“The New Standard,” released in 1996, is the brilliant pianist Herbie Hancock’s fortieth studio album, and it’s essentially a roster of modern songs by many genre-spanning artists that Hancock considers “standards.” Herbie remakes each song in a new way; sometimes he’s true to their original styles, and sometimes he reinvents and rejuvenates the tunes by completely scrambling their feels.
Hancock performs these feats with the aid of his supergroup, an extensive lineup that features the legendary Michael Brecker on tenor and soprano saxophone, John Scofield on guitar, Dave Holland on bass, Jack DeJohnette on drums, and Don Alias on percussion.
Although in the hands of some really accomplished musicians, each song retains its original accessibility. Kurt Cobain’s “All Apologies” serves as a launch pad for one of Hancock’s trademarked intricate, soulful solos, as well as some surprisingly tasteful ambient sitar-work.
I was most struck by the hard-driving rendition of Prince’s “Thieves in the Temple,” which features a blistering Brecker solo, and by the straight-ahead jazz take on the Don Henley ballad “New York Minute.” The group’s adaptation of this rock tune is so convincing that a friend of mine, upon hearing the tune with me, confidently said that he remembered “New York Minute” as being an old jazz standard, even though the song was actually first recorded in 1989.
In short, if you’re looking for an interesting, approachable, and charmingly ingenious outlook on some newer tunes, check out Herbie Hancock’s “The New Standard,” which can be found in the Athenaeum’s jazz CD collection. Hancock and his stellar ensemble make for some really phenomenal and creative renditions of some unexpected songs, all while preserving the grounded, accessible air of the original tunes.
I don’t know how I missed this review before, but now that I see it I want to go listen to this recording. I’m looking forward to your next pick – Eric Dolphy? Eddie Jefferson? John Scofield? Egberto Gismonti? Weather Report? Who knows…