Music for Grownups: JVC Jazz Festival
By: Richard Gehr | Source: AARP.org | 2008-07-03
Richard Gehr is a veteran music critic based in New York City. His reviews for AARP.org appear every Tuesday; his columns on Thursdays.
The neon JVC Jazz Festival logo hovering behind Carnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium stage is puzzling. It's intended to represent a singer, a saxophonist, and a pianist—simultaneously, I believe—but at first glance it suggests a cigarette ad. The festival's program is a little confusing, too. In addition to indisputable jazz innovators ranging from guitarist Kenny Barron and pianist Cecil Taylor to young Turks such as guitarist Bill Frisell, pianist Brad Mehldau, and The Bad Plus, JVC's big tent also encloses artists from the pop, soul, blues, funk, and Brazil bins.
Keyboardist Herbie Hancock, likewise, tried to be all things to all listeners during his June 23 evening at Carnegie Hall. The impulse seems understandable. Following a career-long string of mainstream and crossover peaks, he recently won Grammy Awards for Best Contemporary Jazz Album and Album of the Year for his 2007 release, “River: The Joni Letters.”
The Joni Mitchell tribute followed the 2005 release, “Possibilities,” an album of cross-genre collaborations with the likes of Christina Aguilera, Sting, and Carlos Santana. That disc was obviously modeled on Santana's own Grammy-winning duet projects. Put the two Hancock titles together and you get Herbie's summer package, “The River of Possibilities Tour.” He plays a string of East Coast dates beginning Aug. 10 at the Newport Jazz Festival in Rhode Island.
The gregarious 68-year-old first popped onstage during the opening set played by guitarist Lionel Loueke. Although he leads a trio, Loueke is a one-man band of sorts. He accompanies his guitar with vocals delivered through an octave-splitting device that electronically enhances a percussive mouth-clicking technique imported from Benin, his West African homeland.
Unfortunately, anyone expecting a long, luxurious evening devoted to the beautiful, jazz-influenced music of Joni Mitchell, as both the show's title and Hancock's Grammys indicated, was out of luck. Loueke's delicate spider-web chords were perfect for "The River," the first Mitchell song Hancock performed during his two-hour set. Sonya Kitchell, the 19-year-old singer-songwriter, struggled with the songwriter's leaping vocals here and in "All I Want." Those were the only two Mitchell songs Hancock performed, alas. Another young singer, Amy Keys, whipped up an R&B froth during U2's "When Love Comes to Town" and Leon Russell's "A Song for You," both from “Possibilities.”
Hancock's top-notch combo played fine, strong jazz around the several pop-jazz forays. Saxophonist Chris Potter picked up where Wayne Shorter left off on “River”; and drummer Vinnie Colaiuta pushed and pulled strongly all night. The bassist Dave Holland reminded us that someone else onstage other than Hancock used to play with Miles Davis. And Loueke's Brazilian-influenced chords added luscious backgrounds to the softer material. Hancock seemed unfocused during a long, slow solo improvisation on "Maiden Voyage," which made many restless. But his one-on-one interactions with his bandmates were consistently inspired. The quintet cooked, especially during its muscular opener, "Actual Proof," and in two closing numbers. Hancock strapped on his Roland keytar during an extended version of his funk hit, "Chameleon," and wandered about the stage like a rock star—even though the performance was purportedly a jazz concert in Carnegie Hall.
Keyboardist Herbie Hancock, likewise, tried to be all things to all listeners during his June 23 evening at Carnegie Hall. The impulse seems understandable. Following a career-long string of mainstream and crossover peaks, he recently won Grammy Awards for Best Contemporary Jazz Album and Album of the Year for his 2007 release, “River: The Joni Letters.”
The Joni Mitchell tribute followed the 2005 release, “Possibilities,” an album of cross-genre collaborations with the likes of Christina Aguilera, Sting, and Carlos Santana. That disc was obviously modeled on Santana's own Grammy-winning duet projects. Put the two Hancock titles together and you get Herbie's summer package, “The River of Possibilities Tour.” He plays a string of East Coast dates beginning Aug. 10 at the Newport Jazz Festival in Rhode Island.
The gregarious 68-year-old first popped onstage during the opening set played by guitarist Lionel Loueke. Although he leads a trio, Loueke is a one-man band of sorts. He accompanies his guitar with vocals delivered through an octave-splitting device that electronically enhances a percussive mouth-clicking technique imported from Benin, his West African homeland.
Unfortunately, anyone expecting a long, luxurious evening devoted to the beautiful, jazz-influenced music of Joni Mitchell, as both the show's title and Hancock's Grammys indicated, was out of luck. Loueke's delicate spider-web chords were perfect for "The River," the first Mitchell song Hancock performed during his two-hour set. Sonya Kitchell, the 19-year-old singer-songwriter, struggled with the songwriter's leaping vocals here and in "All I Want." Those were the only two Mitchell songs Hancock performed, alas. Another young singer, Amy Keys, whipped up an R&B froth during U2's "When Love Comes to Town" and Leon Russell's "A Song for You," both from “Possibilities.”
Hancock's top-notch combo played fine, strong jazz around the several pop-jazz forays. Saxophonist Chris Potter picked up where Wayne Shorter left off on “River”; and drummer Vinnie Colaiuta pushed and pulled strongly all night. The bassist Dave Holland reminded us that someone else onstage other than Hancock used to play with Miles Davis. And Loueke's Brazilian-influenced chords added luscious backgrounds to the softer material. Hancock seemed unfocused during a long, slow solo improvisation on "Maiden Voyage," which made many restless. But his one-on-one interactions with his bandmates were consistently inspired. The quintet cooked, especially during its muscular opener, "Actual Proof," and in two closing numbers. Hancock strapped on his Roland keytar during an extended version of his funk hit, "Chameleon," and wandered about the stage like a rock star—even though the performance was purportedly a jazz concert in Carnegie Hall.
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