Adam Rudegeair: ‘Herbie Hancock can be an inspiration to us all’

Adam Rudegeair really knows how to pay tribute to his heroes. His love for Prince led him to create the ultimate homage to the Minneapolis funk scene, Lake Minnetonka; his deep dive into the David Bowie songbook led to FIVE Bowie Project albums, each different from the others, all imaginative and adventurous, none being of the ‘greatest hits’ kind; when he invited Melbourne musicians to interpret songs from the James Bond movies for his unmissable PBS radio show, Black Wax, the outcome, Retconned Bond (still unreleased* and only presented live from time to time), was totally out there, filled with irreverence, love, and joy.

A pianist with wild imagination, great talent, deep understanding of the material he works on — and a cheeky sense of humour, he knows how to get the best out of his fellow musicians, inviting them to his world, and making sure that every one of his performances is of the highest artistic merit, never compromising on the height of his musical goals, but also never missing out on an opportunity for everyone — on and off the stage — to have fun.

Which is why it’s very exciting that he’s now getting ready to present a tribute to arguably the greatest living jazz master of our times, Herbie Hancock. For everyone familiar with Adam and his work, Herbie’s World — presented at Monash University’s state-of-the-art jazz club The Count’s on International Jazz Day, comes as no surprise.

Not only does it come after a great special radio show, where he invited a group of Melbourne jazz pianists to pay tribute to the great pianist and composer, but it is totally on-brand for Rudegeair, a pianist equally versed on acoustic, bluesy, bop-and-post-bop jazz and hard-hitting electric funk, who, if I may add, shares a very specific quality with Herbie Hancock: they are both among the very few artists who can really rock the keytar.

What are you going to present at the Count’s on Jazz Day?

A typically ambitious Adam Rudegeair production, Herbie’s World will include some of our favourite Herbie Hancock compositions, some material by his friends and associated artists, and also the world premiere of CONDUITS, a new suite I’ve been composing for the last few months inspired by Herbie’s humanitarian approach to jazz.

Why did you want to create a tribute to Herbie Hancock?

When I was pitching an International Jazz Day show at The Count’s, a Herbie tribute seemed like an obvious choice. For starters, I clearly have a para-social relationship with the man, despite having only met him once, which is why (in my mind) we are on a first-name basis.

But even more importantly, Herbie was the instigator of International Jazz Day, which he created when he joined UNESCO as a Goodwill Ambassador in 2011. UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) is a fantastic institution that fosters international cooperation across education, arts, sciences and culture.

Herbie felt that jazz was the perfect art form to promote peace, dialogue and mutual understanding between both artists and audiences.

How would you describe your approach to Herbie Hancock’s music in this tribute?

I have long held the belief that the key to Herbie’s ‘sound’ is his complete authenticity to his own inner voice (in addition to a ridiculously expansive harmonic vocabulary). So any attempt to emulate Herbie is futile because the best/only way tho do that is to play like yourself. This is a paradox — most jazz piano players probably go through a period of wanting to emulate Herbie’s sophisticated piano stylings, but it actually takes a lot of pressure off to not to be held to that standard (pun intended).

What we can do is try to think as creatively and colouristically as we can when responding to the musical elements around us. But I also want to get deep into the deep funk groove when the situation demands — so I would say these are my goals:

1. Be myself

2. Keep an open mind when it comes to the possibilities of musical colours, textures, and flavours

3. Listen to the ensemble and respond to the unit as a whole, find your part in the pocket

In terms of the compositions that comprise the CONDUITS suite, I am reaching for some styles and structures I haven’t tried before, while also trying leaving enough space in the compositions for the other musicians to really be themselves. So much of the power of this performance will be down to the synergistic band communication and improvised connective tissue between the written notes. I have hand-picked a group of very empathetic players, and a mix of musicians I know very well plus some I haven’t worked with so much — which will keep the element of surprise.

How did you decide on the orchestration — and the particular musicians performing with you?

In his memoir Possibilities, Herbie talks about the challenges of putting together an ensemble with an interesting sound (I think he was about to record his album The Prisoner). If I had unlimited budget I would have included percussion, guitar, and probably a second keys player. But I opted for a quintet comprising keys, bass, drums, flute and tenor sax.

This will be my first time composing for an ensemble with flute and I am really looking forward to the textures Yael Zamir will bring to the overall sound. I asked her to record a couple of solos to my new demos and I can tell you, it’s going to be fire. She is a very special player.

When I asked Aaron Searle to join the gig on tenor sax and explained the concept to him, he immediately launched into a spontaneous and exuberant TED Talk about Herbie’s early session work with Donald Byrd and Pepper Adams — I knew then I had picked someone as passionate about the subject as I was!

The rhythm section are Thomas Mitchell on the drums and Hadyn Murtagh on bass, two of my favourite musical comrades!

How did you choose the compositions to cover?

Well, true to my usual form, I had little interest in doing a straight up Herbie tribute show playing ‘the hits’. So I took inspiration from his 1998 album Gershwin’s World, which not only re-invents classic Gershwin material, but also explores the work of some of Gershwin’s contemporaries — Maurice Ravel, W.C. Handy, Duke Ellington and James P. Johnson.

I set myself the task of choosing some of my favourite Herbie originals, as well as some written by bandleaders for whom Herbie worked as a sideman — people like Miles Davis, Donald Byrd, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, and Wayne Shorter.

But that wasn’t enough of a challenge, so I had the brainwave of creating a suite of six new compositions, inspired by the philosophies upon which Herbie founded International Jazz Day — namely “the power of jazz to unite and delight in our shared humanity.”

So we will be playing Conduits in its entirety in the second set.

Why do I do this to myself!?

Which tune did you want to include but decided not to?

So many! I think a big one was ‘Chan’s Song (Never Said)’, a well-known piece he wrote with Stevie Wonder for the soundtrack of the 1986 film Round Midnight. Herbie won the academy award for best original score that year — beating Ennio Morricone’s The Mission! But I just felt more connected to another piece from Round Midnight, entitled ‘Still Time’. And you gotta go with the music that touches you the most.

What is your favourite Herbie Hancock album?

My perennial favourites include Empyrean Isles, Inventions and Dimensions, Headhunters, Thrust, Future 2 Future, and Gershwin’s World.

My favourite Herbie tune is ‘Oliloqui Valley‘ from the 1964 album Empyrean Isles. It contains all the beautiful modal elements of tunes like ‘Maiden Voyage’ or ‘Cantaloupe Island’, and switches between swing and latin sections. ‘Oliloqui Valley’ means a lot to me personally as way back in the day it was my music school audition piece and I got accepted!

There is always something new to discover from his huge back catalogue. There are some recordings I know I need to come back and listen more intently to really engage with the depth of the creativity. A couple I really like but am looking forward to doing some deep listening at a future time are The New Standard, Dedication, and Flood.

Which of his tunes do you think is criminally overlooked?

I am obsessed with ‘Turtle Shoes‘, a duet with Bobby McFerrin that appeared on Bobby’s album Spontaneous Inventions — a deeply funky blues with a twist. I first heard it on the soundtrack to the Arnold Schwarzenegger / Danny DeVito comedy Twins! I make all my musical comrades learn it — I call that tune all the time!

You recently invited some local piano legends to present their tributes to Herbie Hancock on your radio show; what was the most unexpected thing that came out of this?

My former student Aaron Evans elected to perform a deep cut from the 1980 album Monster called ‘Making Love‘ and he displayed an incredible amount of panache and sensitivity for a young player. I had a proud teacher moment and I can’t wait to hear the future directions of his musical endeavours! All the players — Aaron, Ryley Duncan, Selene Messinis, and Monique DiMattina — were all so excited to take part, it was clear what an astounding inspiration Herbie is to us all; and we definitely bonded over our shared admiration for the man and his work.

What can a non-musician learn from Herbie Hancock? How do we benefit as human beings from being exposed to his music and artistry?

Herbie can be an inspiration to us all. He’s an immense talent who has remained humble and devotes himself to being a “human being first, musician second”. This means he tries to live in a compassionate way, and his art is just one expression of his human experience.

His approach to life is the thing that makes him an amazing improviser — keeping an open heart, considering all possibilities, and respecting alternative points of view. It keeps his voice fresh even into his eighties!

I saw him perform at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl last year for the Melbourne International Jazz Fest, and it was a completely on-the-edge and transcendental performance. In no way was it a tired ‘greatest hits’ tour!

Which Herbie Hancock tune best describes your current state of mind?

I am feeling a heady mix of calm, focus and excitement, so I’m gonna go with ‘This Is Rob Swift’ from Future 2 Future.

It has the most amazing swung backbeat courtesy of Jack DeJohnette. It could go on for another 20 minutes holding that vibe and I’d still be digging it.