A sold out audience packed Seattle's famed Experience Music Project to celebrate the life, legacy, and music of Jimi Hendrix on Sunday, November 24th. Experience Hendrix teamed with EMP with to stage an unforgettable night of music.

The Hendrix celebration took place in the museum's apply named Sky Church. The state of the art sound and lighting capabilities of the facility provided a perfect setting for this special event. Despite the central role Hendrix maintains in the museum, there had never been a Hendrix event of this magnitude staged there. Area fans apparently recognized this unique opportunity and all available tickets were snapped up immediately-so much so that EMP was forced to turn away hundreds of fans that lined up outside the venue in hope of gaining admission. For those lucky enough to be a part of the event, Experience Hendrix had commissioned a local pastry firm to craft an enormous, layered birthday cake in recognition of what would have been the late guitarist's sixtieth birthday on November 27. The cake, of which slices were provided free to guests as they arrived at Sky Church, set the mood for festivities that followed.

Experience Hendrix Vice President Bob Hendrix began the evening by thanking the audience for their continued support for Jimi and his music. Hendrix then introduced Aaron Richner & The Blues Drivers. Richner and his group, natives of Spokane, Washington, had won a battle of the bands contest staged by EMP that previous February. Heralded by EMP as one of the rising stars on the Northwest music scene, Richner did not disappoint. Just nineteen years of age, Richner could have passed for a young Jonny Lang. His playing however, revealed skills far beyond his years. Richnar's guitar style bore the obvious imprint of Stevie Ray Vaughan, yet the young guitarist was successfully able to project his own identity. The audience seemed pleasantly surprised with the group's tight, focused set and gave the band a warm ovation after their conclusion.

Guitarist Paul Hanson followed next and spoke to the audience about Hendrix's desire to push the limits of technology. Hanson prefaced his unique reading of Hendrix's "Little Wing" by describing as something for the 21st century and beyond. His instrumental version blended a host of unique sounds ranging from guitar synthesizers to classical music each providing intriguing variations on Jimi's signature ballad.

Former Earth, Wind, & Fire guitarist Sheldon Reynolds came next, leading a stellar collection of veteran instrumentalists. For their four song suite, Reynolds tabbed fellow EWF alumni Larry Dunn, Johnny Graham, and Morris Pleasure. They were joined by former Rufus bassist Bobby Watson, drummer Ricky Lawson, a session master whose resume includes work with such diverse artists as Eric Clapton and Steely Dan, and keyboard extraordinaire Derek Clark.

Notice was immediately served when the ensemble kicked off with a R&B influenced take of "Third Stone From The Sun". The audience came alive as Reynolds lead guitar soared above the arrangement. A high energy, funk version of "If 6 Was 9," reinvented Hendrix's arrangement as the three keyboardists deftly filled the spaces between the groove engineered by Lawson and Watson. A version of "Angel" was also warmly received. Reynolds then called Kid Rock lead guitarist Kenny Olson to the stage for a stinging rendition of "Hey Joe". The crowd roared its approval as Larry Dunn's swirling keyboard fills pushed the group to the song's conclusion.

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