HEADS UP! SEPT 30-OCT 2 IS THE ANGEL CITY JAZZ FEST. ARTISTS INCLUDE ROSCOE MITCHELL, OLIVER LAKE, JEFF GAUTHIER, RUDRESH MAHANTHAPPI AND ALEX CLINE. FOR MORE INFO GO TO WWW.FORDTHEATRES.ORG

Herbie Hancock with the Los Angeles Philharmonic 09.27.11
By George W. Harris

The “Opening Night Concert & Gala” for the LA Philharmonic and conductor Gustavo Dudamel was a black tie and all star affair. You know something special is going on when basketball star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has better seats to the show than Herbie Hancock’s ex-bandmate Wayne Shorter. But, that’s LA!!!

Musically, it’s hard for a jazz fan to complain about the effervescent Dudamel leading the LA Phil through a collection of Gershwin’s material. The opening “Cuban Overture” was lively and swinging, fresh and exotic, evoking images of old school Havana and Guys and Dolls character Sky Masterson. The sensual and nostalgic “American In Paris” evoked thoughts of Gene Kelly and the Champs Elysee, with mixes of comedy, klezmer and optimistic charm.

Herbie Hancock then came on stage to perform a pair of wondrous solo Gershwin interpretations. “Embraceable You” was graciously oblique and cleverly reharmonized, while “Someone To Watch Over Me” was dramatic, complex, mysterious and yet passionately yearning.

If the opening was reminiscent of Brando and Kelly, what was “Rhapsody In Blue” evoking? Woody Allen? Not with Hancock at the piano. With Dudamel coaxing jungle band sounds a la Ellington, Hancock confidently and assertively mixed classical forms with Blue Note soloing making the classical/jazz line that Benny Goodman tried to cross seem prehistoric. Hancock’s sensibilities brought out the best in Gershwin, making you think of no one else except the maestro himself.