By now, Chicago-born pianist Herbie Hancock could simply enjoy the fruits of his labor, but even after all these years he is still looking for a new challenge. Following up on his Grammy-winning “River: The Joni Letters” (the first jazz record to be awarded Album of the Year since 1965), he emerges with “The Imagine Project,” a global effort recorded in studios all over the world that features the likes of Konono No. 1, Tinariwen, Lionel Loueke, Seal, Derek Trucks, Anoushka Shankar, Jeff Beck, Marcus Miller and many others. Hancock’s idea is to promote what many would call a cliché—peace and understanding through the global language of music. The result is astonishing: For instance, Peter Gabriel’s eighties hit “Don’t Give Up” is transformed into an African-inspired anthem in the voices of John Legend and Pink, while John Lennon’s iconic “Imagine” is completely reinvented with a multilayered arrangement built around percussion, piano and electric guitar. For the tour, Hancock assembled an outstanding band featuring Greg Phillinganes (piano), Pino Palladino (bass), Loueke (guitar), Vinnie Colaiuta (drums) and Chicago-based Kristina Train (vocals). (Ernest Barteldes)
August 21, Symphony Center, 220 South Michigan, (312)294-3000, 8pm. $30-$95.
Related Stories
Past Is Still Prologue: A Preview of Fleetwood Mac at United Center While the band’s newer music continued to sell, there was little doubt that the fans who paid top dollar to see the group live were there to hear the hits of yesteryear. Acknowledging that reality is the fact that Fleetwood Mac’s most recent album release is 2003’s “Say You Will.”
The Real Deal: A Preview of Mike Nesmith and Micky Dolenz at the Copernicus Center All four Monkees had some background in music. All but Tork had, in fact, released solo singles. Nesmith was, and remains, a songwriter of merit, and if Dolenz couldn't at first play drums like his fictional TV counterpart (he was a guitarist), he took lessons and learned how.
Pride and Joy: A Preview of Melissa Young and Nick Sula at Pride Arts Center It's a heartfelt, if somewhat breathless, recounting of the gay rights movement’s signal moments, interspersed with era-appropriate songs made famous by the kind of divas to whom gay fans refer by first name alone (Dolly, Bette, Diana, and so on).
Chicago Symphony Conundrum: Why Does the Best Get Paid Like the Rest? Imagine if the Chicago Bulls of the Michael Jordan era that won six NBA championships were being paid at levels lower than mediocre teams and you have a sense of why the players of the CSO took a vote on February 13 to “overwhelmingly” authorize a strike on March 10, after nearly a year of fruitless contract negotiations and after…
RECOMMENDED
