On Sunday, September 24th at Brooklyn Comes Alive, some of the most talented musical minds in the modern funk and jam scene will channel the jazz-funk mastery of Herbie Hancock for a one-time-only tribute to the virtuosic keyboardist, composer, and bandleader. Joey Porter (The Motet) will lead the charge from behind the keys, with Snarky Puppy’s 1-2 punch percussion section, Robert “Sput” Searight and Nate Werth, and Motet bassist Garret Sayers rounding out the set’s eye-popping rhythm section. James Casey (Trey Anastasio Band) will complete the tribute’s roster, handling the buttery brass leads that accent many of Hancock’s most well-known compositions.

Celebrating Herbie Hancock’s Birthday With His Greatest Compositions And Live Performances [Videos]

After getting his start with bebop trumpeter Donald Byrd, Hancock began to make waves in the jazz world when he was specifically recruited by the revered Miles Davis to join what would become his “Second Great Quintet” in 1963. During his time with Davis, and over the course his subsequently decorated solo career, Hancock helped redefine and emphasize the role of the rhythm section in improvised music, helped popularize the use of synthesizers in jazz-fusion, and otherwise influenced virtually all funk, jazz, and jam music that followed.

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Each of the members of Brooklyn Comes Alive’s “A Tribute to Herbie Hancock” lineup can, to some extent, trace their musical lineage back to Herbie. Snarky Puppy has most directly taken up his mantle with their exploratory, genre-bending musical aesthetic, and Casey helps harness the sonic fearlessness of Hancock’s sound with TAB and his various other acts (like Animus Rexx, also performing at BCA).

However, bandleader Joey Porter may be the most directly and personally attuned to Hancock’s undeniable influence–particularly as it pertains to conveying his jazz influence via The Motet’s more straight-funk dance party style. Explains Porter, “For me, Herbie was the best at applying jazz to funk music without sounding too smooth. He has perfect time that allows him to play very syncopated and busy rhythms flawlessly while always staying in the pocket.”

Members Of The Motet, Big G, and Kyle Hollingsworth Band Pay Homage To Herbie Hancock In Colorado

In a 2016 interview with Live For Live Music, Porter recalled an instance where Hancock had a direct effect on The Motet’s music, while recording their 2016 album, Totem, with producer Eric Krasno. As he explained, “Theres this song on the record, which is my tune, called ‘Rippin’ Herb.’ Herbie Hancock is my hero, and my biggest influence. If you listen to the way that I play, it’s easy to tell. And I’m such a fan of him, and wear orange a lot—so a lot of fans in Denver call me ‘Sherbie’ [as in ‘sherbet’]. So we had working titles for all the songs when we went in to record the demos—since we didn’t have any lyrics yet—and this one was just called, like, ‘Joey Herbie’ or something like that. What’s funny is that Krasno actually came up with the final name of the song. ‘Cus when we started talking about the song, I was joking ‘maaann, I’m not doing anything but rippin’ off Herbie.’ And while I’m saying that, I’m smoking a joint in the studio. So Kraz is like, ‘dude, you’re ‘Rippin Herb!’ And boom, there’s the title…Obviously I just meant I was riffing on Herbie’s style, it doesn’t sound like any of his tunes. But it was just too good to pass up—that I was rippin’ herb while I was ‘ripping Herb.'”

Watch Herbie Hancock perform his Head Hunters (1973) classic “Watermelon Man” live at Java Jazz Festival in 2012 below, via the JavaJazzFest YouTube:

With such a talented, thoroughly knowledgable, and reverent group of musicians taking part in this one-off tribute to Herbie Hancock, it’s sure to be an unforgettable highlight of an incredible weekend of music in Williamsburg at Brooklyn Comes Alive.

Inspired by the vibrant musical communities of Brooklyn and New Orleans, Brooklyn Comes Alive will turn three fantastic Williamsburg venues (Brooklyn Bowl, Schimanski, Music Hall of Williamsburg) and the surrounding city streets into a music lover’s game board for two full days on September 23rd and 24th. The unique homegrown event puts the focus on the musicians, curating dream team collaborations, tributes, and artist passion projects for two full days of incredible music both new and old.

The 2017 lineup is set to include hand-selected band lineups featuring all-star musicians like John Scofield, George Porter Jr. (The Meters), Vinnie Amico and Al Schnier (moe.), Bernard Purdie, Kofi Burbridge (Tedeschi Trucks Band), Joel Cummins, Ryan Stasik, and Kris Myers (Umphrey’s McGee), Aron Magner and Marc Brownstein (The Disco Biscuits), Mike Greenfield and Jesse Miller (Lotus), Jason Hann (String Cheese Incident), Alan Evans (Soulive), Cyril Neville (Neville Brothers), Henry Butler, Jon Cleary, Reed Mathis (Electric Beethoven), Michael League, Nate Werth, Chris Bullock, Robert “Sput” Searight, and Bob Lanzetti (Snarky Puppy), Jennifer Hartswick and Natalie Cressman (Trey Anastasio Band), and scores of others!

***Tickets Are On Sale Now!***

Brooklyn Comes Alive is now offering single day tickets, as well as a ticket payment plan for as low as $30/month. When checking out, just select “Monthly payments with Affirm” as your payment method. To find out more about ticketing, VIP options, and lodging, head to the festival website.