Herbie Hancock on radio and TV next week

Jazz pianist/keyboardist Herbie Hancock, one of the world’s great musicians and long-time favourite of Music For Grown-Ups, makes a couple of welcome broadcast appearances next week.

On Monday 16 March at 2315 BBC Radio 3’s Jazz On 3 has excerpts from Hancock’s gig at the London Jazz Festival last November.

And then on Wednesday 18 March at 2405, in the last episode of Channel 4’s patchy Spectacle series, Elvis Costello interviews (and, presumably, plays alongside) the great pianist.

A rare treat for lovers of grown-up music!

Gerry Smith

Herbie Hancock, Roy Orbison, Robert Schumann

FREE! Music for grown-ups on the BBC in the next 10 days

Hidden among its vast TV and radio output, the BBC broadcasts some magnificent music for grown-ups. Every week of the year. And it’s all free – well, sort of… .

Wed 3 Dec
1200 & 2200 Olivier Messiaen, Composer Of The Week
(3/5, continues Thurs-Fri) – BBC Radio 3

Thurs 4 Dec
2300 Salif Keita, BBC Four Sessions – BBC Four
2300 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour – BBC Radio 2

Fri 5 Dec
2315 fRoots magazine’s Album of the Year, World On 3 – BBC Radio 3

Sun 7 Dec
2400 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour – BBC 6 Music

Mon 8 Dec
1200 & 2200 Robert Schumann, Composer Of The Week
(1/5, continues Tues-Fri) – BBC Radio 3
2315 Herbie Hancock At The London Jazz Festival – BBC Radio 3

Thurs 11 Dec
2300 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour – BBC Radio 2

Fri 12 Dec
2100 Roy Orbison, Legends – BBC Four
2200 Roy Sings Orbison – BBC Four

Online access: many BBC radio programmes are broadcast live online – please see the channels’ web sites for details. Some BBC radio and TV programmes are also accessible online via iPlayer for a short period after transmission:

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer

Gerry Smith

Youssou N’Dour, Herbie Hancock and Joni Mitchell

FREE! Music for grown-ups on the BBC in the next 10 days:

Hidden among its vast output, BBC TV and radio has some magnificent music for grown-ups – every week of the year. And it’s all free – well, sort of… .

Thurs 13 Nov
2300 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (rpt) – BBC Radio 2
0030 Youssou N’Dour, BBC Four Sessions – BBC Four

Fri 14 Nov
2100 Paul Weller: Into Tomorrow – BBC Four
2230 Paul Weller, BBC Four Sessions – BBC Four

Sat 15 Nov
1600 Herbie Hancock, Jazz Library – BBC Radio 3
1900 Come In From The Cold: The Return Of Joni Mitchell –
BBC Radio 2 (1/2)
2230 Stockhausen, Hear and Now – BBC Radio 3
2400 Lee Konitz, Jazz Library – BBC Radio 3

Sun 16 Nov
2400 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (new) – BBC 6 Music

Tues 18 Nov
2230 Come In From The Cold: The Return Of Joni Mitchell –
BBC Radio 2 (2/2)
2315 Esbjorn Svensson (a 2006 gig), Late Junction – BBC Radio 3

Thurs 20 Nov
2300 Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour (rpt) – BBC Radio 2
2355 Mariza, BBC Four Sessions – BBC Four

Jazz issue of Guardian music weekly

Today’s issue of London newspaper The Guardian has turned its weekly film/music supplement into The jazz issue, to mark the start of the London Jazz Festival next week.

It’s a refreshingly original compilation of articles, including an interview with pianist Herbie Hancock and features on the jazz vocabulary, jazz and classical musicians, jazz re-workings of a Radiohead tune, celebs drooling over Kind Of Blue (yawn…) and the paper’s pop critic’s diary of his attempts to get into the music.

A stimulating weekend read – recommended:

www.guardian.co.uk

Gerry Smith

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EARLIER RELATED ARTICLE

London Jazz Festival – delights in store

The annual London Jazz Festival, which runs in a multitude of venues from to 14 to 23 November, has delights in store for lovers of improv music, especially:

15 Nov – Herbie Hancock Sextet
15 Nov – Bill Frisell
19 Nov – Herbie Hancock Sextet
23 Nov – Chick Corea, John McLaughlin, Kenny Garrett et al.

www.londonjazzfestival.org.uk

Melody Gardot – Discoveries #1

I’m usually very wary of musicians who suddenly appear on the radar, as if from nowhere. I suspect that some corporate exec or other has decided the s/he is to be the next big thing and has invested a lot of money to ensure that it happens.

The problem with over-promoted musos is that they can’t possibly live up to the advanced billing.

Having suddenly become very aware of her, I automatically put American chanteuse Melody Gardot in this category.

But then, watching Channel 4’s Live From Abbey Road for the first time on Friday, to catch the great Herbie Hancock, I stumbled upon Melody in a live performance from Herbie’s recent album, River: The Joni Letters.

My, my – what a distinctive voice. Gardot’s beautiful tone and her innate swing enlivened Mitchell’s Edith and The Kingpin, an already great song.

I’ll be watching closely for more recordings and performances from Melody Gardot, one of my most striking recent music for grown-ups discoveries.