Herbie Hancock Added to TD Canada Trust Toronto Jazz Festival

One of the great architects of the post-bop sound, Herbie Hancock will replace Oscar Peterson on Tuesday, June 26, 2007, in the GRANDMASTERS Series, presented by Panasonic. Oscar Peterson will not be performing due to illness. All tickets previously purchased for Oscar Peterson will be honoured for the Herbie Hancock performance.

Embracing elements of rock, soul, funk and electronica with freer stylistic elements in jazz, Herbie Hancock has defied tradition over the years creating music that expands the possibilities of musical thought. With a career that has spanned over five decades, many have hailed Hancock as a visionary. A child prodigy by the age of eleven as a classically trained pianist, Hancock got an early start playing jazz with trumpeter Donald Byrd and saxophone giants Coleman Hawkins and Phil Woods. Upon the release of Watermelon Man, Hancock's first top ten hit, Miles Davis invited the young pianist to join his quintet - along with Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter and Tony Williams, they would go on to become one of the most influential jazz ensembles of the modern era.

An Academy Award and multi-Grammy winner, Hancock is one of jazz's most influential and important jazz pianists and composers. Hancock returns to Toronto at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts as a true icon of modern music on Tuesday, June 26, 2007. Joining Hancock will be Nathan East on bass; Vinnie Colaiuta on drums and Lionel Loueke on guitar.

Full refunds are available for Oscar Peterson at point of purchase.

Kick start your summer on a jazzy note as the TD Canada Trust Toronto Jazz Festival takes over the city from June 22 - July 1, 2007. Celebrating music in all its forms, the festival presents more than 350 concerts over ten days with 1500 musicians performing at locations all across Toronto. Be there as we colour the town in jazz!