone from Don Henley to Nirvana.

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