Herbie Hancock — North Sea Jazz Festival, 1996

Full live concert of Herbie Hancock at the 1996 North Sea Jazz Festival in the Netherlands. The American pianist and composer, born in 1940, a former member of the Miles Davis Quintet and a primary architect of the post-bop sound, appears here in an acoustic quartet alongside Dave Holland on double bass, Craig Handy on saxophone and Gene Jackson on drums. Drawn from the official North Sea Jazz archive, this filmed live performance captures an artist who, from hard bop to electric jazz-funk, repeatedly reshaped the language of jazz. The band’s interplay, rhythmic elasticity and extended improvisations make this set an essential document for anyone drawn to late-1990s acoustic jazz. A reference full concert, recorded at one of the largest jazz festivals in the world, available here in its entirety. For lovers of acoustic jazz, this Herbie Hancock performance at the 1996 North Sea Jazz Festival remains a lesson in collective listening and a milestone of 1990s live music, to be watched and rewatched in high definition.