Herbie Hancock - Possibilities
The notion of keyboardist Herbie Hancock working with the likes of Christina Aguilera, John Mayer, and Joss Stone is bound to give jazz purists the willies. But Hancock, like fellow Miles Davis piano alumnus Joe Zawinul, long ago stepped way outside jazz's strict parameters, and withPossibilities, a DVD chronicling the making of his 2005 CD of the same name, his refusal to be pigeonholed has produced some surprising, occasionally extraordinary musical moments. Duets with Aguilera (a typically overwrought version of Leon Russell's "Song for You") and Mayer (less a tune than a funky, studio-conceived jam) may not be among them, but several of these collaborations verge on genuine brilliance, more than making up for the missteps. A few involve re-imaginings of a guest artist's own material (Paul Simon's "I Do It for Your Love" and Sting's "Sister Moon" both benefit from thoroughly new arrangements with heavy African and Latin touches); some focus on pop-jazz standards (Irish singers Damien Rice and Lisa Hannigan's touching version of "Don't Explain," most closely associated with Billie Holiday), while others feature newer songs, like Annie Lennox's gorgeous rendition of Paula Cole's "Hush Hush Hush." Unlikely partnerships with Brian Eno, Trey Anastacio, and guitarist Jonny Lang (who joins Stone for U2's "When Love Comes to Town"), as well as Carlos Santana with Angelique Kidjo, yield uneven results but are never less than intriguing; there's also some all-too-brief footage of the classic Davis '60s quintet (with Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams), as well as recent film of Hancock and Shorter in Japan. Hancock, of course, is the glue that holds it all together, and despite his insistence that this is a not a jazz record, a certain jazzy element in his improvisations and harmonizations is both unavoidable and welcome. In the end, thePossibilitiesDVD is essentially a promo for the CD--if you want to hear complete versions of these songs, you'll have to buy the record. If that seems cynical, well hey, it works.--Sam Graham