AMMAN — American jazz legend Herbie Hancock graced the local musical scene with his
presence, performing for the Jordanian public in Amman and
Umm Qais.
اضافة اعلان
The 82 year old and the Herbie Hancock Institute of
Jazz Ensemble at UCLA, with special guest jazz master Don Braden, were present at
the invitation of the
American Embassy in Amman for five days of musical
performances and workshops across Jordan, and a historic concert at the Odeon
Theatre, downtown Amman.
Hancock, a jazz pianist, keyboardist, composer,
educator, and humanitarian who started playing the piano at 6 and got into
jazz world at 14, is a
UNESCO goodwill ambassador and has been celebrating the
jazz culture across the globe since 1996.
The trip to Jordan, he said in a press conference on
Saturday, “has been exciting”.
“There is something really special about Jordan that
is hard to explain. I saw many new things that I did not know about,” Hancock
said to packed press room.
The band spent a week touring Jordan, not just
performing, but also conducting people-to-people outreach and educational
workshops with diverse groups in Amman, Jerash, and Um Qais.
Engagements, an embassy press release said, included
a workshop for students and teachers with the University of Jordan Music
Department, jazz masterclasses at the National Center for the Culture and Arts
and
National Music Conservatory, and a workshop at the Princess Taghreed
Institute in Jerash for Jordanian youth and Syrian refugees.
Hancock and the band charmed the audience with their
magical tunes every time they performed with energy and creativity their swing,
jazz, and blues.
“They really represent what it means to be free,”
Braden said at the press conference.
After more than two years of near isolation,
Hancock’s music was a breath of fresh air. It opened the door to a world of
freedom and beauty, one in which an amazingly talented young ensemble
masterfully kept pace with the established legend to the delight of the
audience.
Following the interaction with local musicians,
Hancock had one thing to recommend, for them to “keep expanding and not to
settle in one place”: “It is very important to expand and explore new
territory. That is how it was for me in my life.”
Listening to his performance, one gathers that it
must have been a wonderful journey.
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