Herbie talks with Larry Mantle of KPCC 89.3 about his new appointment as Creative Chair for Jazz for the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association and more.

Click here to listen to the interview via KPCC

The new album pairs artists such as Chaka Khan with Ravi Shankar’s daughter Anoushka Shankar and Tracy Chapman with West African singer Oumou Sangare.

Herbie describes this album as capturing “peace through global collaboration. Our same language is our commonality as human beings…”

“What I think about now is purpose. I didn’t think about purpose years ago. It was `write this tune.'”

Other musicians for the album include Jeff Beck and Dave Matthews. As always, Herbie contributes his global and continually evolving outlook to chanting… “I chant three hours a day and practice Buddhism to continue to discover myself and to and reach out to others.”

Herbie has been named the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s next creative chair for jazz beginning 2010, inheriting his two-year residency from bassist Christian McBride.

Herbie told the Associated Press: “I’m interested in [the] cross-pollination of music of various cultures and would like to see more interaction between visuals and music. Ballet or some sort of pop-oriented kind of dance interacting with jazz, visuals done with computer graphics or film segments with jazz, or a mixture of jazz and other genres.”

Herbie’s duties will include directing jazz programming at Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Hollywood Bowl.

This is an unbelievable tragedy, first of all for his family, for his devout fans, for the world of music and for the world of culture.

Michael was one of the most diligent creators. His passion flowed through every pore of his being. His sense of invention was unparalleled. Who else could have thought of the moonwalk and who else could have created such a unique sense of movement in dance. His contribution to music and music videos; Off the Wall, Thriller, We are the World are expressions of his consummate talent. Above all his compassion for serving humanity and desire to uplift and encourage excellence are etched in his legacy. He changed the world.

Click here to watch a video of Herbie performing with Lang Lang at the Classical Brit Awards via YouTube

Lang Lang and Hancock announce extraordinary London performance

“…a genre-crossing revamp of George Gershwin’s ”Rhapsody In Blue” was the perfect showcase for these two hugely talented ivory tinklers” – Entertainment Weekly on 50th Grammy Awards performance.

After their duelling-keys performance together of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue at the 50th Grammy Awards the hottest pianist on the classical music planet, Lang Lang and iconic jazz pianist Herbie Hancock will join forces in concert for a limited number of European and North American dates later this year.

The pair will perform at the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday 11th July 2009. Tickets for this unique performance will go on sale Friday 27th February at 9am. Lang Lang and Herbie will be performing a programme that will include Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue in arrangement for two pianos and orchestra, Vaughan-Williams Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra plus solo, duo and four hand repertoire for piano accompanied by the Philharmonia Orchestra and conducted by John Axelrod.

Heralded as the “hottest artist on the classical music planet” by the New York Times, 26-year-old Lang Lang has played sold out recitals and concerts in every major city in the world and is the first Chinese pianist to be engaged by the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic and the top American orchestras.

In August 2008, over 5 billion people viewed Lang Lang’s performance in Beijing’s opening ceremony for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad where he was seen as a symbol of the youth and future of China. He has played with the world’s best orchestras and with the most renowned conductors.

Herbie Hancock is a true icon of modern music with an illustrious career spanning five decades and 12 Grammy® Awards.

He began playing piano at the age of seven years old and later won the attention of the legendary Miles Davis joining his band from 1963-1968. Hancock was one of the first jazz musicians to embrace the use of synthesizers and explore funk, resulting in many “cross over” successes like “Cantaloupe Island”, “Watermelon Man”, “Chameleon” and “Rockit”. His 2007 album, “River: The Joni Letters” won the 2008 Grammy Award for Album of the Year, only the second time a jazz album has won the award. The Philharmonia Orchestra is one of the world’s great orchestras.

Acknowledged as the UK’s foremost musical pioneer, with an extraordinary recording legacy, the Philharmonia leads the field for its quality of playing, and for its innovative approach to audience development, residencies, music education and the use of new technologies in reaching a global audience. It is committed to presenting the same quality, live music-making in venues throughout the country as it brings to London and the great concert halls of the world. Full ticket details Saturday 11th July 2009 – Royal Albert Hall

“A mesmerizing piano solo on “Maiden Voyage” by the song’s composer Herbie Hancock taught the high school ensemble behind him a thing or two about what it takes to become a jazz master at Tuesday’s Grammy Salute to Jazz at Club Nokia. This year they paid tribute to the 70th anniversary of Blue Note Records with performances by several of the label’s jazz veterans, Joe Lovano, Cassandra Wilson and Terence Blanchard. But it was the pianist who spent the second half of the 1960s with the label who made the evening extra special. Lest anyone forget, Hancock won the album of the year trophy for “River,” an album that merged pop, folk and jazz in a near-meditative state.

On Tuesday, though, there was nothing clam of folky in the song selection. Hancock took his band of teens through two mid-60s exercises – “Dolphin Dance” was other extended jam – that were reminders of the strength of Hancock’s compositional skills and the openness with which he approaches an improvisation.

Each headliner performed two pieces each as the high-schoolers played either as 18-piece ensemble, a quintet and a quartet. Wilson impressed with a New Orleans take on the antique “Hesitation Blues”; Blanchard took the band on an extended funk journey. Upright bassist Kate Davis of West Linn, Ore., was particularly impressive in her intonation and time-keeping; Noah Kellman, a pianist from Fayetteville, N.Y., displayed impressive feather-weight touches in certain passages.

A few musicians from Blue Note’s initial heyday shared stories of the label founded in 1939 by Alfred Lion. Charlie Haden had two, the first of which concerned him getting a call from Ornette Coleman to come to a studio in Greenwich Village and record. “Denardo’s going to play with us,” Haden remembers Coleman saying. “But Ornette, he just turned 9 years old.” So he cabs it and lugs his bass up seven flights of steps, the most vertical walking he had done in 20 years of living in Manhattan. “And here’s Denardo all set up. We made beautiful music that day. It became ‘The Empty Foxhole.'”

The other one involved Haden approaching label president Bruce Lundvall, who is celebrating 25 years at the helm, in 1990 with a plan to record his Liberation Music Orchestra. It was obviously an expensive project and Lundvall needed to fund it by getting money from two international labels in the EMI family.

Haden was told to call back in a few days to get the final answer. Meanwhile, he left Lundvall with a cassette of pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba, with whom Haden had played in Havana. Nearly a week passed and Haden called Lundvall’s office about the orchestra recording only to be told Bruce was not in the office. “He’s on a plane to Cuba,” was the assistant’s answer .

From the Spectacle website:

Herbie Hancock is unquestionably a living legend, not only of jazz but of music, period. In this captivating program, he speaks eloquently, candidly and revealingly about his life, his music and the extraordinary people with whom he’s worked, played and created over the past 50 years – from Miles Davis to Joni Mitchell. Jimi Hendrix.

Seated at a grand piano, Hancock conducts a musical master class in between the animated conversation, with impromptu demonstrations and illustrations of at the keyboard. Karriem Riggins and Christian McBride add their considerable chops on drums and bass, respectively, joining Herbie on a couple of riveting performances; and in the end, Elvis and Herbie join forces to tackle a song from “River”, the album of Joni Mitchell material for which Herbie won the 2008 Grammy Award for Album of the Year.

Herbie’s episode will premiere on Wed, Feb 4th and repeat several times during the month as follows: Wednesday February 4, 9:00PM Thursday February 5, 8:00PM Friday February 6, 12:00AM Sunday February 8, 2:00AM Sunday February 8, 12:00PM Tuesday February 10, 12:00AM Saturday February 28, 2:00PM

From the NPR website:

NPR will be the only radio broadcaster of the concert “We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration,” the star-studded kickoff of official inaugural festivities, starting at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m PT on Sunday, Jan. 18. The event, which is free and open to the public at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., will be broadcast by NPR to public radio stations nationwide, and will be available as a simultaneous stream on this page and at the Web sites of many stations. For more information, find your local station by visiting NPR.org/stations.
To watch via cable and satellite stations, HBO will be making their signal available free of charge to any cable or satellite subscriber. HBO’s broadcast of the event will begin at 2:30 p.m. ET/11:30 a.m. PT and replay at 7pm ET/PT and 11:30 p.m. ET/PT.

Click here to watch a video of Herbie’s performance

We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration to Kick Off Official Inaugural Events WASHINGTON, DC – The Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC) is pleased to announce the initial talent lineup for WE ARE ONE: THE OBAMA INAUGURAL CELEBRATION AT THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL, the Opening Celebration for the 56th Presidential Inaugural, to be presented exclusively by HBO on Sunday, January 18 (7:00-9:00 p.m. ET/PT).

The event will be free and open to the public, kicking off the most open and accessible Inauguration in history. A production of The Stevens Company in association with Don Mischer Productions, the special will be executive produced by George Stevens, Jr. (The Kennedy Center Honors), and produced by Don Mischer (Olympic Ceremonies) who will also direct the special, and Michael Stevens (The American Film Institute Salutes) who is also writing the special.

Musical performers scheduled for the event include Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, Bono, Garth Brooks, Sheryl Crow, Renee Fleming, Josh Groban, Herbie Hancock, Heather Headley, John Legend, Jennifer Nettles, John Mellencamp, Usher Raymond IV, Shakira, Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, will.i.am, and Stevie Wonder. Reading historical passages will be Jamie Foxx, Martin Luther King III, Queen Latifah and Denzel Washington. The Rt. Reverend V. Gene Robinson will give the invocation. Rob Mathes will be the music director and arranger for the backing band, which will support all of the artists.

Additional performers will be announced as they are confirmed. “Our intention is to root the event in history, celebrating the moments when our nation has united to face great challenges and prevail,” observed George Stevens, Jr. “We will combine historical readings by prominent actors with music from an array of the greatest stars of today.” “This is a great opportunity to capture an historic event in a very meaningful setting,” noted Don Mischer. “We will have the statue of Abraham Lincoln looking down on our stage and a crowd of hundreds of thousands of people lining the mall — a tableau any director would relish.” “We have found that the great artists are eager to take part and each one is working with us to find music that expresses the optimism and hope that people bring to the Obama inauguration,” said Michael Stevens.

Televised to the nation, the Opening Celebration will be a declaration of common purpose and new beginnings. The Sunday afternoon performance will be grounded in history and brought to life with entertainment that relates to the themes that shaped Barack Obama and which will be the hallmarks of his administration.

HBO will televise the event on an open signal, working with all of its distributors to allow Americans across the country with access to cable, telcos or satellite television to join in the Opening Celebration for free. The 56th Inauguration promises to be the most inclusive in history, and the Opening Celebration is one of a series of inaugural events that reflect that commitment.

On Saturday, the President-elect, Vice President-elect and their families will journey to the nation’s capital via train, holding events that are free and open to the public along the way. They will be joined by a group of everyday Americans they met along their road to the White House. On January 19, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, President-elect Obama will call on all Americans to make an ongoing commitment to serve their communities and their country.

A new website, USAservice.org, makes it easy for Americans to organize service events or find existing events to participate in. To date, nearly 5,000 events have been organized across the country. That evening, Michelle Obama, Dr. Jill Biden, and their families will host a free “Kids’ Inaugural” concert to honor military families, broadcast live on the Disney Channel and Radio Disney.

This spirit of openness will continue on Inauguration Day, when, for the first time in history, the entire length of the National Mall will be open to the public for the swearing in ceremony. Local D.C. students have also been given the chance to receive tickets in front of the White House for the Inaugural Parade for themselves and their family members based on the submission of essays answering the question, “How can I contribute to my neighborhood through community service?” On the evening of Inauguration Day, the first ball that President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama will attend will be the first-ever Neighborhood Inaugural Ball.

The ball will be broadcast live on ABC and over the Internet, bringing together neighborhoods across the country in the spirit of unity and celebration. The sum of these public events is an Inauguration that allows more Americans than ever before to come together as one nation and one people, united in our resolve to tackle our greatest common challenges and move this country forward together.