Internationally-Renown, Grammy Award Winning Musician Added to DJF Dynamic Line Up

Internationally-Renown, Grammy Award Winning Musician Added to DJF Dynamic Line Up

Hancock to headline opening night of the 28th annual Detroit Jazz Fest

DETROIT, April 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Detroit Jazz Festival (DJF) officials announced the addition of Grammy-award winning jazz pianist and composer Herbie Hancock to its growing list of international artists at the upcoming Labor Day Weekend extravaganza.

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Along with internationally-renown and Detroit-born and raised violinist Regina Carter, Hancock will headline the opening night, Friday, August 31st, kicking off the 28th edition of one of the world's longest running-and free- jazz festivals.

"This year, the Detroit Jazz Fest is presenting a friendly battle of music heavyweights from Chicago and Detroit," said Terri Pontremoli, DJF executive director. "Both cities are major hubs of jazz and blues, so we're celebrating our legacies and billing it as a 'Rumble in the Great Lakes.'

"Pairing Regina and Herbie on opening night-such important artists with Detroit and Chicago roots-is an artistic coup, and we're really excited about it," Pontremoli added.

Born and raised in Chicago, Hancock has become one of the jazz world's most important and influential pianists and composers. Embracing elements of rock, funk, and soul, while adopting freer stylistic elements from jazz, Hancock has helped to redefine the jazz genre by creating his own sound.

Garnering considerable attention as part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet", Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section, and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound. He is also widely acknowledged as one of the first jazz musicians to embrace synthesizers and funk, composing hits such as 1983's Rockit.

Despite Hancock's reputation for his continued experimentalism, his music is often melodic and accessible with many songs "crossing over" and achieving great success among international pop audiences. His contributions to jazz have also earned him one of its highest distinctions, the prestigious National Endowments for the Arts (NEA) Jazz Masters Awards, which was given to him in 2004.

Hancock's best-known solo works include "Cantaloupe Island", "Watermelon Man" (later performed by dozens of musicians, including bandleader Mongo Santamaria), "Maiden Voyage", and "Chameleon."

The full line up of musicians playing as part of the 28th annual Detroit Jazz Festival will be released on May 9th, 2007. For more information about this year's festival, please visit www.detroitjazzfest.com.

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Source: Detroit International Jazz Festival

CONTACT: Howard J. Hughey of Detroit International Jazz Festival,
+1-313-743-3527

Web site:

http://www.detroitjazzfest.com/

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