Review: Herbie Hancock in top form in four-star show in Toronto
Herbie Hancock
June 29 at Meridian Hall, Toronto
After two postponements due to COVID restrictions, Chicago jazz legend Herbie Hancock finally made it to Meridian Hall and the TD Toronto Jazz Festival on Thursday night.
While the spry 83-year-old said nothing about his past delays in front of the enthralled, sold-out crowd of nearly 3,200, he did issue a warning.
“It starts out really weird,” Hancock told them. “Strap in!”
And with that, Hancock – seated at a Korg Kronos synthesizer with a grand piano within reach just behind him – launched an avant-garde spatial territory with his trio that heralded an ultimate journey back in time to the 1970s, and visits to the funk and fusion era of the keyboardist’s extraordinary and prolific career.
Frankly, until the music started with “Overture,” no one was really sure what form the 100-minute performance would take, as Hancock’s history—both with jazz and Toronto—has been a multifaceted one.
It’s been more than 60 years since the 14-time Grammy and one-time Oscar winner was introduced as a leader with the album ‘Takin’ Off’. He has since joined pioneering trumpeter Miles Davis in one of his remarkable quintets as they transitioned from cool, modal jazz to introducing electronica into the mix; composed the jazz standards “Watermelon Man”, “Maiden Voyage” and “Chameleon”; explored jazz funk with his popular band The Head Hunters; revisited more traditional jazz with VSOP; topped the Billboard dance charts in the early 1980s with “Rockit”; has performed George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and recorded the 2001 Grammy-winning “Directions in Music: Live at Massey Hall”.
So, with a wide palette to choose from, Hancock largely stuck to his funk and fusion roots: long, long jams with the maestro often flitting back and forth between keyboards for whatever the occasion warranted.
In fact, the Meridian Hall audience was blessed with the presence of two superstars: Hancock was accompanied on trumpet and keyboards by New Orleans multi-Grammy-winning and Oscar-nominated Terence Blanchard, Spike Lee’s go-to film composer, who made us “A Tale of God’s Will (A Requiem for Katrina)” and, more recently, the score to the 2022 film “The Woman King” – composed, Hancock said, on the tour bus “while everyone else was asleep.”
On this night, Blanchard served as sideman, running his trumpet through the pedals so that it sounded like a chorus of horns. Rounding out the lineup was bassist James Genus, who has performed and recorded with everyone from Don Pullen and Lee Konitz to Chick Corea and Daft Punk, and a fresh young lion on drums, Jaylen Petinaud.
“You’re going to be hearing a lot from him,” Hancock promised.
It was easy to see why, with Petinaud tastefully delivering a rhythmic backdrop that added its own nuance without any exaggeration. Even his solos favored intensity over showmanship, and the restraint hinted at his tendency to be a team player rather than the spotlight.
The ensemble performed only a handful of songs, including Hancock’s former Miles Davis bandmate Wayne Shorter, who died just a few months ago and whom Hancock called his best friend. “Footprints” was dominated by Hancock’s lyrical accompaniment, which added a dimension of crispness to the long strings of arpeggios and accentuated chords that alternated perfectly with Blanchard’s horn blast, a combination of melody and improvisation that leaned more towards brush strokes than elastic virtuosity.
Hancock and his crew were on top form all night, displaying an enviable alchemy during “Actual Proof” from 1974’s “Thrust,” with the boss flinging back and forth between the keyboards and bassist Genus providing a solid foundation of groove with Petinaud while he uttered the notes he was. playing on his four-stringed instrument.
There were a few surprises: Hancock sang “Come Running to Me” from 1978’s “Sunlight,” though his voice was distorted by a vocoder. Ever the charming entertainer, he deviated from the script to sing about how he was tired of making mistakes, but to do so was human — and the audience giggled along with the joke.
He also pulled out his keytar – a synthesizer-guitar hybrid – to play the funky groove melody bass line from “Chameleon” before venturing into solo land and, to be honest, we could have used a lot more of that fantastic ostinato riff than he came to us.
But beggars can’t choose: being in the presence of one of music’s true innovators was a rare treat, and the music he performed was always cheering, pulsating, and a strong mix of inside and out that never alienated the adoring crowd that came to witness his genius.
The show ended with a mighty leap, keytar in hand, the masterful Herbie Hancock then dashed off stage with such vitality that you could almost read the minds of his delighted spectators: they can hardly wait to hear what he’s about to come up with during his next 83 years.
