The new Herbie Hancock standard

Herbie Hancock plays songs by Prince, Stevie Wonder and the Beatles on his The New Standard which is reissued on vinyl.

Herbie Hancock – The New Standard (Verve, 2023)

Herbie Hancock has always incorporated elements of pop into his music. You can hear it on his early hits like “Watermelon Man” and “Cantaloupe Island” and forward. He simply had a talent for writing and playing catchy songs: a talent which was coupled with a highly sophisticated sense of harmonies and rhythm.

On his album The New Standard from 1996 he coupled these abilities as he led a super group of jazz musicians through a date of pop hits by people like Peter Gabriel, Sade, Kurt Cobain and Steely Dan.

Michael Brecker plays the saxophones, John Scofield the guitar, Dave Holland bass, Jack DeJohnette drums and Mino Cinelu percussion.

A modern classic

The result is most impressive. They really make this material into their own and with all their collective abilities they make something more of it than it was originally.

The highlights are many, from the ballad “Norwegian Wood” by the Beatles to funky songs by Steely Dan and the romanticism of Don Henley’s “New York Minute”.

To me this album ranks with Hancock’s very finest recordings including his classic Blue Note albums and the work he did with Miles Davis. It is that good.