Herbie Hancock Remembers Jack DeJohnette

 

Forever in our hearts, Jack DeJohnette, one of the greatest jazz drummers of all-time.  

From Bret "Jazz Video Guy" Primack.

"Chan's Song" (Hancock). Herbie Hancock, piano; Christian McBride, bass and Jack Dejohnette on drums.

Herbie Hancock and Jack DeJohnette share a musical relationship built on deep listening, fearless improvisation, and mutual respect for exploration. They never formed a permanent band together, but across decades they intersected at key moments that reveal how two master musicians expand each other’s horizons.

Early Intersections (1968–1970)

Their first major collaboration came in the late 1960s, when both were moving beyond traditional post-bop forms. Hancock, recently out of Miles Davis’s Second Great Quintet, was experimenting with electric keyboards and freer harmony. DeJohnette, having played with Charles Lloyd and then Miles himself, was redefining jazz drumming—combining swing, rock pulse, and open texture.

They worked together on The Prisoner (1969) and Fat Albert Rotunda (1969), where DeJohnette’s loose, melodic drumming gave Hancock’s writing extra dimension. The feel was elastic: time implied, not dictated.

Mwandishi Years (1970–1972)

DeJohnette was central to the birth of Hancock’s Mwandishi sextet sound, even if only briefly onstage. The group aimed for collective improvisation shaped by electronics and African rhythm. Both men treated rhythm and harmony as landscapes, not grids. DeJohnette’s sense of pulse—fluid yet propulsive—matched Hancock’s harmonic risk-taking. They shared the belief that swing could exist in free time.

Parallel Evolution (1970s–1990s)

They moved in parallel paths through fusion, funk, and acoustic revivals. Hancock’s Headhunters era and DeJohnette’s Directions and Special Edition groups show similar aims: blending groove with freedom. They reconnected often onstage—Hancock sitting in with DeJohnette’s ensembles, DeJohnette joining Hancock’s projects, both meeting at festivals and all-star sessions.

Each time, the chemistry remained: Hancock’s phrasing invites space; DeJohnette listens and paints around it instead of driving through it.

Later Collaborations (2000s–2010s)

They performed duo and trio concerts, especially in the 2000s, exploring standards and spontaneous composition. On those dates, DeJohnette’s touch—brushes, cymbal color, barely-there snare accents—lets Hancock float, then surge. Their interplay feels conversational, not hierarchical.

Essence of the Relationship

• Both treat improvisation as spiritual practice rather than display.

• Both dissolve boundaries between rhythm and melody.

• Each trusts silence as much as sound.

• Each anticipates the other’s motion; they don’t accompany, they co-compose in real time.

In sum, Herbie Hancock and Jack DeJohnette’s relationship is less about specific albums and more about shared philosophy. They are architects of flow—two musicians who learned from Miles Davis that freedom without empathy is chaos, and empathy without courage is dull. When they play together, you hear balance: intellect and intuition, structure and release, sound and stillness.