(Overexposed and flash-bounced for sure, but it’s still the real deal…)
Sticks, BD and I went to see the Herbie Hancock Quartet tonight at UCSB. It was a great venue — the theater was sold out, but small enough that there wasn’t a bad seat in the house. It was their only Southern California performance and what a performance it was…amazing.
I saw Herbie Hancock as a kid with my parents a couple of times. There were a lot of jazz concerts in those days I didn’t much care for — too avant-garde and sophisticated for a kid — but Herbie was one that I always looked forward to. During the opening number tonight I was taken back to the days of hearing him play with Miles Davis and then ultimately headlining his own shows. We had every album he made. My father always bought them the day they were released and played them reverently for about a week afterward before carefully filing it away in his huge jazz collection. It took him about a year to cycle through it, but eventually there would be a Saturday morning where Herbie was my alarm clock again.
Sticks begged and pleaded for the rather pricey tickets to this event because Vinnie Colaiuta is the drummer for this quartet. I really enjoy Vinnie’s playing too — his mastery of musical drumming really shines on “River: The Joni Letters“, Herbie’s tribute to Joni Mitchell, so it seemed like a good investment.
Think of a musician or actor or celebrity that you truly just thought was perfect. That’s how Sticks views Vinnie’s playing, and he wasn’t disappointed, nor were we. Vinnie Colaiuta is a one-of-a-kind amazing drummer. Every lick is intentional; the stick doesn’t hit anything without a purpose, and it’s done with incredible precision and timing. If Vinnie was a drummer god before tonight, afterwards he has been lifted to the highest drumming deity possible in Sticks’ mind.
Kenny Loggins made a guest appearance to rock hard on a superb rendition of U2′s “When Love Comes to Town” with Sonya Kitchell, who sang “River” in Corrine Bailey Rae’s absence. She also did a really nice version of “Court and Spark” before getting down and dirty with Kenny Loggins. What complete fun!
To round off Sticks’ night, “Chameleon” was the encore number. Last year, Sticks performed Chameleon as the final number with his combo at the jazz festivals and was roundly criticized by the adjudicators for attempting it with bass, piano and drums, as well as intentionally speeding up the final figure to add some intensity and urgency. He felt vindicated to see this quartet (Piano, drums, bass and guitar) give an inspiring performance without a sax or trumpet in sight, and especially vindicated to hear Vinnie subtly speed up the final figure, too. While he accepts the criticism saying he’s no Vinnie Colaiuta, he still felt better about making the decision to play it at all, and play it the way they did.
After the concert, Sticks grabbed me (he only loves me for my camera) and made a beeline for the stage door. His goal, of course, was to meet and possibly get a picture with the elusive Vinnie, who is not known for back door meet-and-greets. Vinnie did not make an appearance, but the incredibly gracious Herbie Hancock took the time to sign autographs, and pose for pictures taken with cell phones and all manner of cameras. What a generous soul he is — after pouring it all out on the stage he was smiling and talking and signing and posing. Unfortunately, I’d handed my camera off to BD, because I am more Vinnie-like and was somewhat reticent to be hanging out at the backstage door in the first place. (Actually, my reaction was much more to the effect of “I don’t have the balls to walk in that door but if you do…do it, but at least get a picture, wouldja?“) The camera was set for a photo much farther away like the one I got of Kenny Loggins, so the flash bounced all over the place and just about wiped Sticks out. Fortunately I was able to rehabilitate most of it with Photoshop to add to his growing collection of photos-with-famous-jazz-musicians file.
And that, friends, was our evening out. The first one in a long time and well worth it. If you’re a jazz fan and are in Tucson or Phoenix on the 14th or 15th, don’t miss what is sure to be a great concert. The 15th is the final stop on this tour — then Vinnie is off to tour with Jeff Beck in England. Sticks was right — it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I’m really glad we didn’t pass it up.
Next stop for me? Lord of the Dance on Wednesday night in Santa Barbara. I guess this is my week to be a patron of the arts. DG and I take off for regional championships on Thursday morning, and she insisted that seeing this performance (despite the fact that we’ve seen LOTD and Feet of Flames twice before) would be inspiring. I hope that’s true, because the tickets to these things are not in any way, shape or form, a bargain.
Technorati Tags: Herbie Hancock, Vinnie Colaiuta, Kenny Loggins, UCSB, concert, review
