Herbie Hancock could have taken it easy on Aug. 26, when he played at the Center for the Arts in Jackson, Wyo.

He could have kicked back, hit a few keys of his fancy Fazioli grand piano once in a while and let his younger bandmates do the heavy lifting. He is, after all, a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master, an icon of American music, as close to a household name as you get in jazz.

But instead, the 70-year-old keyboardist’s first appearance in Wyoming was a muscular, intermission-less 140-minute performance that demanded as much from the headliner as it did from his fellow musicians.

Skeptics who might have been wondering if the fusion and funk pioneer had gone too far around the pop bend with recent releases should have been appeased by the performance. Hancock’s performance felt spontaneous, energetic and genuine. And while the performers relied heavily on electronics and effects — using pre-recorded MIDI files to fill in for African choirs or to create other exotic sounds — Hancock's chops, developed over 50 years of performing and recording, were on display throughout the night.

Those electronic effects served the band well as it pulled extensively from Hancock's latest album, “The Imagine Project.” The sextet played six out of the 10 tracks from the spring release, calling for Malian chanting and Uilleann pipes, among other specialized sounds. They also made possible live performances of three-quarters of his platinum-selling album "Headhunters," which might have been difficult in 1973, when the album was originally released.

When Hancock picked up his Roland AX-Synth, some in the audience may have recalled his performance at the 1984 Grammy awards when he performed his hit "Rockit." Some critics derided the electrical engineering major-turned-jazz musician for his use of the then-unusual instrument, but 26 years later, the crowd at the Center hooted with glee as Hancock strutted the stage, trading licks with drummer Vinnie Colaiuta and bassist Pino Palladino, as much to his own delight as to that of the audience.

Other highlights from the evening included a far-ranging version of his 1964 favorite "Cantaloupe Island"; Kristina Train's heart-melting performance of Joni Mitchell's "Court and Spark," the sole representative from his 2007 Best Album Grammy-winning disc "The River"; and a warm and romantic solo that stripped away all the effects and showed what Hancock could do with just 88 keys and 10 fingers.

Hancock addressed the crowd directly a number of times, cracking up himself, his band and his audience with his endearing patter. A standing ovation elicited a lengthy encore that started with "Chameleon," possibly his most-recognized piece of music. At the end of the concert, the band — which also featured guitarist Lionel Loueke and second keyboardist/vocalist Greg Phillinganes — prostrated themselves before the jazz hero while the wildly appreciative audience cheered long and loud.

Palladino expressed his own awe for the bandleader after the concert, saying Thursday’s performance was not out of the ordinary for this tour. “He pushes us every night,” he said, his smile telegraphing his delight with the results.