 | Wednesday, March 1st at 9pm: The first night of our month-long tribute to Herbie Hancock will be FLOOD (released in 1975) performed by the Paul Mutzabaugh Sextet. Herbie Hancock and the Headhunters take to the road in the live double album Flood, recorded and released only in Japan. In all, this was a great funk band, not all that danceable because of the rapid complexities of Mike Clark's drumming, and quite often, full of harmonic depth and adventure. Except for "Maiden Voyage," the tunes come from the Head Hunters, Thrust, and Man-Child albums (another reason why this was not released in the U.S.). Performances by: Paul Mutzabaugh - Keyboard Aaron McEvers - Saxophone, Flute Matt Gold - Guitar Chris Clemente - Bass Frank Alongi - Drums Rich Stitzel - Percussion Visual Artist - Dmitry Samarov https://www.facebook.com/events/1128694800570456/ |
 | Thursday, March 9th at 9pm Night two we'll be featuring Herbie Hancock's debut as a leader with Takin' Off, released in 1962. This album revealed Herbie as a composer and pianist able to balance sophistication and accessibility, somewhat in the vein of Blue Note's prototype hard bopper Horace Silver. Takin' Off is among Hancock's most conventional albums, it shows a young stylist already strikingly mature for his age, and one who can interpret established forms with spirit and imagination. His bluesy single "Watermelon Man" made it to the Top 100 of the pop charts and went on to become a jazz standard. Performances by: Marques Carroll – Trumpet Rajiv Halim - Tenor Marcin Fahmy – Piano Andrew Vogt – Bass Isaiah Spencer - Drums Featured Visual Artist - Chris Walker https://www.facebook.com/events/577119215829279/ |
 | Wednesday, March 15th at 9pm Night three we'll be featuring Maiden Voyage, an oceanic concept album recorded in 1965. In the mid-'60s, a distinctive postbop style evolved among the younger musicians associated with Blue Note, a new synthesis that managed to blend the cool spaciousness of Miles Davis's modal period, some of the fire of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, and touches of the avant-garde's group interaction. Maiden Voyage is a masterpiece of the school, with Hancock's enduring compositions like "Maiden Voyage" and "Dolphin Dance" mingling creative tension and calm repose with strong melodies and airy, suspended harmonies that give form to his evocative sea imagery. Performances by: Chad McCullough - Trumpet Cory Weeds - Tenor Rob Clearfield - Piano Clark Sommers - Bass Dana Hall - Drums Featured visual artist - Arthur Wright https://www.facebook.com/events/744134015763146/ |
 | Wednesday, March 22nd at 9pm Night four we've got Herbie's fourth album, Empyrean Isles from 1964. Hancock pushes at the borders of hard bop, finding a brilliantly evocative balance between traditional bop, soul-injected grooves, and experimental, post-modal jazz. Each song finds the quartet vigorously searching for new sonic territory with convincing fire. "Cantaloupe Island," well-known for its funky piano riff, takes chances and doesn't just ride the groove. "The Egg," is the riskiest number on the record, but it works because each musician spins inventive, challenging solos that defy convention. Performances by: Rob Clearfield - Keyboards Russ Johnson - Trumpet Curt Bley - Bass Marcus Evans - Drums Featured visual artist - Mark Nelson https://www.facebook.com/events/671170666387684/ |
 | Wednesday, March 29th at 9pm We will wrap up our Herbie Hancock series with The Prisoner, Herbie's 7th album and final Blue Note release from 1969. The album is a tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, evoking his spirit and dreams through spacious, exploratory post-bop. The additional winds add delicacy and texture to an already powerful band, and the expanded palette allows Hancock to show untapped strengths as an orchestrator, enlarging the harmonic inference of strongly felt themes that are by turns majestic, assertive, and pensive. Performances by: Geof Bradfield - Tenor Sax, Flute John Wojciechowski - Tenor Sax, Flute, Alto Flute Jason Stein - Bass Clarinet Russ Johnson - Trumpet, Flugelhorn Joel Adams - Trombone Scott Bentall - Bass Trombone Ben Waltzer - Piano Clark Sommers - Bass Dana Hall - Drums https://www.facebook.com/events/1685175805116720/ |
ADMISSION & LOCATION:
Doors open at 8pm, show starts at 9pm.
Suggested $10 donation or $5 w/ valid student ID*
CASH ONLY. Smaller bills appreciated.
All ages. 21+ for alcoholic beverages.
Beverages generously sponsored by Candid Wines.
All JRAC events take place at The Fulton Street Collective:
Located in the Hubbart Street Lofts
1821 W. Hubbard St. (3rd Floor)
Chicago, IL 60612
(773) 852 2481
Doors open at 8pm, show starts at 9pm.
Suggested $10 donation or $5 w/ valid student ID*
CASH ONLY. Smaller bills appreciated.
All ages. 21+ for alcoholic beverages.
Beverages generously sponsored by Candid Wines.
All JRAC events take place at The Fulton Street Collective:
Located in the Hubbart Street Lofts
1821 W. Hubbard St. (3rd Floor)
Chicago, IL 60612
(773) 852 2481
