Herbie Hancock came to public attention as a prodigy, performing on stage as a small child. Later, he rose to fame as the piano player for Miles Davis' mid-1960's quintet. He struck out on his own, and has forged a path of relentless experimentation. Even in the early 1970's, when jazz seem mired in confusion as to its identity, he refused to sit still. In the 1980's he reminded the world that he could be relevant as well as hip, with his MTV hit "Rockit", featuring his electronica and dancing robots. He is at his best, though, when he is playing with friends.
"Chameleon"
Here he is with Miles Davis Quintet, featuring Wayne Shorter on saxophone, Ron Carter on bass, and a very young Tony Williams on drums. It should be noted that their music was completely improvised.
Going back to his roots - with members of the Quintet, performing from Davis' massive Kind of Blue LP - here they are doing "So What" at a far faster pace than the original, giving it a fresh, free feeling.
