Herbie Hancock - Hopes and Dreams
Friday, October 24, 2008
This month Herbie Hancock makes his presence felt in the UK by playing five eagerly anticipated live shows, including two concerts at the London Jazz Festival that coincide with the release of Then and Now: The Definitive Herbie Hancock, a 12-track career retrospective covering his work for the Blue Note, Warner, Columbia and Verve record labels. In this exclusive interview with Stuart Nicholson, Hancock talks about his new band, his time with Miles Davis and his support for Barack Obama in the US elections on 4 November.
Accompanying Herbie on his UK tour will be a brand new band comprising Terence Blanchard on trumpet, Gregoire Maret on harmonica, Lionel Loueke on guitar, James Genus on bass and Kendrick Scott on drums. In a unique first for a major artist, he makes two appearances in the London Jazz Festival, one at the Royal Festival Hall and the other at the Barbican, plus dates at The Sage in Gateshead, Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall and Birmingham’s Symphony Hall.
“The tour that I just finished was called ‘The River of Possibilities Tour,’” says Hancock, down the line from his California home. “We carried two singers, and we did many songs from my last new record River: The Joni Letters, but this is an instrumental tour so we’re leaning towards a more jazz approach. We haven’t had any rehearsals nor have we met, I only just got off the tour two days ago so I haven’t really put specifics about what we’re going to do together yet.
“However, I have known Terence for a very, very long time – since he worked in a quintet with Donald Harrison several years ago – and from that beginning through to Terence’s work with the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz as director of the collegiate programme we have. I say “we” because I’m the chairman of the Monk Institute and Terence has been the musical director of that programme for several years now. He’s such a talented trumpet player and composer, writing wonderful movie scores.
This is an extract from Jazzwise Issue #125 – read the full article Subscribe Here