40 - Herbie Hancock

Herbie Hancock
Carnegie Hall
23 June 2008, 2000

Before the one and only Herbie Hancock and the River of Possibilities Tour, there was the Lionel Loueke Trio (aka Gilfema), which features Lionel Loueke on guitar, Massimo Biolcati on bass and Ferenc Nemeth on drums. A truly international group, Loueke is from Benin a small country in West Africa, Massimo is half Italian and half Swedish growing up in both countries, and Ferenc is from Hungary. Together they have a very powerful yet smooth sound. The guys in the group have each trained at some of the finest music schools in the world and have each played with some of the best jazz musicians of our time. They are dynamic and play extraordinarily well with each other and as soloists. Not only was Loueke a part of the opening trio, he also played guitar for our headliner, Herbie Hancock.

The River of Possibilities tour is aptly named, since Herbie's last two albums are titled "River" (an album with an aim to dissect some of Joni Mitchell's work) and "Possibilities" (which features artists such as John Mayer, Annie Lennox, Joss Stone, Paul Simon, and Santana). Herbie was born in 1940 in Chicago, and at the ripe old age of 11 he played his first Mozart piano concerto with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Although he was always interested in music, he developed an additional passion for electronic science and double majored in music and electrical engineering in college. Herbie was a child prodigy and has become one of the finest jazz pianists and composers. He was joined on stage by Loueke, Dave Holland on bass, Vinnie Colaiuta on drums, and Chris Potter on saxophone. The group was presented as part of the JVC Jazz Festival. The concert was absolutely sublime, and they even played one of my favorite Hancock tunes, "Chameleon."

100 in 6 budget: $586