062602 Herbie Hancock with Michael Brecker, Roy Hargrove, John Patitucci, and Brian Blade, Ottawa, ON

Herbie Hancock is one of the bona fide legends walking this planet who still creates music at the top of his game.  A thoughtful and creative musician, Hancock is a gentle jazz giant who specializes in surrounding himself with others of a similar ilk, and on June 26th, 2002 he brought his current collection of brilliance along with him to Ottawa’s National Arts Centre.

I have recordings of jazz Jedis like Charlie Parker and John Coltrane playing together, and iconic bandleaders like Miles Davis fronting a stable of sidemen that reads like a who’s who of jazz history.  In between tracks the audiences show their modest appreciation and I get jealous that I wasn’t there with every recorded handclap, bitter that I was born at the wrong time to have experienced these shows.  But lacking any sort of practical time machine my only option is to be an audience member in the past of the future, to sit quietly in the grooves of albums yet to be pressed and wait for my turn to cheer.

And so I sat and gaped as Michael Brecker (1949-2007) blew a lifetime of experience through his sax, I marvelled as the young, brash trumpet player Roy Hargrove (1969-2018) soloed like a hungry prizefighter, I closed my eyes and felt the warmth of John Patitucci’s bass washing the room in low end, and I absolutely swooned at the glory that is Brian Blade on the drums.  And that’s not hyperbole; that Brian Blade guy makes me love music all over again every time I see him play.  Is there a drummer in the world who can beat a smile out of a ride cymbal like this guy can?

And all the while Herbie Hancock guides the ship, the stoic captain who wisely knows when to steer and when to defer to the crew.  It’s a trip I’m always happy to go on.  

Jazz giants live and breath music and there are few joys greater than being in the room when they unleash their magic on one another.  It’s a unique experience every single time, a sunrise of sound that can never be repeated.

Except on some future recording of course, where these gems can be worshipped, studied and memorized, down to every last handclap.