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Stanford Lively Arts Presents "A Tribute to Herbie Hancock" Starring Christian McBride on March 31

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Concert curated by National Jazz Museum in Harlem will feature Hancock veterans Bennie Maupin, Eddie Henderson, Billy Hart, and others



Bass phenom and National Jazz Museum in Harlem (NJMH) co-director Christian McBride performs a tribute to the music of living-legend jazz composer/keyboardist Herbie Hancock in a concert presented by Stanford Lively Arts on Wednesday, March 31 at 8:00 p.m. at Dinkelspiel Auditorium.



McBride will lead his all-star band--including saxophonist Bennie Maupin (a member of Hancock's celebrated Headhunters and Mwandishi ensembles of the 1970s), trumpeter Eddie Henderson (Mwandishi veteran), drummer Billy Hart (another Mwandishi veteran), trombonist Michael Dease, and keyboardist Geoffrey Keezer--through Hancock's incredible body of work and will also perform many of his own original compositions inspired by Hancock's Mwandishi-era music. The concert is the culmination of a season of free public programs on jazz and technology, and a continuation of Lively Arts' collaboration with NJMH and Stanford Jazz Workshop.



In the days leading up to the performance, Jazz Museum co-director Loren Schoenberg will lead a free Jazz/Tech Talk on Monday March 29 at 8:00 p.m. at the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA). Schoenberg will also give a free “Informance" performance and discussion, on Tuesday, March 30 at 6:00 p.m. at the Community School of Music and Arts in Mountain View.



ABOUT CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE
Born in Philadelphia in 1972, Christian McBride is widely considered to be one of the best bassists of his generation. McBride has performed and recorded with jazz legends and ensembles, including Freddie Hubbard, Joe Henderson, McCoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny, Diana Krall, Roy Haynes, Chick Corea, Wynton Marsalis, Joshua Redman, and Ray Brown's “Superbass" with John Clayton, as well as with hip-hop, pop, soul, and classical musicians such as Kathleen Battle. Since 2000, McBride has fronted his own acoustic, jazz, fusion and funk ensemble. In 2006, McBride was named to the position of “Creative Chair for Jazz" with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, taking over from Dianne Reeves. He was in turn succeeded by Herbie Hancock this year.



ABOUT HERBIE HANCOCK
One of jazz's most influential and revered figures of the past half-century, keyboardist and composer Herbie Hancock first came to prominence performing on acoustic piano, both as a member of Miles Davis' great 1960s quintet and as a leader in his own right (as heard on a series of now-classic Blue Note albums). In the late 1960s and into the 1970s, like Davis, Hancock became a pioneer of electric jazz (also known as “jazz-rock" or “fusion"), leading first the ensemble Mwandishi and later the enormously popular group Headhunters. In the 1980s, Hancock continued his explorations into electronic music (most famously, on 1983's smash hit “Rockit") and also marked a return to acoustic jazz with the group VSOP, featuring fellow Miles Davis Quintet alumni. He continues to release highly regarded albums, including 2007's River: The Joni Letters--a tribute to Joni Mitchell--and has won numerous Grammy Awards. In 2004, Herbie Hancock was given the prestigious NEA Jazz Masters Award for lifetime achievement.



OPENING ACT
McBrides's concert will also be preceded by a short “Opening Act" programmed by Stanford Ph.D. drama student Sebastin Caldern Bentin. The performance will involve short student spoken word pieces in response to three songs by Herbie Hancock. “Opening Acts" is a new initiative launched by Lively Arts this season to involve Stanford students in the performing arts both onstage and behind the scenes.

Presented in partnership with Stanford Jazz Workshop and generously supported by Abraham and Marian Sofaer, and funded by The Koret Foundation. The Koret Jazz Project is a multi-year initiative to support, expand, and celebrate the role of jazz--one of America's greatest contributions to world culture--in the artistic and education programming of Stanford Lively Arts.



TICKETS
Tickets for A Tribute to Herbie Hancock on Wednesday, March 31 at 8:00 p.m. at Dinkelspiel Auditorium are $34-$38 for adults and $10 for Stanford students. Half-price tickets are available for young people age 18 and under, and discounts are available for groups and non-Stanford students. For tickets and more information, call 650-725-ARTS (2787) or visit http://livelyarts.stanford.edu.



VENUE INFORMATION
Dinkelspiel Auditorium is located at 471 Lagunita Drive, adjacent to Tresidder Union. Parking on campus is free of charge after 4:00 p.m. and on weekends at all times, and may be found in the lot off Lagunita Drive near Tresidder Memorial Union, on Abbott Way, and in Parking Structure 6 under Wilbur Field. Maps and directions are available at livelyarts.stanford.edu.



ABOUT THE NATIONAL JAZZ MUSEUM IN HARLEM
The National Jazz Museum in Harlem has been ensconced in its Harlem offices for six years now; Executive Director Loren Schoenberg and Director of Operations Bryan E. Glover maintain things on a day-to-day basis. Co-Director Christian McBride, internationally in-demand bassist, is the Museum's traveling Ambassador when he is on the road, as well as frequent participant in our programs when he is in New York. In addition, Schoenberg is a noted conductor, saxophonist, and author who has appeared internationally and won the 1994 Grammy Award for Best Album Notes. He has recorded several albums with his own big band, and also with Benny Goodman, Benny Carter and Bobby Short. He is on the faculties of the Juilliard School, the Manhattan School of Music, Jazz at Lincoln Center's Essentially Ellington Band Director's Academy, and is program director of the Jazz Aspen Snowmass Jazz Colony. He is the author of The NPR Curious Listener's Guide to Jazz.

ABOUT STANFORD LIVELY ARTS
Stanford Lively Arts curates experiences that engage artists' and audiences' imagination, creativity, and sense of adventure. Founded in 1969 at Stanford University, we produce and present music, theater, dance, spoken word, and multi-media events. We place a special focus on innovation and risk-taking, and through commissions and premieres are an incubator and destination for new work. Stanford Lively Arts plays a leading and collaborative role in the university's thriving vision of a sustained culture of creativity--one in which the arts integrate with the academic disciplines, flourish as a vital part of campus and community life, and inspire new perspectives on our lives and culture.

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