United Nations Peace Ambassador and jazz icon Herbie Hancock stopped off last week first in Auckland and then in Wellington as part of his current world tour.
The 84-year-old performs over 30 shows in six countries from his home in California to Shanghai in China and Yokohama in Japan. His current band spans three generations, and the music – well, the defining characteristic is improvisation. This is improvised music.
And Wellington will welcome more American jazz masters next week when Marcus Miller and Esperanza Spalding headline their annual jazz festival. The city is alive with improvised music all week with performances all around the city until Sunday. The best of our Kiwi jazz musicians will be performing in venues all around the capital.
Meanwhile, we here in Whanganui keep faith with our International Jazz Day Jam sessions hosted by Porridge Watson. This month’s house band features Michael Franklin-Browne on drums, Dave Griffiths on bass and Brian Baker on guitar.
Come down and join the party inspired by improvised music. We never know who is going to turn up to jam with the band, but we always look forward to welcoming new and old faces both on and off the stage.
