(Herbie Hancock is the greatest living jazz artist. Photo by Danny Clinch)
By Jerome Langston
“Hello, Jerome?
“This is Herbie.
“How you doing?”
So starts my wonderful, fairly brief, but generous… phone chat with perhaps the greatest living jazz artist in the world, Herbie Hancock. An icon and legend of American music, remarkably now in his eighties — Herbie sounded like a still young, but mature veteran musician, when we talked last week. It was mid-afternoon here on the East Coast, while the Chicago native was at his home in Los Angeles. The esteemed bandleader, pianist and composer, will bring his all-star touring band to Norfolk’s Chrysler Hall on September 22, for an exciting evening of world-class jazz, as a presentation of the prestigious Virginia Arts Festival — which continues to extend its considerable programming reach, well past the spring arts season. And it’s interesting to note that the last time Mr. Hancock performed in Hampton Roads as part of the arts festival was way back in 2003.
I ask Herbie if he still enjoys touring. He says that he does, but that it involves a lot to prepare for. He goes through his list of things with me that he does to get ready for the rigors of the road, including packing his various meds. “Make sure I have all my meds, you know? That’s what happens when you get… get old,” the jazz icon says, lightheartedly and with a chuckle. I quickly assure him that he’s still “giving” youthfulness, and that whatever he does, he should keep doing it. It’s not an exaggeration to say that Herbie’s continued energy and vigor is impressive to witness.
“Once we get out on the stage, then the real joy begins,” he says, a bit later. The response from the audience is both energizing and worthwhile. “Even if we wear ourselves out. Get on the tour bus and go to the next city. Being on stage, in front of the audience, playing with amazing musicians,” he says. “I got fantastic musicians in my band. And I can depend on them playing, class A music.”
Considering the jazz cats that Mr. Hancock is referring to — playing class A music is a given. The 14-time Grammy Award winner is being supported by legendary jazz trumpeter and composer, Terence Blanchard, who has won a bunch of Grammys himself, and is a two-time Academy Award nominee. I mention to him that Terence is the only member of his band that I’ve met. And then there’s the great Lionel Loueke on guitar, Hampton native James Genus on bass, and Jaylen Petinaud, the twenty-something young-un of the band, is ferocious on drums.
Herbie explains, in quite a bit of detail, what makes each band member special, and is effusive in his praise of each of them as fellow artists.
“I’ve got James Genus on bass, and he’s irreplaceable. I talk to the audience a lot. I talk about how he’s got this big sound,” says Herbie, referring to his bassist. “At the same time, there’s like a veneer of tenderness on it too.” And then he shares his thoughts on Lionel Loueke. “There’s nobody who plays guitar like Lionel. He’s one of a kind,” he says. He continues to praise the musicianship of his acclaimed jazz guitarist, who was born and raised in Benin, a country in West Africa. “He’s got this pedalboard that allows him to loop certain guitar lines that he might play — and then play a second line on top of that… and then have that loop and play a line on top of that. And then he sings…,” says Herbie. “He always comes up with new and innovative stuff. So it’s always a surprising performance, from that standpoint.”
“We played one of his arrangements of Wayne Shorter’s song, ‘Footprints.’ We all really liked that one,” Herbie later says, talking about Terence, whom he acknowledges is also a major bandleader and composer. “He’s just a solid drummer. Powerful. And he’s got speed,” the legend later says of Jaylen, who is a Brooklyn native. “He and I get into stuff sometimes — it’s fun — we’re both smiling and laughing, when we’re playing with the time, and doing different things. Sometimes I just go out of tempo, and then come back to it…” says Herbie, who is clearly still a brilliant musician and collaborator. “Anyway, it’s a lot of fun playing with people of that caliber.”
Speaking of high caliber — Herbie Hancock travels with his own, Italian-made, Fazioli brand piano. “They make the finest pianos I’ve ever heard,” says the iconic artist. “And it’s a full, concert grand.” We both remark about how they cost “a fortune,” but it’s the caliber of craftsmanship that one would expect of any instrument that Herbie Hancock regularly plays. “It’s the only one I feel comfortable on now. I’m spoiled,” he says, with a slight chuckle. “And I get to play that every night.”
These stellar musicians will largely play elegant theatres in parts of the American south, before playing some high-profile international dates in October. It’s beyond remarkable that Herbie Hancock, whose career dates back to the 1960s with his debut album, 1962’s Takin’ Off on Blue Note Records, which featured the classic “Watermelon Man,” is still making waves as a hugely successful, jazz icon. He’s won an Academy Award. River: The Joni Letters, released in 2007, won the Grammy for Album of the Year. Herbie is a Kennedy Center honoree. He’s worked with absolute icons of 20th century popular music; including Miles Davis, Donald Byrd and Wayne Shorter, amongst many, many others. His massive catalogue of over 40 studio albums; musically explores jazz, R&B, Pop, dance music, classical, and other genres. His hits include “Rockit,” “Maiden Voyage,” and “Chameleon,” amongst others. Just last month, he celebrated the 50th anniversary of the classic 1973 Head Hunters album, with a huge reunion concert at the Hollywood Bowl. He tells me that he is working on a new album. “My goal is to get something released in the early part of next year.”
Towards the end of our chat, he shares a bit about his upcoming shows, including what to expect here in Norfolk. “We usually start out with something that we call ‘the overture.’ And it has bits and pieces of a lot of different songs that I’ve done over the years,” he says. Producer Terrace Martin, who has produced some stuff that may be on the new album, worked with Herbie on the overture. “Then, some of the pieces that we play after that were touched on in the overture. We do them fully, later in the show,” he adds. Of course, it’s not lost on us that overtures are largely associated with orchestral performances. “You know me. I like to try all kinds of different things that haven’t been done before.”
WANT TO GO?
Herbie Hancock
Presented by Virginia Arts Festival
September 22
Chrysler Hall
