“What you think we’re gonna do…we ain’t gonna do it!”
So joked Herbie Hancock as he and fellow jazz icon Chick Corea conversed with the packed Santa Barbara crowd at the acoustically adroit Granada. The Chameleon wasn’t kidding, though, as he was about to sit in front of the piano, he added “We don’t know what we’re gonna do yet.”
Two hours later, the promise held true. Back in 1978, Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea toured together in duet settings that featured many of their famous compositions such as “Maiden Voyage” and “La Fiesta.” That attitude was mostly abandoned this night at the Santa Barbara theater for their two hour reunion. Most of the songs were spontaneous improvisations, ranging from 10-20 minutes each. The two opened with a free form back and forth semi-romantic and classical mode, with Corea and Hancock gently nudging each other back and forth. Hancock then switched to electronics and created a landscape of space age atmosphere with shades of something from Tomita albums from the 70s. Hancock looked like a mad scientist as he peered over the keys, adding a dash of funk while Corea created acoustic rhumbas. It was then Corea’s turn to get into the electronics as he created a lullaby for the stars before going back to the acoustic piano for a lovely duet reading of “I’ll Remember April.”
The highlight was reached at the one hour point, with Hancock grabbing the ivories and turning in a viscerally satisfying take of “Cantaloupe Island,” with Corea supplying the perfect amount of foil and extra textures. After that, it was back to moody electronics that went from African percussion to rapping funk.
The duo got some firm tracking when they closed the evening with more identifiable material such as “All Blues” and “Spain” as the melodic reference points on these pieces served as excellent foundations for the twenty digits of expressive joy that were supplied by the artists. The technical and creative display of watching these two giants of jazz was impressive, but the over-indulgence in experimentation made you respect the prowess rather than enjoy the musicality of these two rocks from jazz’s Mt. Rushmore.
This past season included some great shows with Gregory Porter and Cecile McLoren Salvant. Stay tuned for next season at the Granada.