"I'm especially excited about making a presentation for peace along with two dear friends of mine— Carlos Santana and Wayne Shorter— who have the same passion for spreading the human spirit of peace and happiness," said Hancock in a statement. "I look forward to the opportunity to bring the magic of creativity through the contact of one human heart to another."

The tour was organized by the International Committee of Artists for Peace, an offshoot of the Buddhist group Soka Gakkai International-US. Hancock and Shorter, both Buddhists, first played together in Miles Davis's legendary early 1960s quintet, and have since performed in a duo and, most recently, in a quartet with bassist Dave Holland and drummer Brian Blade.