He didn't play that many sus chords... everything but.
Avenues of pursuit, nice way of putting it.
Those who appreciate the softness of a woman's thigh, and philistines..
But of course, no implied criticism... the appreciation probably would have benefited from knowing the tune he was pulling apart is all.
One of the great things about Herbie is that so much of his music is instantly accessible, but that was deeper into the idiom of jazz perhaps.
but I'm sure you appreciate the softness of a woman's thigh... whoa, that doesn't sound quite right out of context.
I'd say also that Jazz can and does benefit from the fire of youth... listen to a 17 year old Tony Williams drumming with Miles Davis' 2nd great quintet in the '60s (that also featured Herbie Hancock).
Admittedly, by this point Williams had already been playing professionally for several years in other bands, an example of the kind of mentoring that just isn't possible without the critical mass of musical culture to surround young talent. And really Miles' place in the firmament of Jazz has as much to do with the legacy of the promising musicians he cherry-picked, who then helped him shift the direction of modern music, as his own relentless drive for exploration and change.
So in Herbie Hancock you have an ex-Miles-sideman who was hugely influential in exploring the possibilities of synthesized sound, and funk (and in my opinion helping to open the door for modern electronic music), innovating over the space of more than 40 years of professional playing.
And in a charitable interpretation, perhaps his goal in his first concert on these shores was to bring us up to date on the story so far, filling a large chunk of the programme with music from the era of Head Hunters - 'Vein Melter', 'Watermelon Man', and 'Chameleon' (the encore) as well as 'Actual Proof' from the followup album Thrust - all recorded when he was in his mid 30's and possibly at the balance point between the drive and innovation of youth, and the experience and skill to pull off something so genre shaking.
But maybe I expected more of a continuation of that innovation, and was hoping for something newer, great as his legacy and the music from that period is.
And there were moments where the band stretched the old tunes into new shapes, and the interaction and skill of the musicians took the band into interesting places.
However for me and at least some others the highlight of the concert was Herbie Hancock playing the master musician, distilling his years of experience into the haunting solo rendition and reharmonisation of Maiden Voyage. Very dense and harmonically rich treatment.
And having said all that, the newest material in the concert (off the Starbucks collaboration with various pop celebrities) left me cold. It felt a little like he was underestimating the audience and pandering, although everyone's got a right to a retirement plan. But what's the point of taking the pop vocalists "out of the box" if you put the Band in the Box to do it.
But the guitarist Lionel Loueke... his solo piece, and the following composition that I'm guessing was his, were unexpected gems.
Have I earned my jazz-geek propeller beanie yet? 
Those zebra crossing flashing catseyes seem like a good idea, except they have an unadvertised feature... they also broadcast simultaneous beeps onto the radios of cars approaching (or at least the one near the Royal Oak roundabout did on one occasion onto the crappy AM radio in my car).
You can see the thinking behind it: get attention with an audible alarm.
But the first time it happened to me, I was distracted enough by my radio making odd noises that it never had before, to look at it and take my eyes away from the road. Then when i looked back, my eye was drawn to the flashing catseyes (on the centre line well in front of the crossing, focussing my attention short of where it needed to be).
Then I put it together and saw the person at the crossing, who I would have seen earlier if not for the warnings that directed my attention away from what I was being warned about.
Sure, it's ok the second time... but the first time you come across them I'd say they do more harm than good. And they aren't exactly widespread yet, so for a while there will be plenty of people exposed for the first time.
Or it might be that I'm just not that smart I guess.
not for me yet...
[edit] more details:
http://www.nzmusic.com/music/main_page isn't working for me at all..
when logged out "music" in primary nav points to http://www.nzmusic.com/music/main_page
when logged in "music" in primary nav points to http://www.nzmusic.com/music/new_zealand_music_wiki_main_page
pathauto / aliases / caching involved maybe? might settle after a cron run?
uh oh..
Fatal error: Call to undefined function wikitools_drupal_path() in /home/.kate/tmbsd/www.nzmusic.com/modules/wikitools/wikitools.module on line 476
...those who can stay focused, and hey look at this cool video I found on youtube.
The Hot Grits www.hotgrits.co.nz or www.myspace.com/thehotgrits
More funk than you can shake a chicken at.
Saturday 19 May
KHUJA LOUNGE
Top floor, Westpac Bank building
Corner of K Rd and Queen St
Auckland
10pm / $10 on door
May 2007 marks the FIFTH birthday of The Championship Sounds of The Hot Grits. Yes, your naked, steaming eyes read that correctly: FIVE FREAKIN' YEARS of getting down. One thousand, eight hundred and twenty-five days of bass drum humping, chicken undershort wearing, instrument flailing, skin-beating, sweating, heaving AFRO-SOUL TESTIMONY across this fine country of ours.
And to celebrate this event, we're going to deliver unto you THE MOTHER OF ALL GIGS. AN EPOCH-DEFINING MOMENT:
On Saturday May 19th at Khuja Lounge, The Hot Grits will unsheath an EPIC fifth-birthday set, encompassing material from our first ever gig at the infamous ParnHell Mansion right through to brand new tunes from our upcoming second album release. We'll have a few special guests and alumni along to help stir the stew to an even thicker consistency, and there will be specialised tasks for you, the audience to partake in . Trust me, you don't want to miss this one.
Which reminds me: get in early, as the venue is a limited size...
www.hotgrits.co.nz
www.myspace.com/thehotgrits