Herbie Hancock

lol Margasak. When he was the Reader's music critic, and Rosenbaum the film critic, that was some peak '90s snobbery (bless em both).

I don't love Head Hunters either. That band improved on Thrust and Man-Child and especially Flood.

Head Hunters is incredible and I love how it sounds (so spacious even with everything that's going on, probably because everything is so dry), but it's a bit hard to hear after countless jam session versions of Chameleon and Watermelon Man. Still, Thrust >>>>>

Has anyone caught the current tour? I know I should go, I mean it's probably our last chance to see him.

Btw I just happened to read this about Round Midnight recently, a blog from Kirk Lightsey, who played piano for Dexter Gordon for a number of years:

Back in New York when Dexter was working on the movie “Round Midnight,” he didn’t call me for the gig. There was a pecking order and a placement in NY at the time. There were people in line for that gig before me. Herbie Hancock and Cedar Walton . . .. So many fingers. For the movie, of course, I had been playing for five years with Dexter, so I was on the list. But I wasn’t high enough up in the pecking order. For the movie or the pecking order.
https://www.coming-and-going.com/post/how-it-all-ended-with-dexter

His performance at Big Ears was full of energy and the band killed it (esp Lionel Loueke on guitar). The set was on the 70s fusion-y side. He even played "Come Running to Me"!

I can definitely see why some might find the Headhunters era sound offputting. There's something a bit shrill or nasal bout it btw the soprano sax and wah guitar and clavinet type tones. I'm only in the right mood for it sometimes.

In my experience Headhunters is one of those recs that ppl with no jazz experience REALLY enjoy (as opposed to say Kind of Blue where the response is much more dutiful). It’s got some bangin’ tunes and is v funky, I can understand why it’s a hit, I love it too.

it's news to me that anybody doesn't like the Head Hunters LP

seriously

It's definitely news to me that anyone doesn't like that record but likes Thrust and Man-Child. A take I haven't heard.

Hip-hop songs that sample tracks from Head Hunters > Head Hunters

smdh

some of you do not own any corduroy sportscoats and it shows

xps My partner's in grad school and sometimes gets student discount offers for various events around NYC. Hancock's Lincoln Center/David Geffen Hall show popped up as one last fall. I almost forgot about it until this past week when it showed up on our calendar and I forgot we maximized the deal by getting front row seats. I've never seen Hancock this close and it was REALLY close - the guy next to me joked it was like sitting in coach on an airplane because the stage was inches from our feet. So good - the only downside was they were allotted just 90 minutes and they've been playing a full two hours everywhere else, so the set did feel a bit truncated. (Hancock actually wrapped up the penultimate number after checking his watch and telling us through his vocoder that "I'm sorry but we only have five minutes left!") Regardless, if you've never seen them before (and my partner hadn't) definitely go, but FWIW, the setlist covers a lot of the same ground as their recent tours. At this point, I'd love to see an all-acoustic show partly to change things up.

synth tones are nearly as bad as Zawinul's

You should ask yourself if this is the genre for you tbh

Came across this brutal takedown by Peter Margasak🕸.

synth tones are nearly as bad as Zawinul's

You should ask yourself if this is the genre for you tbh

I'd venture that all the big fusion keyboard players sounded better on organs and electric pianos than synths, at least for a few years, which is one reason why I like the Mwandishi stuff best.
I don't feel the same about the big name prog keyboardists, who tended to be equally tasteful or tasteless whatever instrument they played.