Directions in Music: Herbie Hancock, Michael Brecker, and Roy Hargrove
Celebrating Miles Davis & John Coltrane - Live at Massey Hall
Jazz, Fusion, Funk | LOSSLESS (Img.Ape+Cue+Log) + Scans | 455 Mb | Total Time: 1:18:24 | RS
Release Date: June 11, 2002 | Label: Verve | Catalog#: 589 654-2
Celebrating Miles Davis & John Coltrane - Live at Massey Hall
Jazz, Fusion, Funk | LOSSLESS (Img.Ape+Cue+Log) + Scans | 455 Mb | Total Time: 1:18:24 | RS
Release Date: June 11, 2002 | Label: Verve | Catalog#: 589 654-2
| “ | First, I'd like to address the complaint that bassist John Patitucci and drummer Brian Blade didn't make the front cover. The reason for this is that "Directions in Music" is Hancock, Brecker, and Hargrove. Directions in Music is now touring again, and I just got back from seeing their show in Minneapolis, where their drummer and bassist were Terri Lyne Carrington and Scott Colley, respectively. If there is ever a CD released as a result of the current tour, I suspect there will be similar indignation from Colleyacs and Carringtonphiles. This CD is very advanced jazz. There is a level of abstraction here that demands that this music be listened to actively, if at all. That isn't to say that this is free jazz; there is a predetermined structure behind what you're hearing, but it feels loose and impressionistic. It is worth the trouble of warming up to. The rhythym section is delightfully responsive to the solos of Brecker and Hargrove, and that goes double for Herbie Hancock, who comes off as a complementary counter-soloist more often than not. Brecker and Hargrove use this support to their advantage. Their solos typically will develop slowly and deliberately, starting out ponderous and using spaces effectively as they build tension to a climactic point at which they get to use the full strength of their dexterity. At this point, I must make the obligatory "______ alone is worth the price of admission" statement about Impressions. My previous experiences with this song have been Coltrane-styled modal romps. The Directions in Music approach to it was a stunning reinvention (a slow-developing Impressions!). Naima is just an extended solo by Brecker. It should be treated as an intermission. It tended to get a little too showy as it wore on, but you can take it or leave it; other reviewers have chosen to take it. I have heard nothing about plans for another Directions in Music CD, but if there is one, here's an idea of what to expect. The most obvious change is the addition of electronic effects in a few of the songs. Hancock has his keyboard, Brecker picks up an EWI (electronic wind instrument), and Hargrove even has a second microphone which he uses to get sound effects out of his trumpet. The concert was also in surround sound. The song selection was entirely different, except for a revisting of The Poet. They also played John Coltrane's Cresent, a tune which is designed to be played dramatically, patiently, and deliberately, so it fits Directions in Music like a glove. Brecker's intermission solo is on the EWI this time. He layers over himself until he's a regular one-man band, playing a funky version of Wayne Shorter's Pinocchio. Again, expendable, but perhaps you would be amused. Pick this up, figure out what it's about, and keep an eye out for a sequel. Review From Amazon.com Concert recorded for CBC Radio's JAZZ BEAT program. Recorded at Massey Hall, Toronto, Oct. 25, 2001. Digitally editited at Wonderland, Nyack, NY, Jan. 27, 28 and Feb. 1, 3, 4, 2002. Mixed at Avatar Studios, New York, Feb. 6, 7, 2002. Mastered at Sterling Sound, New York, Feb. 15, 2002. | ” |
Credits
Bass - John Patitucci
Co-producer - Jason Olaine
Drums - Brian Blade
Edited By - George Whitty
Engineer - Anthony Ruotolo , Frank Finistauri
Flugelhorn - Roy Hargrove (tracks: 2, 7)
Mastered By - Greg Calbi
Mixed By - Jay Newland
Other [Concept By] - Scott Southard
Piano, Executive Producer - Herbie Hancock
Producer - Todd Fraracci
Recorded By - Doug Doctor , Rob Griffin (3)
Saxophone [Tenor], Producer - Michael Brecker
Trumpet - Roy Hargrove
~ T R A C K L I S T I N G ~
1 The Sorcerer 8:53
2 The Poet 6:35
3 So What/Impressions 12:51
4 Misstery 8:16
5 Naima 7:29
6 Transition 10:26
7 My Ship 8:40
8 D Trane 15:09
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