A look back at the first few days at the Montreal Jazz Festival (Part Two)

Day three:  This one i had circled on my calendar for months.  Two of the greatest living legends in jazz performing on the same night: Sonny Rollins followed by Herbie Hancock.

Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier was packed. The atmosphere was electric as we eagerly awaited the saxophone colossus. Adding to the nervous excitement was the fact that the band was running late. An anxious fifteen minutes later than expected, Sonny took the stage.  Dressed in a bright red shirt, and sporting a giant silver afro, Rollins began the show by accepting the Miles Davis award, presented to him by the festival artistic director André Ménard.

With the formalities out of the way, Sonny got down to business.  I swear to you, the first few bars he played gave me chills. Hearing that familiar tone, that signature melodic phrasing, it felt surreal.  It was like meeting the president (I would say Prime Minister but who actually wants to meet Steve Harper?), or a movie star.  It was a feeling of being confronted face to face with something familiar, but unattainable.


Unfortunately, those initial moments, that tingling feeling, was the high point of the show for me.

Don't get me wrong, Sonny Rollins laid it down, and showed why he is still regarded as one of the greatest saxophonists of all time. And as far as entertainment goes I was entertained. From all accounts the entire house was entertained.  However, in terms of a "sonic experience", my inner afficionado was left wanting more.  Like i said, Sonny was Sonny, a little watered down maybe, but he let fly like a man half his 80 years.

My disappointment lied  mainly in his supporting cast. That statement might be a bit misleading. It was clear that these guys were high calibur musicians, but it felt like they were playing on a leash all evening.  It was just frustrating hearing them play so deep inside the box.  I kept waiting for them to stretch out, waiting for them to take it to the next level. It just never came.

I certainly wouldn't say the show was a negative experience. As mentioned, it was highly entertaining, and being in the presence of a living legend like Sonny Rollins was an experience i wouldn't trade. I just had higher expectations.
 

Herbie Hancock on the other hand, was a different story.

The band (Vinnie Colaiuta: Drums, Tal Wilkenfeld: Bass, Lionel Loueke: Guitar, and Brian McCullough: Keyboards) were clearly eager to get the party started.  The band began jamming on some funk inspired tune when Herbie took to the stage.  Then in a moment both anticlimactic and comical, Herbie instructed his band to shut it down, as they had begun before the house could play it's requisite PSA recording.

Once the preamble was finished, they dove right into an extended version of "Watermellon Man" (the Headhunters version of course). Not having seen Hancock live before, this was spine tingling for me.  Having listened to his Headhunters album seemingly hundreds of times, it was pretty mind blowing to hear this tune come to life.  The highlight of the tune coming when Herbie strapped on his portable Roland "keytar" and traded solo riffs with both Wilkenfeld and Loueke.

They followed that up with the tune "Court and Spark" from Herbie's Grammy winning album "River; The Joni Letters", which featured the lovely Kristina Train on vocals.  They then played a medley of that featured "Dolphin Dance", "'Round Midnight", and eventually settled on "Cantaloupe Island".

From there, the group moved into music from Herbie's new album "The Imagine Project". Herbie gave a short speech about globalization, how it's unavoidable, and how through it, we'll find peace.  The band played through a number of politically inspired pop tunes including John Lennon's "Imagine", Bob Marley's "Exodus", Bob Dylan's "The Times They Are A-Changin'" and Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come", as well as a few more from the new album.

And of course to cap the night off in style, they came out and played "Chameleon" as an encore.  More solos, more interaction, it was exactly what i was hoping for.


Beyond the fact that I was observing one of my jazz idols in the flesh, the thing that most stood out to me during the show was the play of Tal Wilkenfeld on the Bass.  As a bass player myself it isn't unusual for me to be captivated by a great bassist, but Tal stood out for a number of reasons.  Here was this very young looking (23 years of age it turns out) FEMALE bassist playing with one of jazz's greatest icons.  And she didn't just keep up, i thought she was electrifying at times. She played with incredible precision, and brought the "dirt" to the funk tunes, as well as a lyricism beyond her years in the softer tunes (including a beautiful solo bass/ vocal performance on "The Times They Are A-Changin'".  She really opened my eyes, and left me wanting to hear more. It turns out she has an album out called "Transformation" that she recorded when she was just 20 years old. Check it out on itunes if you get the chance.

On the whole, it was an incredibly entertaining evening. I wished for maybe a bit More "classic" Herbie, and a bit less pop inspired material, but all in all the evening offered a good balance.