This is a wonderful clip of Herbie Hancock, demonstrating his Fairlight on Sesame Street in 1983-4. The little girl at the start is Tatyana Ali, who went on to become Ashley in the Fresh Prince of Bel Air, and the geek in the background is Clive Smith, who didn't. At around the same time, this is how Herbie looked on Saturday Night Live, with an Rhodes Chroma (+ the expander), a black Fairlight, and several band members in jumpsuits.
Posted by Tom Whitwell.
Comments:
I remember this episode. Of course at the time I didn't know what a fairlight or who herbie hancock was. Great stuff!
ahh this is TOTALLY awesome. But even better is the video of Herbie on comedy central. He dances (and dresses) like my dad. Sadly my dad can't play like Herbie, so there the similarity ends. Man that Chroma gives me the horn - it sounds +so+ fat!
This made my day - I told this little story about seeing this on The Holmes Page, which details Fairlight CMI stuff....it's good to actually see it again.
funny that herbie chooses a fender rhodes sound at the end. all that expensive fancy fairlight business just to play a fender rhodes sample. haha. clive's beat programming was tight though.
> Did all fairlights need someone programing > them in the background?
I'm guessing that if you could afford a Fairlight back in the day, it would have looked worse for you if you didn't have your butler at the controls behind you.
i'd like to get that sample set that Herbie's got loaded in there. the one with the old skool PBS 1979 flute sample and the ice cream truck sequence.
i wonder what would have happened if one of the other kids had said their name to Herbie instead of tatiyana Ali...perhaps the little latino boy would have ended up on Fresh Prince...
: 2:35 am