Herbie Hancock played BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Fest (pics, video)
photos by Greg Cristman
It began in near-abstraction, with futuristic whooshes and otherworldly synth-glow, before a beat materialized. Then Mr. Martin pivoted from keyboards to saxophone, delivering a solo in bright, imploring bursts against a thrashing loop of funk rhythm.
The tune gradually segued into another section at a more relaxed tempo. Mr. Hancock started into a piano solo with his usual quicksilver poise, but just as he seemed ready to settle in, he swerved instead into a series of syncopated hits designed to showcase the drums. It was a clever head fake: As Mr. Lawrence smartly jackhammered at his cymbals, snare and toms, Mr. Hancock intensified his own output, answering a call. The tune ended like that, ratcheting up before dropping off, and it was just enough to meet ravenous expectations in the crowd. [NY Times]
Herbie Hancock and his new band — which includes prolific West Coast hip hop producer and Kendrick Lamar collaborator Terrace Martin — played Prospect Park on Thursday (8/11) as part of the BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival. In addition to reworked arrangements of Hancock classics like “Watermelon Man” and “Come Running to Me,” he and his band showcased the new, 15-minute track “Overture” which may give a glimpse of the new album the 76-year-old jazz and pop great has been working on. Pictures from Hancock’s Celebrate Brooklyn! show are in the gallery above and video is below.
Openers The Robert Glasper Experiment and Jamie Lidell & The Royal Pharaohs made for a jazzy, funky night all around.
