When Herbie Hancock took the stage for his show at New York’s Carnegie Hall last night, audience members whispered in about about his ageless looks. Then the 70-year-old jazzman took to the piano, and the energy bursting from the keys as he led two different bands through two sets showed Hancock doesn’t just look like a younger man, he plays with the energy of one too.
The first set of Hancock’s “Seven Decades: The Birthday Celebration” was a foray into the musician’s early years as a member of the late 1960′s Miles Davis quintet. Bassist Ron Carter and Wayne Shorter on soprano saxophone led a stellar lineup of jazz players, including: drummer Jack DeJohnette, bassist Dave Holland (who alternated playing duties with Carter), Joe Lovano on tenor saxophone, Lionel Loueke on guitar, and Wallace Roney and Terrence Blanchard on trumpet.
Blanchard helped kick things off with his own arrangement of the Wayne Shorter composition, “Footprints.” Hancock’s solo crackled with the enthusiasm of a musician playing the song for the first time, when in fact he’s probably played it many times over the years. On the Ron Carter composition, “81,” Roney wowed the audience with a dynamic solo filled with single-note blasts and dizzying runs. As the set closed out with a re-working of the standard, “My Funny Valentine” and the classic Hancock compositions, “Maiden Voyage” and “Cantaloupe Island,” the band members traded off bars or playfully fed off each other in moments of group improvisation.
In the second set, Hancock drifted away from his jazz roots and re-emerged from intermission to perform music from his brand-new album, “The Imagine Project.” Loueke remained, as Tal Wikenfeld handled electric bass, with Greg Phillinganes on vocals and keyboards, and Vinnie Colaiuta on drums. Special guest India.Aire came out to perform a reworking of John Lennon’s “Imagine” alongside Herbie’s group vocalist, Kristina Train, who also performed her own stirring rendition of Joni Mitchell’s “Court and Spark.” More star power was added on the feel good jam “Space Captain,” performed by two married musicians, rocker Derek Trucks (guitar) and blues artist Susan Tedschi (vocals).
As an encore, Hancock went with his 1973 smash hit, “Chameleon,” which fit in between his jazz beginnings and the modern-day pop sound he’s cultivated over the years. With the band in full swing behind him, Hancock rocked out with his Keytar, and age, labels and time all seemed to slip away.
Speakeasy will be posting a live performance with Hancock this weekend
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