Herbie Hancock plays George Gershwin (Rhapsody in blue)
This post is on request by my good friend Jan Dahlstedt (he knows a lot about good music).
Herbert Jeffrey “Herbie” Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American pianist, keyboardist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis’s Second Great Quintet, Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the “post-bop” sound. He was one of the first jazz musicians to embrace music synthesizers and funk music (characterized by syncopated drum beats). Hancock’s music is often melodic and accessible; he has had many songs “cross over” and achieved success among pop audiences. His music embraces elements of funk and soul while adopting freer stylistic elements from jazz. In his jazz improvisation, he possesses a unique creative blend of jazz, blues, and modern classical music, with harmonic stylings much like the styles of Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel.
Hancock’s best-known solo works include “Cantaloupe Island”, “Watermelon Man” (later performed by dozens of musicians, including bandleader Mongo Santamaría), “Maiden Voyage”, “Chameleon”, and the singles “I Thought It Was You” and “Rockit”. His 2007 tribute album River: The Joni Letters won the 2008 Grammy Award for Album of the Year, only the second jazz album ever to win the award after Getz/Gilberto in 1965.
Hancock is a member of Sōka Gakkai International.
On July 22, 2011 at a ceremony in Paris, Hancock was named UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for the promotion of Intercultural Dialogue. (Wikipedia)
Below you can enjoy a nice interpretation of George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue by Herbie Hancock:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ispKtW3fxkk
To anybody who is familiar with the music of Herbie Hancock this symphonic performance was not a feast for the ears. Herbie is a wonderful musician who is above playing from a musicsheet. He is at his best when given the freedom to improvise, showing his sense of rhythm and harmony. As an accompanist he is also superb, supporting and complementing, often anticipating what comes next from the soloist. Rhapsody In Blue is a showpiece for an equilibristic pianist, which Hancock is not. He must have suffered going through this demanding assignment, so different from what he can do much better.
As for Duhamel´s interpretation I found it strangely mechanical and hurried. It should be taken at a slower tempo, showing off its romantic quality.