Jazz treasure to visit IU

Herbie Hancock, one of the greatest composers in jazz history, brings an acoustic band tonight to the IU Auditorium for his first-ever concert in Bloomington. \nHancock, a pianist, has recorded some of the most memorable songs in jazz history, including "Canteloupe Island," "Watermelon Man" and "Chameleon."\nTonight, he will play with drummer Terri Lyne Carrington, bassist Scott Colley and saxophonist Gary Thomas. His IU performance is part of a tour of more than 20 cities that includes the Playboy Jazz Festival and dates in Russia and Poland. \nThe show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $25 for students with a valid student ID and $30 for non-students.\nFrom his first album with Blue Note records in 1962 to last year's Grammy-award winning release titled "Directions in Music," Hancock has consistently recorded amazing music, according to his Web site, www.herbiehancock.com.\nIn the 1960s, Hancock played piano in arguably the best jazz group of all time. In what was Miles Davis' second great group, Hancock was joined by Wayne Shorter on tenor saxophone, Ron Carter on bass and Tony Williams on drums.\nHe has not limited himself to just traditional jazz, either. The song "Rockit" landed on MTV in 1983 and showed Hancock melding jazz with electronica. In the 1970s, he explored funk with the album "Headhunters," where he exclaims, "God made me funky."\nHe has also recorded tracks with Guru from Gangstarr and Bootsy Collins.\nAnd the nine-time Grammy winner is still going strong. \nIU associate professor for jazz trumpet performance Pat Harbison said Hancock was "fabulous" when he heard the piano-great play with Shorter a few years ago at the Indianapolis Jazz Festival. \n"He's really a treasure," Harbison said. "He's been at it for so long at such a high level."\nHarbison said Hancock's repertoire stands out because of its diversity. He named "Headhunters" and "Crossings" as two of his favorite Hancock recordings.\n"He was one of the first people to do space music back in the '70s," Harbison said. "He's so diverse that it's just amazing."\nThe first time associate professor for jazz saxophone performance Tom Walsh heard Hancock was in the winter of 1986-87 at the Bluenote club in New York City. Hancock was playing with Branford Marsailis and Ron Carter at the time.\n"It was in a small club environment," Walsh said. "I was close enough to touch him. It was a really amazing experience."\nWalsh said Hancock's "Maiden Voyage" makes most jazz listeners' top ten list. \n"It is one of the most important recordings in the history of jazz," he said. "He is at the top of the jazz world, somebody whose artistry is just incredible."\n-- Contact editor in chief Adam VanOsdol at avanosdo@indiana.edu.