Herbie, Quincy, and a Fairlight

February 18, 2008

So it would appear that by this time tomorrow, I will have watched Herbie Hancock perform live on “The View .” I will have watched him from behind the sound board, because the ladies in that audience frighten me very much. Apparently, someone named Terry O’Quinn is the main guest on the show. Is he famous? Will the ladies in the audience go nuts when he appears? I don’t know. I’m assuming that he is the dynamic star of “CSI: Break Room” or something like that. My TV antenna hasn’t worked for a long time.

But Herbie Hancock! Damn! He’s going to be playing with Vinnie Colaiuta, my all-time favorite drummer. I’ve never seen Vinnie play in person, so I’m pretty charged up about this. I haven’t seen Herbie for a while–the last time was with Wayne Shorter on the “1+1 ” tour, which must have been over ten years ago.

Thinking about this reminded me of this amazing clip someone sent to me a while back of Herbie from (I’m guessing) about 1983 demonstrating the awesomeness of the Fairlight for Quincy Jones. Watching this clip reminds me of why I love Herbie so much–he’s so completely free of irony or self-consciousness as he plays. You can see in his face the complete, unabashed joy he has for what he’s doing, even (at that point) over 30 years into his career. The man is excellent. I hope these ladies in the “View” audience will know what they’re in for.

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Now playing: Shudder To Think – Sweet Year Old