Directions In Music - Michael Brecker/ Herbie Hancock/ Roy Hargrove

Jan

1

Directions In Music - Michael Brecker/ Herbie Hancock/ Roy Hargrove

≡ Category: 1990s, Post Bop, Recommended, Reviews |
≅ Written by: Michael Kydonieus

JAZZBO NOTES RECOMMENDED RECORDING

Rating:

Recorded on the 75th anniversary of the births of both John Coltrane and Miles Davis, this tour was obviously based on the model of Miles’ second great quintet, which Herbie Hancock was a part of.

This is not, however, a straight exercise in nostalgia like the VSOP Quintet of the late 70s. The three leaders seem intent on pushing Miles’ post bop formula in new directions, hence the title of the CD. It helps that the three men — hell, the quintet (which includes bassist John Patitucci and drummer Brian Blade) — are in complete communion, undoubtedly the product of heavy touring.

This is post bop on a very high level.

Herbie Hancock sounds more committed on this recording than I’ve heard him since the late 70s. Too often these days, he sounds like he’s talking to himself instead of conversing with his bandmates. Not here. Moreover, Hancock has reverted to the crystalline right hand single note runs and crisp to-the-point comping that used to characterize his playing.

Brecker sounds inspired. He employs a few of his standard patterns here, but for the most part, he’s pushing against the limits of what he could do at the time. During this stage of his career, Brecker had hit a ceiling against his own talent. He had an enormous bag of tricks but was beginning to repeat himself, which Brecker absolutely was aware of and struggled valiantly against. He never relaxed and settled for less than he could push himself to do. He would challenge himself to cram more ideas into a phrase, go farther afield in terms of harmony, whatever he could think of. Eventually, all of this effort would pay off in the last few years of his life, starting with the Wide Angles date, but even now, he was a force to be reckoned with.

Brecker’s unaccompanied solo of the Coltrane standard Naima is a gutsy move — it invites direct comparison with the master, since Coltrane often played unaccompanied versions of his tunes in concert. Brecker’s version is certainly impressive in terms of saxophone technique, and it isn’t ALL about saxophone technique by any means, but he’s not yet at Coltrane’s level, where the ideas would pour out of his horn essentially unfiltered from his soul. He’d get there eventually. He’s playing duets up in Heaven with Coltrane right now if there’s any justice at all.

Hargrove sounds almost nothing like Miles. There’s little of the coy avoidance of the key center that Miles used to tease audiences with. Miles always struck me as arrogant the way he would whisper out a raspy flurry of notes, almost contemptuous about the need of the audience to understand where he was going (that’s not a criticism, by the way). Instead, Hargrove is direct. Not unsophisticated, but direct. He’s a lot more like Freddie Hubbard that way. Of course, Hargrove’s presence is necessary for the format of the group, but he holds his own in his improvisations, even if they aren’t of the same mindblowing quality as those of Brecker and Hancock.

The rhythm team of Brian Blade on drums and John Patitucci on bass can hardly be described as slackers either. They have a fierce sense of swing, but they can also adjust to the demands of the soloists almost telepathically. I doubt any rhythm section will ever equal the subtlety of Tony Williams and Ron Carter, but I refuse to put down these talented young players for being themselves by playing the comparison game. They make a killer rhythm team. They’re different, that’s all.

Both young men distinguish themselves on their solo spots, too. John Pattitucci is somewhat pensive and impressionistic, emphasizing variations in timbre and the shape of his phrases instead of the harmonic content of his improvisations over the changes. On his solo spot, Brian Blade highlights raw power and rapid changes in dynamics.

The program is roughly half standards and half originals by members of the group. The group doesn’t take the easy way out by simply repeating what has been done before with tunes like So What, Impressions, and The Sorcerer. Each composition receives a fresh interpretation. The most radical reworking is Impressions, which is taken at a mournful crawl. That would seem like a terrible idea, but somehow the quintet manages to make it work.

Really, there aren’t any weak links in this quintet. Looking back over this review, it sure reads like a rave. So why isn’t the rating higher? The reason is that Directions In Music can only be profitably listened to in one way — with your full attention. If you try to put on Directions In Music as background, you’ll probably get a headache really fast. This is the sort of thing that will drive most girlfriends nuts (at least the girlfriends I’ve had — my apologies in advance to all the female jazz fans out there).

As I have noted elsewhere on this site, I have a prejudice and that is, at the highest level, music should be intellectually rigorous AND accessible, the way much of Wayne Shorter’s music is, for example. Or John Coltrane (at least until his very last recordings). Or Miles himself.

My only other criticism is that every once in a while Brian Blade lets youthful enthusiasm get the best of him and overplays in spots.

Reservations aside, Directions In Music succeeds exactly as the quintet intended, as a no-holds-barred exercise at pushing at the limits of post bop.