yesterday i went to see the hong kong arts festival "directions in music" concert, a tribute to miles and coltrane by herbie hancock, michael brecker, roy hargrove, jon patitucci, and willie jones. it was just an amazing experience. i've been to a lot of shows, and there are good concerts and bad concerts, but then there are some that are simply life-changing.
watching virtuosity is always fun, but last night was the kind of night that makes you want to not just be a better musician, but better at EVERYTHING you do, you know what i mean? to just PRACTICE, and practice a lot, and get good at SOMETHING. the thinking being, "well, these guys are so amazing ... i've obviously wasted my life, i should really practice more."
awe-struckness aside, the show was great. they didn't just cover miles and coltrane songs, they gave new interpretations of them, mixing freer styles with regular small-group styles and never just conceding and "replaying the old standards." i wasn't really familiar with roy hargrove or michael brecker but they were both very, very, good. michael brecker did a fluid solo version of "naima" that left the whole audience stunned at the end. willie jones kept an ever-changing, very responsive beat throughout and played probably the best drum solo i'd ever seen live. go see them if they come to your city!
Posted by cce at February 17, 2003 03:54 PM | TrackBack