Jazz legend sells out Center Theater

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

By Aaron Davis

Jackson Hole, Wyo.-Mr. Herbert Jeffrey “Herbie” Hancock has long been one of my favorite jazz cats because of his melodic, crossover-genre accessibility. Hancock, 70, will hit the Center Theater on Thursday in support of his latest release, The Imagine Project.

“Music transcends the barriers between people,” Hancock said in a video trailer for the new release. “I call it The Imagine Project because it’s about peace through local collaboration and mutual respect for other cultures.”

The Imagine Project features collaborations with more than a dozen superstars from all over the world. Guests include Dave Matthews, Anoushka Shankar, Jeff Beck, The Chieftains, John Legend, India Arie, Seal, Pink and Chaka Khan.

It utilizes the universal language of music to express its central themes of peace and global responsibility. One highlight on the eclectic disc includes Joe Cocker’s “Space Captain,” featuring Tedeschi and Trucks. Other tunes include “Imagine,” Dylan’s “The Times, They are a Changin’,” and The Beatles’ “Tomorrow Never Knows.”

You can expect a solid mix of old and new from the 12-time Grammy-Award winner.
 On this tour, he’s been offering a medley of his classics "Cantaloupe Island," "Watermelon Man," "Chameleon" and "Maiden Voyage," while on certain numbers also highlighting his band: second keyboardist Greg Phillinganes, guitarist Lionel Loueke, bassist Pino Palladino, drummer Vinnie Colaiuta and Kristin Train on vocals.
Few artists in the industry have had such a tremendous influence on both acoustic and electronic music as Hancock. He was a member of Miles Davis’s “second great quintet,” helping to pioneer the “post-bop” sound in the mid- 60s. During his five years with Davis, he contributed to groundbreaking albums In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew, the latter of which heralded the birth of jazz-fusion.

It seems like everything is crossover these days, but Hancock was one the first jazz musicians to embrace synthesizers, as well as funk and soul music. After leaving the Miles Davis Quintet, Hancock formed The Headhunters in ’73 and by mid-decade, he was playing for stadium-sized crowds all over the world and had no fewer than 11 albums in the pop charts during the 1970s. He has officially released more than 50 albums since 1962’s Takin’ Off.

In the fifth decade of his professional life, Hancock remains at the forefront of progressive entities. Among his other endeavors, he is the creative chair for jazz for the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, serves as institute chairman of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz and is also a founder of the International Committee of Artists for Peace (ICAP). JHW

Jackson Hole Center for the Arts presents Herbie Hancock at 8 p.m., Thursday, in the Center Theater. This show is sold out. To inquire about released tickets, call 733-4900.

COURTESY CENTER FOR THE ARTS
Herbie Hancock, 12-time Grammy-Award winner, offers a medley of classics.

PERMALINK:
Jazz legend sells out Center Theater | Planet JH News Article: Music Box

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