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Rating: 
Summary: Ahead of his time......again?
Review: This DVD is of a great gig by Hancock and this band. The line-up of somewhat lesser known musicians (currently) is actually a great showcase of these up and coming talents. Hancock shows he is the master of the past, present and the future. I would love to see more of this kind of thing.
Rating:
Summary: Ahead of his time......again?
Review: This DVD is of a great gig by Hancock and this band. The line-up of somewhat lesser known musicians (currently) is actually a great showcase of these up and coming talents. Hancock shows he is the master of the past, present and the future. I would love to see more of this kind of thing.
Rating: 
Summary: Technically impressive but bit of a disappointment musically
Review: This Herbie Hancock concert video takes off from his recent FUTURE 2 FUTURE album, with 5.1 surround + DTS sound and multi-angle video options. Not only does F2FL have everything that I like about Herbie, but it pretty much personalizes the musical approach of his former employer Miles Davis, too. By that I mean, first you have an impressive collection of distinctive musicians, including trumpeter Wallace Roney, bassist Matthew Garrison (son of Coltrane bassist Jimmy), drummer Terri Lyne Carrington (who might have been Miles' last drummer if Ricky Wellman didn't get there first), turntable wizard D J Disk (taking on the role of percussionist, among other things), and the fine second keyboardist Darrell Diaz. Then you have an eclectic selection of tunes, including Hornets from SEXTANT (appropriately renamed Virtual Hornets), Chameleon from HEAD HUNTERS, Butterfly from THRUST, an almost unrecognizable Dolphin Dance from MAIDEN VOYAGE, Rockit from FUTURE SHOCK, and of course a number of key cuts from the newest CD. Finally, the elusive freedom-with-structure balance characteristic of many Miles and Herbie bands is often in evidence here, with fresh sonic textures and interesting solos that take chances without losing sight of the composition. Perhaps ironically, Herbie solos mostly on acoustic piano and Roney plays predominantly with electronic enhancements. Roney almost steals the show with a fine balance of long phrases and appropriate use of silence in-between them...he truly has arrived with his own style and is in no way a Miles clone, even if Davis' influence can be felt. The concert starts out a bit slowly but within 10 minutes the group has hit its stride, keeping the viewer interested throughout the remainder of the 105m concert. Highlighting the extras are Herbie talking about his sidepersons, plus the original 1983 videoclip for Rockit. I know Herbie tends to bounce from project to project, but my wish is that he will find the time to work in this context again soon. Maybe it's asking for too much but I'd love to see this group given the chance to reach its potential over a period of time ala Miles' and Herbie's best groups. Herbie is one of the few left on the scene today who could do it.
Rating:
Summary: Knowledge and wisdom...and then there¿s those funky grooves!
Review: This Herbie Hancock concert video takes off from his recent FUTURE 2 FUTURE album, with 5.1 surround + DTS sound and multi-angle video options. Not only does F2FL have everything that I like about Herbie, but it pretty much personalizes the musical approach of his former employer Miles Davis, too. By that I mean, first you have an impressive collection of distinctive musicians, including trumpeter Wallace Roney, bassist Matthew Garrison (son of Coltrane bassist Jimmy), drummer Terri Lyne Carrington (who might have been Miles' last drummer if Ricky Wellman didn't get there first), turntable wizard D J Disk (taking on the role of percussionist, among other things), and the fine second keyboardist Darrell Diaz. Then you have an eclectic selection of tunes, including Hornets from SEXTANT (appropriately renamed Virtual Hornets), Chameleon from HEAD HUNTERS, Butterfly from THRUST, an almost unrecognizable Dolphin Dance from MAIDEN VOYAGE, Rockit from FUTURE SHOCK, and of course a number of key cuts from the newest CD. Finally, the elusive freedom-with-structure balance characteristic of many Miles and Herbie bands is often in evidence here, with fresh sonic textures and interesting solos that take chances without losing sight of the composition. Perhaps ironically, Herbie solos mostly on acoustic piano and Roney plays predominantly with electronic enhancements. Roney almost steals the show with a fine balance of long phrases and appropriate use of silence in-between them...he truly has arrived with his own style and is in no way a Miles clone, even if Davis' influence can be felt. The concert starts out a bit slowly but within 10 minutes the group has hit its stride, keeping the viewer interested throughout the remainder of the 105m concert. Highlighting the extras are Herbie talking about his sidepersons, plus the original 1983 videoclip for Rockit. I know Herbie tends to bounce from project to project, but my wish is that he will find the time to work in this context again soon. Maybe it's asking for too much but I'd love to see this group given the chance to reach its potential over a period of time ala Miles' and Herbie's best groups. Herbie is one of the few left on the scene today who could do it.
Rating:
Summary: Technically impressive but bit of a disappointment musically
Review: While this small-venue live show has some really cool features like MX multi-angle views, I didn't much care for the mix; the keys and trumpet are really upfront and believe it or not, the bass track is low and the snare is really dry. I was really surprised b/c the Future2Future disc is VERY full on the cd. Also I thought the spoken word stuff that Herbie does live just doesn't work. He just doesn't possess the right poetic rhythm and at times the pauses seem like he forgot which canned line from the album he was going to recite. This band just doesn't gel like a rehearsed band, and while it's not bad, it just doesn't seem all that tight. Carrington is a great drummer but the music suffers from a lack of the explosiveness of DeJohnette (he's on the cd of same name). For a much better performance check out the DeJohnette, Metheny, Holland, Hancock: In Convert DVD from 1990 (also with DTS).
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