Herbie Hancock Plays in New Jersey

In his five decade career, Herbie Hancock has received 14 Grammy Awards, including “Album of the Year” for River:

[Music]

Piano legend Herbie Hancock returns to NJPAC’s Prudential Hall on Friday, March 23 at 8pm with his all-star band comprised of Lionel Loueke, James Genus and Trevor Lawrence Jr.

The performance is part of NJPAC’s Wells Fargo Jazz Series and is made possible in part by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and Discover Jersey Arts.

Tickets are $29-$90 and are available by telephone at 1-888-466-5722, at the NJPAC Box Office at One Center Street in downtown Newark, and at www.njpac.org. To purchase tickets for groups of 10 or more, call 973-297-5804.

In his five decade career, Herbie Hancock has received 14 Grammy Awards, including “Album of the Year” for River: The Joni Letters.  Born in Chicago in 1940, he was a child piano prodigy, performing a Mozart piano concerto with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at age 11. He began playing jazz in high school, initially influenced by Oscar Peterson and Bill Evans. He also developed a passion for electronics and science, and double-majored in music and electrical engineering.

In 1963, Miles Davis invited Hancock to join the Miles Davis Quintet. During his five years with Davis, Hancock and bandmates Wayne Shorter (tenor sax), Ron Carter (bass), and Tony Williams (drums) recorded many classics, including ‘ESP’, ‘Nefertiti’ and ‘Sorcerer’.

After leaving the quintet, Hancock formed The Headhunters and, in 1973, recorded Head Hunters. With its crossover hit single “Chameleon,” it became the first jazz album to go platinum.

In 2007, Hancock recorded and released River: The Joni Letters, a tribute to longtime friend and collaborator Joni Mitchell featuring Wayne Shorter, guitarist Lionel Loueke, bassist Dave Holland and drummer Vinnie Colaiuta and co-produced by Larry Klein. He enlisted vocalists Norah Jones, Tina Turner, Corinne Bailey Rae, Luciana Souza, Leonard Cohen and Mitchell herself to perform songs she wrote or was inspired by. The album won three Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year.

In 2010 Hancock released Herbie Hancock’s The Imagine Project, winner of two 20ll Grammy Awards for” Best Pop Collaboration” and “Best Improvised Jazz Solo.”  The Imagine project was recorded around the world and features Jeff Beck, Seal,Pink, Dave Matthews, The Chieftains, Lionel Loueke, Oumou Sangare, Konono #l, Anoushka Shankar, Chaka Khan, Marcus Miller, Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi, Tinariwen, Ceu and others.

Recently named by the Los Angeles Philharmonic as Creative Chair For Jazz, Hancock also serves as Institute Chairman of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz. In July of 2011 Hancock was designated a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador.   

Calendar Listing:
New Jersey Performing Arts Center presents
Herbie Hancock and His Band
Friday, March 23, 2012 at 8:00pm
NJPAC’s Prudential Hall
1 Center Street, Newark, NJ 07102

Piano legend Herbie Hancock returns to NJPAC’s Prudential Hall on Friday, March 23 at 8pm with his all-star band comprised of Lionel Loueke, James Genus and Trevor Lawrence Jr.

Tickets: $29-$90
Available at www.njpac.org, 1-888-466-5722 or at the box office at 1 Center Street, Newark, NJ

Programming has been made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts and by funds from the National Endowment for the Arts. NJPAC is a wheelchair accessible facility and provides assistive services for patrons with disabilities.  For more information, call 888-GO-NJPAC.

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