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
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