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Conrad Herwig: The Latin Side of Herbie Hancock

By Chris M. Slawecki
March 29, 2011
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Conrad Herwig: The Latin Side of Herbie Hancock

Trombonist and bandleader Conrad Herwig has quite colorfully and majestically explored the Latin side of some of modern music's most enduring composers and performers, and herewith adds his survey of

Herbie Hancock

piano
b.1940

" data-original-title="" title="">Herbie Hancock's compositional catalog to previous Latin sets that honored

Miles Davis

trumpet
1926 - 1991

" data-original-title="" title="">Miles Davis and

Wayne Shorter

saxophone
1933 - 2023

" data-original-title="" title="">Wayne Shorter. "It's a little daunting in the sense that these tunes are so iconic," Herwig admits. "I grew up idolizing Herbie's music. His tunes became the new standards for a whole generation of post-Coltrane players."

To navigate this territory, recorded in performance at the Blue Note in NYC, Herwig turned to two old friends: Trumpeter

Randy Brecker

trumpet
b.1945

" data-original-title="" title="">Randy Brecker, who first played with Herwig three decades ago; and pianist

Eddie Palmieri

piano
1936 - 2025

" data-original-title="" title="">Eddie Palmieri, one of Latin jazz's reigning piano masters and one of Herwig's Latin jazz advisors for more than two decades. He also brought one new friend onboard: pianist

Bill O'Connell

piano

" data-original-title="" title="">Bill O'Connell, a veteran of classic sessions by

Mongo Santamaria

percussion
1917 - 2003

" data-original-title="" title="">Mongo Santamaria,

Jerry Gonzalez

trumpet
1949 - 2018

" data-original-title="" title="">Jerry Gonzalez, and others. O'Connell and Herwig either split or shared all these Latin Hancock arrangements.

Brecker's trumpet burns through the group's collective descarga on "The Sorcerer" like a flame through tissue paper, while O'Connell takes charge with a powerful improvised passage that refracts Hancock's original tune into shards of melodic light. Brecker's and Herwig's intertwined improvisational passages only send these shards flying higher and brighter.

But Herwig's closing trilogy, a howling ensemble hurricane, is simply as good as Latin jazz gets. O'Connell's arrangement strings tethers the familiar "Maiden Voyage" melody to soft horns that float in harmonic space, the shadow of a passing cloud that gently darkens the rhythm section's roiling sea, with

Craig Handy

saxophone
b.1962

" data-original-title="" title="">Craig Handy on flute, Brecker on trumpet so soft that your ears hear flugelhorn, and O'Connell on piano, painting brilliant solo strokes. More than a beautiful rendition, "Maiden Voyage" rediscovers this jazz classic.

Palmieri jumps back in to help fire the remainder back up to a torrid Latin boil. Latin rhythms illuminate the sweet funky insides of "Cantaloupe Island," which, after Palmieri's two-fisted piano excursion, culminates in a blazing percussion/horn breakdown; with no piano or bass to anchor them to the percussion rhythms, Handy, Brecker and Herwig are left free to scatter and soar skyward like untethered birds. In a torrent, "Watermelon Man" pours out from the aftermath of "Cantaloupe," highlighted by Palmieri's spirited dialogue with the rhythm and percussion instruments.

Even on just the strength of these last three tunes, Herwig's Latin Hancock presents tremendously rewarding, eye-opening and ear-popping, new interpretations of classic jazz pieces.

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Track Listing

Oliloqui Valley; One Finger Snap; Butterfly; The Sorcerer; Actual Proof; Maiden Voyage; Cantaloupe Island; Watermelon Man.

Personnel

Conrad Herwig

trombone

Conrad Herwig: trombone; Craig Handy: saxophones, flute, bass clarinet; Mike Rodriguez: trumpet; Bill O'Connell: piano; Ruben Rodriguez: bass; Robby Ameen: drums; Pedro Martinez: percussion; Eddie Palmieri: piano; Randy Brecker: trumpet.

Album information

Title: The Latin Side of Herbie Hancock | Year Released: 2011 | Record Label: Unknown label

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Conrad Herwig Concerts

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Conrad Herwig Latin Side All Stars, Antoinette Montague,

New Brunswick Performing Arts Center
New Brunswick, NJ

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