Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Have you tried chanting? It works. One of the powerful messages Herbie Hancock imparts to us all is to get in touch with the importance of personal vibrations and interconnectivity.
Concerts are a wild experience. Some people want to listen and vibe while others want to listen very intently. Certain people want to dance for the duration while not saying a word, while some concertgoers want to talk the entire time (chompers). Some people even show up and have zero clue who the band is, and are just hearing the music for the first time.
We (the musicians) are aware of all of you. We go through all kinds of modes when performing, considering all of your mind states. All the while, trying to conjure our best, most focused, spiritually minded selves so all of you, in any state of mind, can have a beautiful experience that transcends and uplifts the spirit.
Herbie is a master of creating a collective consciousness at his concerts.
His adherence to Buddhism and meditation before and after his sets has the ability to bring concertgoers and band members into a unified mind state. Wednesday at the Hollywood Bowl was a great example of that.
The Head Hunters album was released 50 years ago in 1974 (one of my favorite eras of music). It is the kind of record that has influenced multiple generations since its release and continues to inspire younger generations as an intro into the world of deeply funkafied, jazz-inflected, instrumental, improvisational, electronic-spiced soulful music. The album is a trailblazer and has stood the test of time.
Getting to hear Herbie with his original band from that album was thrilling! Studio legend Harvey Mason on drums, (one of my idols) percussion innovator Bill Summers, saxophone and bass clarinetist Bennie Maupin, and Miles Davis alumni Marcus Miller filling in for the late, great Paul Jackson were all spectacular and gave the audience the true authenticity necessary to pay proper tribute to this monumental album.
Augmenting the sound and covering some of Herbie’s studio wizard parts was J3PO, who is a young synth master and member of Marcus Miller’s touring band.
The first set included the songs “Chameleon’, “Watermelon Man”, and “Sly and Vein Melter”, as well as some beloved classics from the Thrust album “Butterfly” and “Palm Grease”. The second set welcomed members of Herbie’s touring band Lionel Loueke on guitar, James Genus on bass, and brass legend Terrence Blanchard on trumpet. A young 25-year-old drummer named Jaylen Petinaud gave the second set an energy boost with some blazing fills and edgy grooves. The set was closer to what Herbie has been doing in the last few years as he continues to perform at the age of 84. Hearing Herbie on his original instruments from that record was an added bonus that created a magical aura which permeated throughout Hollywood Bowl.
I was fortunate to be invited backstage post show to get a chance to kick it with my heroes. I spent some quality minutes with Harvey Mason, which hopefully results in some collaborations in the near future.
I hope everyone that reads this gets a chance to zone out to the Herbie Hancock Head Hunters album and enjoys this truly timeless sonic treasure. #BAM
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Herbie Hancock – Head Hunters [Full Album Playlist]
The post Adam Deitch – Reflections On Herbie Hancock ‘Head Hunters’ 50th Anniversary At Hollywood Bowl appeared first on L4LM.
