Herbie Hancock is such a towering figure and dominant influence on the past six decades of jazz that it’s hard to know where to start in terms of conveying his legacy. One way to put it: He was a critical part of the mythically great Miles Davis Quintet of the mid-’60s, and the rest is history. And his story.
That saga involves a vast tapestry of recordings and projects in acoustic jazz and electronic/digital modes, a songbook including bona fide classics “Maiden Voyage,” “Watermelon Man,” “Chameleon,” “Cantaloupe Island” and “Dolphin Dance,” assorted work with his friend and Davis alum Wayne Shorter and much more. That’s not to mention Hancock’s sleek but searching, oft-imitated piano/keyboard style and mastery, central to the DNA of modern jazz, and a commitment to education and his decades-deep practice of Nichiren Buddhism.
When the affable and ever-affirmational 83-year-old legend brings his band to the Arlington Theatre on Wednesday, April 17, he arrives as both a genuine elder statesman of jazz and one whose creative vitality is still running hot. What lends special freshness to the Arlington show, the highlight of the current UCSB Arts & Lectures jazz series, is the company he’s keeping. His band includes very plugged-in guitarist Lionel Loueke; one of the greatest living tenor saxists, Chris Potter; trumpeter Terence Blanchard; bold, young alto saxist Devin Daniels; bassist James Genus; and dynamo drummer Trevor Lawrence Jr.