Mar 2, 2026 9:58 PM
In Memoriam: John Hammond Jr., 1942–2026
John P. Hammond (aka John Hammond Jr.), a blues guitarist and singer who was one of the first white American…
Herbie Hancock’s appearance on Austin City Limits is set to air nationally on PBS on Jan. 20.
(Photo: Courtesy Austin City Limits)Herbie Hancock’s responsible for a few firsts in jazz and popular music. And now he’s recorded his debut appearance on Austin City Limits.
The long-running performance show—which began in 1976, the same year Hancock released Secrets—has included visits from country singer Jason Isbell and enduring psych act The Black Angels this season. Hancock’s episode is set to air Saturday on PBS affiliates.
For the keyboardist and bandleader’s installment of the show, he’s joined by multi-instrumentalist Terrace Martin, drummer Vinnie Colaiuta and bassist James Genus as the quartet reinvigorates some classics, including “Cantaloupe Island” and “Chameleon.”
But there’s also a rendition of a relatively new song, “Secret Sauce,” that Hancock’s been playing for the last several months. It jibes with Hanock’s history and deomonstrates that the bandleader’s well of compositional creativity hasn’t nearly been exhausted.
Hancock will play the Los Angeles Philharmonic on Jan. 27. For information on this and other tour dates, visit Hancock’s website. DB
Hammond came to the blues through the folk boom of the late 1950s and early 1960s, which he experienced firsthand in New York’s Greenwich Village.
Mar 2, 2026 9:58 PM
John P. Hammond (aka John Hammond Jr.), a blues guitarist and singer who was one of the first white American…
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Vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater will be among the headliners at this year’s DC JazzFest.
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Each of the 25 JAMs has delivered a poster featuring a jazz legend that is sent out to schools across the nation. This year’s poster features Tony Bennett.
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Every April for the past quarter century, something remarkable has happened across the United States and far beyond.…