Herbie Hancock's iconic funk composition brings a groove-driven change of pace to the late program, with all three horn and piano soloists stretching out at 130 BPM over the 16-bar form. Brecker leads with five choruses on trumpet, Lefkowitz-Brown follows with eight on tenor saxophone, and Cohen adds five on piano. The eighteen combined choruses give the nearly twelve-minute performance room to explore the tune's modal vamp from multiple angles. Hancock composed the piece for his 1964 Blue Note album Empyrean Isles, and its hypnotic bassline and simple harmonic structure have made it one of the most recognizable jazz compositions of the 1960s. The funk feel stands out in a program dominated by swing and ballads, and positioning it near the end of the set gives the audience a rhythmically different experience before the high-speed closer. The three-soloist format lets each player bring a distinct voice to the familiar groove.
