Of all the cruise lines that have matched entertainers with their demographic, it’s unlikely any of them has done it better than Cunard.
Herbie Hancock plays the Queen Mary 2.
The child prodigy is 75. It stands to reason that many of the cruise passengers who will be enamoured by his music are of the same vintage. Maybe 65. Maybe even 55. But 75 for sure.
Hancock is of another era, of course, one in which the lyrics were audible and the notes melodic. Presumably his band members are of another era, too, because it was them who convinced him to take a ride on the Queen Mary 2 last month. Maybe they were scouting Cunard’s Blue Note voyages for a man who plays not only blues but also jazz, classical, R&B, funk, bebop, pop and just about any genre of music imaginable.
By ear.
At age 11, he played Mozart. At 20, he begged another self-taught jazz pianist from Chicago (Chris Anderson) to take Hancock under his wing. Within three years, he was playing with Miles Davis. Today, he is renowned for his work on anything with a keyboard…a Grammy Award winner 14 times, an Academy Award winner once and owner of a long list of jazz awards.
Despite his age, he will regale Queen Mary 2’s passengers with three 45-minute shows 
during the Transatlantic crossing from Southampton to New York the first week of August, because the great ones always regale their audiences.
Especially when it’s such a good match.
Today at portsandbows.com: Crystal river cruises a big hit
Norwegian Jade
7 nights
January 9, 2016
Houston (return): Cozumel, Belize, Roatan
Inside: $449
Cost per day: $64
www.ncl.com