Advanced Search
Business | Metro | Nation | World | Sports | Features | Specials | Delta Stories
 
 
Jazz greats
23/9/2004 7:51

Shanghai Daily news

Guo Feifei reports on an upcoming jazz festival which brings some of the world's best to Shanghai The legendary Herbie Hancock Quartet comes to Shanghai as part of the Toshiba Jazz Festival this weekend.
Born into a family of music in 1940 in Chicago, Hancock started to learn piano at the age of seven and two years later, held his first public show. He became widely acknowledged after he joined the quintet of musical giant Miles Davis. For many fans, Hancock is actually the face of jazz. His career parallels some of the major developments in music: from the ``Maiden Voyage'' of his Blue Note recordings in the 1960s to his best-selling work with ``Head Hunters'' in the 1970s; from ``Rockit,'' the hit that brought DJ scratching to mainstream America, to his onscreen appearance and musical direction of the movie ``Round Midnight'' in 1986, which won him an Academy Award for Best Original Score. Hancock has also set a standard for the pop record industry. Though his initial interest was always traditional jazz, he has skillfully promoted his music in other directions and has produced albums for Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. Saxophonist Wayne Shorter, drummer Brian Blade and bass player Dave Holland form the rest of the award-winning quartet. They have won more than 20 Grammy Awards. Shorter's celebrated history includes five years with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, 14 years with the influential group Weather Report, as well as memorable solos on recordings by Joni Mitchell and Steely Dan. The New York Times has called Shorter ``the greatest living composer of small group jazz.'' Though Shorter and Hancock last toured and recorded together in 1997, their musical association reaches back to the classic 1960s Miles Davis Quintet that still sets the standard for small group jazz. ``I enjoy just being in between Herbie and Wayne onstage,'' says Holland. ``They've got such a history that it's just wonderful to hear. It's an intimate thing.'' Holland's musical connection with the two is almost as deep, extending back to the late 1960s, when he joined them to record with Miles on groundbreaking projects like ``In a Silent Way'' and ``Bitches Brew.'' Drummer Blade is decades younger, but he already has enough history with his band mates to add his own countermelody. After drumming for Bob Dylan, Kenny Garrett, Blade toured and recorded with Hancock in the Grammy Award-winning ``New Directions'' group in 2001. ``I want music to become a bridge that extends friendship,'' Blade says. ``And this friendship will always accompany my growth and enrich my memories.'' Each musician in the group is also a composer, presenting intriguing possibilities for the set list. No matter what page they choose to pull from their songbooks, they are guaranteed to strike gold. In their Shanghai performance, the group intends to combine elements of classic tunes to create new ones, and for that, Shorter says it is critical that all the musicians think like composers. For Hancock, he hopes that audiences come to hear the quartet not just because some of the band members shared the stage with musical giants Davis and Blakey, but to recognize something more. ``I like the fact that we're not just a bunch of old guys getting together. Although Wayne and I have admittedly been around a long time, Dave's a little younger and Brian's barely 30,'' Hancock says. Their mastery of music allows the group to play with freedom. What makes these men great is their dedication to standing clear of nostalgia's spotlight. ``Anything that's restrictive or regimented is out,'' Shorter says. ``We refuse to not have fun onstage.'' As to the reason for their China debut show, Hancock explains he has cherished the idea for a long time. ``I've always wanted to come to the fast developing China and bring real Jazz to the country and its people,'' he says. In addition to the quartet, some renowned jazz musicians from Japan will also take part in the festival, including the Earth Quartet, Kimiko Itoh and Hiromi Uehara, a promising young jazz pianist. ``No doubt this has been the strongest jazz lineup in Shanghai for decades,'' says Zhang Mingquan from the Shanghai Media Group, the organizer of the event. Date: September 24-25, 6:30pm Venue: Shanghai Center Theater, 1376 Nanjing Road W. Tickets: 150-1,000 yuan Tel: 3424-1588, 6279-8663