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I've been listening to some radio recordings of Herbie with Bobby Hutcherson, Scott Coley and Terri Lynn Carrington made for a tour in Europe in 2003.

Let me tell you that Herbie is still as creative, hip, slick, and impressive as ever. These are all acoustic sets that are so good, that if he released something like that here, would shake everybody up!

so why doesn't he? i saw his quartet in Nov 2002 and they were great. all acoustic, which made some of the fusion stuff sound far more interesting than the electric versions (at least to me). he even introduced a Bill Evans tune (I forget the title) as something this quartet would be doing on a soon-to-be-released Bill Evans tribute album. It's been 2.5 years, and still nothing

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so why doesn't he? i saw his quartet in Nov 2002 and they were great. all acoustic, which made some of the fusion stuff sound far more interesting than the electric versions (at least to me). he even introduced a Bill Evans tune (I forget the title) as something this quartet would be doing on a soon-to-be-released Bill Evans tribute album. It's been 2.5 years, and still nothing

I would say because the sets are not "radio friendly" as they are long sets.

This is just some of what I have:

Herbie Hancock & Bobby Hutcherson

Barbican, London 7/3/03 Disc #1

1. Dolphin Dance - Virtual Hornets 42:24

Herbie Hancock & Bobby Hutcherson

Barbican, London 7/3/03 Disc #2

1. Actual Proof - Footprints - Little B's Poem 43:16

Herbie Hancock - Piano

Bobby Hutcherson - Vibraphone

Scott Coley - Bass

Terri Lynn Carrington - Drums

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:bad:

I'll probably give this a spin just out of curiosity, since it's Herbie, but I can't say I'm really looking forward to this.

JSngry's comparison/reference to Quincy Jones is an interesting angle. I was also thinking Santana's "Supernatural" from 1999 (the concept? feature a hot pop star on each track) in terms of a "comeback" - remember that Hancock did have some pop chart success in the 80's with Rockit... :D

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Message received today via a public radio listserv:

Sent: Thursday, July 28, 2005 2:41 PM

To: DUBNET@LISTSERV.TAMU.EDU

Subject: Herbie Hancock requests?

Anyone else being flooded by email requests to play Herbie Hancock/Christine

Aguilera "A Song For You"?  We normally get only a few emails per month

requesting songs, suddenly we've gotten 25+ emails today requesting the same

song! Different senders, but coming in one after another. One even referred to

some other song that we actually played that hour, as if the sender was

listening to us online...

What sort of scam bot is this?

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Message received today via a public radio listserv:

Sent: Thursday, July 28, 2005 2:41 PM

To: DUBNET@LISTSERV.TAMU.EDU

Subject: Herbie Hancock requests?

Anyone else being flooded by email requests to play Herbie Hancock/Christine

Aguilera "A Song For You"?  We normally get only a few emails per month

requesting songs, suddenly we've gotten 25+ emails today requesting the same

song! Different senders, but coming in one after another. One even referred to

some other song that we actually played that hour, as if the sender was

listening to us online...

What sort of scam bot is this?

That's pretty wild. Probably just one person able to send emails from multiple addressess.

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Well, it's not like Christina Aguilera can't sing. She can - good pipes, good range, good intonation, the whole thing. It's just what she's been singing and how she's been singing it (and how she's been presenting herself) that makes her choice an an interpreter of a Herbie Hancock tune surprising and/or suspect.

But if she came into the session with all the Diva Dookie and the Slut Sassafrass left behind, I've no doubt that the results would be at the very least adequate from a technical standpoint.

Granted, that's a huge "if" and a not very profound standpoint, but we live in a world gone wrong, so whatcha' gonna do 'bout all that now, hey?

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I've heard that Aguilera track, Leon Russell's A Song For You, and as Jim pointed out, she has pipes. I always knew that. But I would have hoped that she would leave the (now generic) vocal gymnastics of turning three syllable words into twelve - and hitting 20 notes instead of one at home for a date with Herbie Hancock. Well, she didn't and the result is messy. Herbie says he was blown away. It's pyrotechnics.

Here is the track list for "Possibilities":

"Stitched Up" featuring John Mayer

"Safiatou" featuring Carlos Santana and Angelique Kidjo

"A Song for You" featuring Christina Aguilera

"I Do It for Your Love" featuring Paul Simon

"Hush, Hush, Hush" featuring Annie Lennox

"Sister Moon" featuring Sting

"When Loves Comes to Town" featuring Joss Stone and Jonny Lang

"Don't Explain" featuring Damien Rice and Lisa Hannigan

"Gelo No Montana" featuring Trey Anastasio

"I Just Called To Say I Loved You" featuring Raul Midon

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Too many damn covers. Sounds like an opportunity wasted, at least on paper.

I was really hoping that "A Song For You" wasn't going to be that "A Song For You". Between The Carpenters & The Temptaions, there's not too much "pop" stuff you can do with that song that's not gonna be schlock or shock or schlockshock.

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I was also thinking Santana's "Supernatural" from 1999 (the concept? feature a hot pop star on each track)... 

That about nails it; marketing over musical value.

Here is the track list for "Possibilities":

"Stitched Up" featuring John Mayer

"Safiatou" featuring Carlos Santana and Angelique Kidjo

"A Song for You" featuring Christina Aguilera

"I Do It for Your Love" featuring Paul Simon

"Hush, Hush, Hush" featuring Annie Lennox

"Sister Moon" featuring Sting

"When Loves Comes to Town" featuring Joss Stone and Jonny Lang

"Don't Explain" featuring Damien Rice and Lisa Hannigan

"Gelo No Montana" featuring Trey Anastasio

"I Just Called To Say I Loved You" featuring Raul Midon

Sounds unlistenable. Does any one else find John Mayer's singing to be, well, creepy?

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Sounds unlistenable. Does any one else find John Mayer's singing to be, well, creepy?

I kinda like that "Daughters" song on the radio.

People give this guy a lot of grief, but the truth is, he is many times more talented than most of what gets any amount of top 40 airplay.

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Too many damn covers. Sounds like an opportunity wasted, at least on paper.

I was really hoping that "A Song For You" wasn't going to be that "A Song For You". Between The Carpenters & The Temptaions, there's not too much "pop" stuff you can do with that song that's not gonna be schlock or shock or schlockshock.

An opportunity wasted is a good way to put it. If I was forced to pick, I'd say Sting's redo of Sister Moon works the best. Annie Lennox is respectable. Paul Simon sounds old and tired and off key. The Carlos and Angelique track is all over the place. Personally, I'm tired of John Mayer's schtick even though I know he's a real talent. Hell, there's "talent" all over this album. Couldn't connect with the rest. I think Herbie's eye on the cash register was more focused than his creative intent. Could be wrong.

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Isn't it ironic that at the same time that Wayne is at the top of his game and touring and recording with brilliant improvisors like Danilo Perez, Brian Blade and John Patitucci, thay Herbie is spending his time in the studio with Christina Aguilera and John Mayer? 30 years from now we'll look back at their respective records from this era, much like we look back at Wes Montgomery's A&M records - what a waste. And ironically, Herbie was on those records!

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Nothing wrong with Herbie wanting to do something different, more commercial, and of interest to a larger audience than just us jazz fans.

Weren't these the same sort of "sell out" arguments made when Bird first did an album with strings?

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