Art/Culture\Cinema/Showbiz

The packed Siri Fort auditorium was treated to the best of American jazz at the concert, titled "The Living Dream", Monday evening. Besides Hancock, who has been named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential men, the others in the ensemble were diva Chaka Khan, actress and jazz musician Dee Dee Bridgewaters, Grammy winner George Duke, ace drummer Terri Lyne Carrington and tabla maestro Zakir Husain.

The commemorative concert was graced by civil rights veteran Martin Luther King III, the second child of Martin Luther King Jr, and his wife Coretta Scott King. Martin Luther King III is on an 11-day visit to India as part of an American delegation to retrace his father's footsteps in India 50 years ago.

The concert was jointly organised by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, The Thelonious Monk Institute for Jazz and the American Embassy.

Addressing the audience before the show, Martin Luther King III said music, an integral part of the American civil rights movement, was an important tool to carry forward the message of peace to the world.

"Music brings people together. Had my mother and father Martin Luther King, Jr been here today, he would have told us that not only we shall overcome - but to some degree we have overcome," he said.

On cue, the concert began with the signature number of the civil rights repertoire, "We Shall Overcome