Herbie Hancock’s Vivid display of masterly showmanship

After knocking them dead in Perth and Melbourne, jazz legend Herbie Hancock had the packed Sydney Opera House in the palm of his hand for his one night show.

Herbie Hancock and his band performing in a one-off show for Vivid 2019 at Sydney Opera House. Picture: Prudence Upton

• All our yesterdays
• Jazz on a cold winter’s day
• Paul Kelly on wings of song
• Classical Marsalis masterclass

He charmed, cajoled and enchanted as he and his four-piece band worked their way through a two-and-a-half hour set featuring his unique brand of fusion. Moving smoothly between his Korg Kronos keyboard synthesiser and a Fazioli grand piano, with a couple of numbers using his over the shoulder “axe” keyboard, he sparked off his three “amazing gentlemen” in guitarist-vocalist Lionel Loueke, bassist James Genus and drummer Vinnie Colaiuta.

With modal music covering a large part of the six decades he has been composing, Hancock seduced the audience with his irrepressible sense of fun, welter of astounding musical ideas and hilarious interplay with his collaborators.

Genus played a five-string electric bass and Loueke a sawn-off solid body electric, hooked up to a pedal synthesiser and array of effects — one could have wished for a more “guitar” sound at times as he and Hancock had some relentless duelling matches.

POPPING

Overture started with a spacey synth haze but that soon dissipated as Genus’s rolling, restless bass lines and Colaiuta’s drums anchored Loueke’s popping effects and smooth synthesised guitar lines. Hancock switched to piano and brought the whole number to one of those ecstatic building climaxes of rising chords, riffs and arpeggios that have become one of his trademarks.

Lionel Loueke and James Genus performing with Herbie Hancock. Picture: Prudence Upton

Things were pegged back to lead into Loueke’s solo, Dark Lightning, using taped delays and loops and a computerised voice microphone. Born in Benin, West Africa, he sings a combination of scat and Xhosa with tongue clicking and lip popping effects.

Actual Proof took us back to the 1970s, although as Hancock quipped it could just as easily be the 2070s. “I’m ahead of my time!” he told the packed out audience. This song featured an unbelievable solo from Genus, who is currently the regular bass player in the Saturday Night Live band on American TV, which brought the house down.

Hancock switched to vocal synthesiser for the next two numbers, Secret Source and Come Running To Me, producing a sound which at times sounded like a cross between Stevie Wonder and Al Green.

This was truly a night of music for the 2070s!

Colaiuta stunned with some spectacular solos throughout the two-and-a-half hour set, showing why he has topped so many polls and was the drummer of choice by rock luminaries like Frank Zappa, Sting and Joni Mitchell as well as countless others.

This is positive music which makes you feel good, presented by a genial giant of jazz with amazing players around him, and it is little wonder that Hancock, who turns 80 next year, fills concerts halls, clubs and stadiums around the world drawing a range of punters from grey-haired aficionados, hipster 30-year-olds to mums and dads with their pre-teen children.

Although he took us back to the early days of his post-Miles Davis band solo career with Cantaloupe Island — how I missed Freddy Hubbard’s trumpet! — this was truly a night of music for the 2070s!

DETAILS

● CONCERT: Herbie Hancock

● WHERE: Sydney Opera House Concert Hall

● WHEN: Monday, June 10