World Of Rhythm - Live DVD

This trio of piano grandmaster Herbie Hancock, bass legend Ron Carter and fusion drummer par excellence Billy Cobham gets branded "jazz-rock" by the booklet-note writer in World of Rhythm--Live. Well, perhaps such a description might have fitted when the form first came to prominence as the first wave of hard bop was dissipating, but these days this just comes across as a very, very good straightahead jazz gig. Furthermore, the music sounds as fresh as it no doubt sounded in 1983, when this concert was recorded in Lugano. There are a few meditative passages, but this... is mostly crisp, assertive stuff, with Cobham's snappy boogaloo style propelling the proceedings along. Look out, though, for a short interlude of nearly free improvisation, which seems to come as a pleasant surprise to the band as much as to the audience. On the DVD: Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Billy Cobham's World of Rhythm--Live is reasonably well-served by this DVD release. The 4:3 ratio picture is accompanied by stereo and surround options, plus a small extra text-only biographical feature. Overall, though, the sheer quality of both sound and vision makes any extras seem superfluous. --Roger Thomas [show more]

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