James on Jazz: Herbie Hancock performance an early holiday present

Where was I? Ah yes, Mr. Herbie Hancock. Last column, I mentioned his name.

Imagine: It’s Christmas time, and you have this huge living room with a big black grand piano and enough money to hire Hancock to play for you all evening long. It’s just you (ok, maybe a few friends), Hancock, and he’s up for playing whatever you want him to play. What would you ask him to play?

My fantasy would be for him to play “Mimosa” immediately. I love that song. It’s simple. It’s beautiful. It’s from one of my favorite all-time Blue Note jazz albums, Inventions & Dimensions from 1963 (around the time he became a pianist for Miles Davis and played in one of the finest jazz ensembles ever). There’s also an alternate take of “Mimosa” — actually it’s a bonus track on the reissue.

It might be nice to talk about the makings of that song afterwards. The liner notes only tell you so much. I know the song may not sound the same as when Paul Chambers, Willie Bobo, and Osvaldo “Chihuahua” Martinez play it on the record, but who cares. I bet Hancock would still sound good. Make that great.

I would also love for him to play music from the Miles Davis album Seven Steps to Heaven, also recorded in 1963, available on Columbia Records. Hancock plays on the title track, “So Near, So Far” (a bonus track not on original disc) and “Joshua.” Victor Feldman, not Hancock, plays beautifully on the track “I Fall in Love Too Easily,” but I’m curious to hear what Hancock would do with it solo.

Well, Christmas time is almost here, and instead of a lovely private performance, a solo performance at Orchestra Hall on Friday, October 28 will just have to do. The event is billed as a one-night-only performance included in his first-ever solo tour.

In an excellent exclusive cover story interview for Jazzwise (“Hopes and Dreams,” November 2008), Hancock revealed to Stuart Nicholson that the most musically stimulating period of his career in jazz took place during his time with Miles Davis. Hancock also talks about his Grammy awards and his support of President Barack Obama.

Hancock says, as it relates to working with Miles, “I was placed in an environment which encouraged me to explore, and that’s so crucial to the development of any musician in their life. I learned from that gig the idea of playing something, of reaching towards something that is meaningful and honest, that has real value.

“I learned so much from Miles Davis. He taught me how to listen, and the importance of listening; and he didn’t do that by telling me anything, he did it through his playing, and at that point I learned something else too, and that is being what you believe in, doing what you believe in, and that says a ton about what it is about the point you’re trying to make…”

Hancock made his debut as a leader for Blue Note in 1962. The album is entitled Takin’ Off, which includes the popular song “Watermelon Man.” He is the chairman of the Thelonious Monk Institute.
Here comes the official press release information:

The legendary jazz pianist Herbie Hancock is embarking on his first-ever solo tour throughout North America this fall. The single performance is slated for Minneapolis’ Orchestra Hall on Friday, October 28, at 8 pm. For more information, call Minnesota Orchestra Ticket Services at 612-371-5656 or visit the Orchestra’s website, minnesotaorchestra.org.
Program highlights include elements of both his acoustic and electric musical heritage and material from throughout his celebrated career, featuring re-arrangements and reinterpretations of his canon of modern jazz, funk and electronic music and accompanied only by Hancock on his arsenal of keyboards and his signature Fazioli Grand piano.

Composer, pianist and bandleader Herbie Hancock has earned the status of an international music icon during a five-decade career spanning the jazz, R&B and pop genres. His recent projects include the Grammy-winning 2010 CD The Imagine Project, a collaboration with Dave Matthews, the Chieftains, Anoushka Shankar and numerous additional artists, featuring music that expresses the themes of peace and global responsibility.
Hancock is a Chicago native. He was a piano prodigy as a child, debuting as a concerto soloist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at age 11.
Hancock is the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Creative Chair for Jazz. In July 2011, he was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador by the United Nations’ UNESCO agency. Visit herbiehancock.com.

Robin James welcomes reader responses to jamesonjazz@spokesman-recorder.com.