Directions in Music: Live at Massey Hall

Directions in Music: Live at Massey Hall
Live album by
ReleasedMay 2002
RecordedOctober 25, 2001
VenueMassey Hall, Toronto, Canada
Studio
See list
    • Wonderland, Nyack, NY; January 27 & 28, February 1, 3, & 4, 2002 (editing)
    • Avatar Studios, NYC, February 6 & 7, 2002 (mixing)
    • Sterling Sound, NYC, February 15, 2002 (mastering)
Genre
Length78:22
LabelVerve
314 589 654-2
Producer
  • Herbie Hancock
  • Michael Brecker
  • Jason Olaine
  • Todd Fraracci
Herbie Hancock chronology
Future 2 Future
(2001)
Directions in Music: Live at Massey Hall
(2002)
Possibilities
(2005)
Michael Brecker chronology
Nearness of You: The Ballad Book
(2001)
Directions in Music: Live at Massey Hall
(2002)
American Dreams
(2002)
Roy Hargrove chronology
Moment to Moment
(2000)
Directions in Music: Live at Massey Hall
(2002)
Hard Groove
(2003)

Directions in Music: Live at Massey Hall (subtitled, Celebrating Miles Davis & John Coltrane) 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,[1] 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.[2][3]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings[4]

Richard S. Ginell of AllMusic wrote: "While this quintet does not kick over old boundaries, it does make good, uncompromisingly intelligent music."[1] 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."[5]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Sorcerer"Herbie Hancock8:54
2."The Poet"Roy Hargrove6:35
3."So What" / "Impressions"Miles Davis / John Coltrane12:51
4."Misstery"
8:16
5."Naima"Coltrane7:29
6."Transition"Coltrane10:26
7."My Ship"8:40
8."D Trane"Brecker15:11
Total length:78:22

Personnel

Musicians

Technical personnel

  • Herbie Hancock – executive producer
  • Michael Brecker – producer
  • Jason Olaine – co-producer
  • Todd Fraracci – producer
  • Scott Southard – concept management
  • Doug Doctor, Rob Griffin – recording engineer
  • Anthony Ruotolo – assistant recording engineer
  • Frank Finistauri –audio systems engineer
  • Jay Newland – mixing
  • Greg Calbi – mastering at Sterling Sound, New York City, USA
  • George Whitty – editing

References

  1. ^ a b c Ginell, Richard S. "Directions in Music: Live at Massey Hall – Herbie Hancock / Michael Brecker / Roy Hargrove | Album | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved January 17, 2026.
  2. ^ "45th Annual GRAMMY Awards". Grammy Awards. Retrieved January 17, 2026.
  3. ^ "2003 Grammy Awards". CBS News. February 24, 2003. Retrieved January 17, 2026.
  4. ^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 649. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0. Retrieved January 19, 2026 – via Internet Archive.
  5. ^ Shoemaker, Bill (June 1, 2002). "Herbie Hancock/Michael Brecker/Roy Hargrove: Directions in Music: Live at Massey Hall". JazzTimes. Retrieved January 17, 2026.