Ancient Footprints: A Letter From Leonard Brown
Recapping the evening with Herbie Hancock at GMI
Written by Leonard; Edited Narrative by Oshin
Legendary Jazz pianist and composer Herbie Hancock teamed up with Grammy Award-winning vocalist Dianne Reeves, guitarist Leonard Brown and six students from the Los Angeles-based Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz, to bring their unique music to India for a 10-day tour in January 2024. (Spanmag)
A genre-defying guitarist, violinist, and an alumnus of Howard University, Leonard has performed at prestigious venues such as the Kennedy Center, the White House, and the United Nations, and has collaborated with renowned artists including Patti LaBelle, Earth, Wind & Fire, and Wynton Marsalis. Recently, Leonard Brown sent a letter to GMI reflecting on his profound experience of an impromptu jam session during ‘Ancient Footprints’ with the jazz legend on GMI stage.
Read his heartfelt account that provided an intimate glimpse into the exhilarating and humbling moments of performing alongside one of the greatest musicians of our time below:
The Remarkable Discovery
When you gave me the complete footage from some of the students’ devices, what struck me most was hearing the reaction of the audience in the video. I was able to realize that they were completely “dialed-in” to what was happening on stage as well!
However, as I continued to watch, I began to realize that I actually had no conception of the audience’s reaction at all while I was performing. The reaction of those in attendance was something that, I can assure you, I was not at all in the state of mind to be able to perceive as I was engaged in one of the most terrifying musical exchanges in my life – perhaps since I was a child just starting out and learning how to perform in front of an audience without falling to pieces in anxiety and nerves.
The Unexpected Turn
Just so you know (and forgive me if I’ve stated this before) but that WAS NOT supposed to happen. The whole performance of “Ancient Footprints” was not supposed to be “that.” We had only performed it ONCE prior and that was at The Piano Man, which was the day after we had landed. Therefore, we were only able to manage a quick rehearsal of it DURING the soundcheck and none of us had played it together.
- The students had worked on it as a unit in Los Angeles based on the charts that Dianne had sent out.
- The drummer they had been working with was not able to make the trip, so not only did they need to play with a new drummer (namely) Malachi; Malachi had never played with anybody yet either.
- I had reviewed the chart and devised several strategies to add “color and/or texture” to what was already a pretty securely arranged form, knowing that Dianne had a clear vision on what she wanted and the students would memorize the arrangement based on the chart.
and Herbie…well, he never saw anything until we arrived at The Piano Man. You can see him navigating the chart on the piano stand in the video since it’s only the second time he’s ever seen it.
(Leonard also found their first performance at The Piano Man to be fine but highlighted the need for better strategizing to meet Dianne’s expectations. At GMI, amidst Herbie and Dianne’s meet-and-greet and preparations, they barely got any time to discuss any aspect regarding their upcoming performance in masterclass.
During the soundcheck, as the band discussed who would take on solos, in what order, and duration, he recalled how:)
…he (Herbie Hancock) abstained and basically told us that he did not want to be involved in any decision making and would rather be surprised, but that if we wanted to discuss it, we should do so amongst ourselves and then proceeded to remove himself from the piano and the stage.
An Evening to Remember
This left us in a slight state of…befuddlement is the only word I can come up with. Though we took no offense to his position (in fact, we quite understood where someone with his
many years of playing this music could take that kind of position), we realized that WE still needed to figure out something, because while it’s fine for Herbie Hancock to want to wait and be surprised…the rest of us ARE NOT HERBIE HANCOCK!
(However, they ran out of time and never discussed their plan for the song. In the performance video, Sasha can be seen stepping away after Dianne’s two verses, causing a domino effect with Alden and Yakiv also leaving the stage. But…)
Notice Dianne, she’s clearly expecting something to happen. And when it doesn’t, she looks up and notices that the ENTIRE front line, except for her, has left.
Simultaneously, what Herbie starts to play (consecutive, off-beat, 8th note F-naturals) is NOT the beginning of his solo, at least in the way I felt it. I felt like he was marking musical time until something happened, so I decided I would be cute and aid in his musical marking of time. I had no clue what waters I chose to frolic within.
Herbie is like that great white shark that can smell blood in the water from miles away. Once I entered those waters, you can physically see him lean around the chart on the piano ever so quickly. But, for those of you in the audience, what you couldn’t see was that he locked eyes with me – with this look I can’t really describe – almost as if it was a question…a testing look…and an impish glimmer in his expression all at once…and that’s when you see his body language at the piano shift slightly as his next statement becomes more decidedly musical, as if to say “Let’s see how you respond to this and we’ll take it from there.“
Herbie, he accelerated the level so quickly that I was totally unprepared for the sudden increase in musical muscularity. As far as I was concerned, the two of us were just marking musical time (frolicking in the shallows if you will) until someone ELSE started to solo. Boy was I mistaken, for now I was quickly coming to the understanding that this was going to be “The Solo” and I was now engaged in trading licks with that aforementioned great white shark!
Fleeting Moments
In those first few trades I began to feel the terror creep in for two reasons:
- I realized there was nowhere I could go that he couldn’t follow, but that there were infinite number of paths available to him that I could never traverse.
- At some point, I better be planning an exit strategy because I would most likely exhaust ALL of my resources (creative ideas, harmony and theory application, technique, etc.) long before he ever would.
So, while trying to keep my wits about me, I remember thinking to myself, “why am I trying to go head-to-head with Herbie Hancock…on the piano?!?!? I am not a piano, I am a violin. I’m never going to last if I keep trying to respond to his “pianistic-stuff” with my attempt at “pianistic-stuff” on a violin. If you’re playing a violin, then be the violin, play something lyrical!”
And this is why you hear me switch gears and start paraphrasing the melody with long bow strokes. But true to form, Herbie is right on my tail, responding with even more eloquent replies to my initial lyrical statements. And this is why you can hear me give an audible “whooo!”, he wiped me out with his response and I needed time to recover from that in all honesty.
He just wiped me out with that second response and I knew I had nothing…nothing. So, I waved the white flag in surrender and begged him to continue.
(Notice the rhythm section of bass and drums: you can feel them bring the dynamic temperature down a few degrees to allow the lyrical lines Herbie and I are playing to have more room to breathe!)
So yes, terrifying, for sure, what this unplanned musical adventure was turning out to be. However, within that terror was unbelievable exhilaration because I was aware that while we were trading, he was incredibly generous in exchanging ideas and allowed me to initiate an idea throughout playing.
And at other times when, perhaps I didn’t come up with something so stellar, he would generously take the lead and feed ME ideas to respond to, until he felt I had found my feet again and then give me the lead while he went back to answering me.
Amazing!! So, I say, watch that performance again and see if you notice what I’ve mentioned…or maybe it’s just me. I’d be curious to know what you see in it now, having an insight as far as what the background that led to that performance actually was and what the psychological experience was for the performer.
Gratitude and Final Thoughts
I’ve had the outrageous fortune to have known Herbie and been in his orbit during rehearsals, performances, interviews, press conferences, masterclasses, clinics, bus rides, train rides, and in airport lounges for more than two decades now.
I can tell you that for years, he has consistently said that “when you play jazz, when you play your instrument, when you improvise—you are playing your life. Life as you know it. Life as you are experiencing it right now, in this moment. And you don’t judge what comes out of you or anyone else—you just use it to create MORE with it.”
What happened that day, so fortunate to have been captured on video, is a clear demonstration of that concept that Herbie imbues into EVERY moment of his playing and stands as a testament to what we should all be striving for every time we play our instruments to create music by ourselves or with others.
So again, I thank Megha, Adi, and everyone at GMI for making that event possible because, without you all in the mix, the moment would have never happened quite like that!
In fact, it never did again. “Ancient Footprints” was scheduled on our setlists for every performance in Mumbai, but for one reason or another, we were never able to get to it.
At one point at the NCPA, while watching Dianne Reeves perform with the Institute students, Herbie and I were in chairs sitting in the wings. I leaned over to him and said, “Tonight, when we get to ‘Footprints’…rematch?”
He just turned his head to look at me, slowly cracked a mischievous smile with one eyebrow raised, and threw out a casual, “sure!”
But it was not to be. Our performance at GMI stands alone.
And it also stands as a lesson in humility, generosity, composure, letting go and having fun and the willingness to “put yourself out there” when the “there” doesn’t even exist yet…that is, until you create it.
Best wishes and much sincere love,
Leonard Brown