JAZZ LEGEND HERBIE HANCOCK BRINGS "RIVER" TO S.F. THIS WEEKEND

While Herbie Hancock has made numerous memorable Festival appearances, his November 10 appearance at the Masonic Center promises new surprises as, in addition to drawing from his treasured songbook, Hancock will be debuting work from his new album, River: A Tribute to Joni Mitchell, which The New York Times called “an intimate reinvention” of Mitchell’s music. And, just announced, up-and-coming singer Sonya Kitchell will be joining the jazz legend onstage this Saturday.

In a recent review, the SF Weekly called River “an impressionist revision of the different musical hues suggested by Mitchell's poetry” and praised it as “essential listening for more than just Mitchell's deservedly rabid fan base.”

Breaking new ground is nothing new for Hancock. From his earliest days as a performer, he has remained on the forward edge of the music, while retaining a deep respect for jazz tradition and an unerring ear for harmony. Whether playing in Miles Davis’ quintet or his own acoustic group in the ’60s, exploring electrified funk-jazz in the ’70s, crafting early hip-hop and electronic sounds in the ’80s, or redefining the concept of jazz standards in for the 21st century, Hancock has always matched his conceptual and instrumental brilliance with a broad sense of adventure.

That open ear has also helped foster some talented young artists like 18-year-old Sonya Kitchell. Winner of the 2003 DownBeat student competition for “Best Jazz Vocal” and Best Jazz Original Song,” Kitchell is a fiercely talented singer/songwriter whose debut album, Words Came Back to Me, has been praised as a “remarkably mature and poised debut” (People). She is an ideal match for the Joni Mitchell project, with JazzTimes calling “her warm-cool confessional style…distinctly Mitchell-esque, demonstrating to her credit, that her intent is to learn from the very best as she grows into her own voice.”

Another phenomenal talent who was helped along by Hancock is his co-headliner in Saturday’s show, Gonzalo Rubalcaba. When the Cuban pianist made his dazzling U.S. debut in 1993, Hancock was there stage-side lending his applause. Now an acknowledged master in his own right, Rubalcaba makes his Festival return in a spell-binding solo set, as on his acclaimed 2006 Blue Note album, Solo.