Directions in Music: Live at Massey Hall


Directions in Music: Live at Massey Hall is a live album by pianist Herbie Hancock, tenor saxophonist Michael Brecker, and trumpeter Roy Hargrove. It was recorded on October 25, 2001, in Toronto, and was Hancock's forty-fourth and Brecker's eighth album. The band is rounded out by bassist John Patitucci and drummer Brian Blade.
The album won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group in 2003; the track "My Ship" won the Grammy for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo that same year.

Reception

Richard S. Ginell of AllMusic wrote: "While this quintet does not kick over old boundaries, it does make good, uncompromisingly intelligent music." JazzTimes's Bill Shoemaker noted that "The quintet neither plays it safe, which they arguably do on Kurt Weill's 'My Ship,' nor attempts to reinvent the wheel, which Brecker does with mixed results in his arch unaccompanied take on 'Naima.' The bottom line is that Hancock, Brecker and Hargrove take real risks in the program, and some of them pay off handsomely."

Personnel

Musicians
Technical personnel