Herbie Hancock - The Jazz Channel Presents Herbie Hancock

Alarm bells rang with this one when I noticed it was recorded in 2001. Herbie Hancock is a genius and should definitely be regarded as highly as Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Charles Mingus etc but this wasn't a notably great period in jazz history. However from the outset it's really great performance with individual musicians putting in excellent performances (not least Herbie himself) and the band working really well together. The percussionist plays instruments I can't even name, the female drummer (who reminded me a bit of Snoop from The Wire) is excellent. The saxophonist and trumpeter are brilliant individual players but also totally disciplined ensemble players and Herbie absolutely plays the sh*t out of his piano, strumming, muting and just generally hammering away at it, showing that even at his age ( he must be 60-65) you'd struggle to find a better, more enthusiastic pianist. There's only one horrible moment (at about 45 minutes in) when they decide to play some overly saccharine number which Herbie embellishes with a horrible 80's sounding synthesiser that made me want to puke on my shoes, but that was a 5 minute stretch in a nearly two hour show, and the rest of it was totally brilliant. Balls to the Stones and the Beatles. Give me Herbie and Miles any day.

Due to the prolific output and creative genius of the man, this concert once again proves that in spite of being a fan of his for many years and possessing 6 C.Ds covering different periods of his development, that there are new musical environments of his out there still waiting to be discovered. If you enjoy good music, then even if this isnt quite down your street taste wise and isnt perhaps ' instantly likeable', you should still enjoy it for no other reason than it being just great music - great compositions played by great musicians. line up:piano, double bass,trumpet, sax, drums and percussionist. Thanks again Herbie.

As expected of a Herbie Hancock project this one presents great musicians and great arrangements. And of course his own brand of dynamic pianism. Eddie Henderson, Teri Lynne Carrington and particularly percussionist Cyro Baptista excel on interesting takes on Gershwin material. And the 10 minute interview about the inspiration for the project adds another dimension on second viewing.