Alchemy of the Hart: Legendary Performer to Play at Paramount

Mickey Hart brings his unique brand of music to  Thursday with the Mickey Hart Band.

The Huntington concert will be somewhat of a homecoming for Hart, a Brooklyn-born percussionist and musicologist who attended Lawrence High School in Cedarhurst on Long Island.

A legendary drummer for the Grateful Dead from 1967-71 and 1974-1995, Hart was half of the band's percussion tandem along with Bill Kreutzmann. Together the pair transcended the conventions of rock drumming with polyrhythmic excursions that highlighted Grateful Dead shows, introducing the band’s audience to an ever-growing arsenal of percussion instruments from around the world, according to Hart's website. 

With his newest ensemble, Hart is carrying on a tradition of presenting great live music, and the result is pure alchemy.

Formed in 2011, The Mickey Hart Band has been on tour in U.S. and Canada following the 2012 release of a new album, Mysterium Trememdum, this past spring. 

Hart says his latest work is a combination of sonic images of the formation of our universe with sounds drawn from musical instruments. 

Put in motion 13.7 billion years ago, "music is a miniature of everything that happens in the cosmos," said Hart to Patch last week. "These vibrations are what you felt that bore you."

The album is a perfect example of Hart’s experiential as well as experimental nature. Listening to Mysterium Tremendum is reminiscent of the Grateful Dead's "Terrapin Station" or Hart's "Planet Drum."

"You are part of matter. The idea is that the blank page of the universe ... it's vibrating," said Hart.

Consisting of Grammy-winning percussionist Sikiru Adepoju, Tony-winning vocalist Crystal Monee Hall, singer Tim Hockenberry, drummer Ian “Inx” Herman, guitarist Gawain Matthews, and keyboardist Ben Yonas, bassist Dave Schools of Widespread Panic, the band plays a selection of the old tunes, along with the current offering.

Hart, 68, has long explored ways of making music that are far from ordinary. His collection of instruments and inventions is extensive, and he is working creatively with the scientific community through a process known as sonification, where light waves are turned into sound waves.

For Mysterium Tremendum, Hart joined with longtime Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter. 

The author of four books on the history and mythology of music, Hart has been recognized numerous times for his contributions. In 2003, he was honored by the Institute for Music and Neurologic Function for his commitment to raising public awareness of the positive effect of music.

In 1999, Hart was appointed to the Board of Trustees of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress where he headed the sub-committee on the digitization and preservation of the Center’s vast collections, according to his website. There he helped to establish the “Save Our Sounds” project, a collaboration between the AFC and the Smithsonian’s Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, where he currently serves as member of the board of directors.

Known as a genius at collaboration, Hart has a well-rounded history of assemblage, and is himself a three-time Grammy winner. In 1994, he was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Grateful Dead.

For ticket and concert information, go to The Paramount website.