9 feb 1968 & herbie hancock

#OTD Friday 9 February 1968 Herbie Hancock gave a solo performance at Lloyd McNeill's Intercourse '68 exhibit at the Washington Gallery of Modern Art (1503 21st St, NW) from 8pm-midnight. 

Theodore Price, staff critic for the Evening Star, wrote that the performance was "..a lyricism cut by exhilarating runs and riffs. Strong rhythmic impulse and bedrock harmony drew the attention away from his formidable technique to his seeming ease in making music of a superlative order." 

McNeill and the gallery secured Hancock through his union, Local 802, Associated Musicians of Greater New York. According to the contract, which was sent to his home at 202 Riverside Drive in New York City, Hancock was paid $350.00 including transportation.

While Hancock took breaks, Lloyd McNeill played his arranged jazz improvisations with Eric Gravatt (drums); Marshall Hawkins (bass); and Donald McKenzie (vibes). 

Please comment below. Did you see Herbie Hancock at the exhibition? Did you see Hancock in his other performances in DC? Did you buy his album Speak Like a Child, which was recorded in March 1968 on the Blue Note label? Did Hancock inspire you to play the piano? You may comment privately here.

Photo source: Courtesy of National Jazz Museum in Harlem, n.d., photographer unknown. 
Intercourse '68, Washington Gallery of Modern Art exhibition catalog, 1968.  
Theodore Price, "Improvisations Make the Scene," Evening Star 10 February 1968.
Washington Gallery of Modern Art records, 1961-1989, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.