Luxury Experience - Herbie Hancock

Herbie Hancock - The Imagine Project shows how music's influences mirror cultures and societal times. Assembling an international super group of musicians, Mr. Hancock allows his music to be the single art form that brings different cultures together with a common bond of peace, love, and caring for all.

The Imagine Project: Imagine; Don't Give Up; Tempo De Amor; Space Captain; The Times, They Are A' Changin'; La Tierra; Tamatant Tilay / Exodus; Tomorrow Never Knows; A Change is Gonna Come; The Song Goes On

Personnel: Herbie Hancock:Piano, Keyboards, Background Vocals; India Arie: Vocals; Jeff Beck: Guitar; Pink: Vocals (1 & 2); Seal: Vocals (1); John Legend: Vocals (2); Céu: Vocals (3); Alex Acuña: Percussion (1, 2, 7); India.Arie: Vocal (1); Vinnie Colaiuta: Drums (1, 2, 4, 6, 9, 10), Tambourine (4); Larry Goldings; Hammond B-3 (1, 2); Larry Klein: Bass (1, 5, 7, 10), Keyboards (3), Background Vocals (6); Augustin Makuntima Mawangu: Lead Iiekemé (1); Menga Waku: Bass Iikembé (1); Makonda Mbuta; Rhythm Iikembé (1); Visi Vincent: Drums (1); Mbiyavana Ndofusu: Percussion (1); Lionel Loueke: Guitar (1, 5); Marcus Miller: Bass (1, 6); Oumou Sangare: Vocals (1); George Whitty: Sound Design (2, 10), Keyboards (2, 10); Rodrigo Campos: Percussion (3); Lucas Martins: Electric Bass (3); Kofi Burbridge: Hammond B-3 and Vocals (4); Oteil Burbridge: Bass, Vocas (4); Mike Mattison: Vocals and Vocal Arrangements (4); Susan Tedeschi: Vocals (4); Derek Trucks: Guitar (4); Paddy Moloney: Uillean Pipes and Tin Whistle (5); Seán Keane: Fiddle (5); Kevin Conneff: Bodhrán (5); Matt Molloy: Flute (5); Toumani Diabate:Kora (5); Manu Katché: Drums (5); Rhani Knja: Percussion (5); Richard Bravo: Percussion (6); Juanes: Vocals (6); Fernando Tobon: Guitar (6); Pete Wallace: Keyboards (6); Jessica Hancock: Background Vocals (6); Alan Mintz: Background Vocals (6); Maeia Ruvalcaba: Background Vocals (6); K'NAAN: Vocals (7); David Hidalgo: Vocals (7); Conrad Lozano: Vocals (7); Louie Pérez: Vocals (7); Said Ag Ayad: Djembé and Background Vocals (7); Abdallah Ag Lamida: Guitar and Background Vocals (7); Alhassane Ag Touhami: Guitar and Lead Vocals (7);Abdallah Ag Alhousseyni: Bass Guitar and Background Vocals (7); Elega Ag Hamid: Guitar and Background Vocals (7); Ibrahim Ag Alhabib: Background Vocals (7); Danny Barnes: Bass, Banjo and Guitar (8); Matt Chamberlain: Drums (8); Michael Chaves: Guitar (8); Dave Matthews: Vocals and Guitar (8); Paulinho Da Costa: Percussion (9); James Morrison: Vocals (9); Dean Parks: Guitar (9); Tal Wilkenfeld: Bass (9); K.S. Chithra: Vocals (10); Bhawai Shankar Kathak: Pakhawaj (10); Chaka Khan: Vocals (10); Sridhar Parthasarthy: Mridangam (10); Anoushka Shankar: Sitar (10); Wayne Shorter: Soprano Saxophone (10); Satyajit Talwakar: Tablas (10).

Herbie Hancock's The Imagine Project was released on the Hancock Records/Red label. The release marks six decades of music for Mr. Hancock who turns 70 this year (2010), Happy Birthday Herbie, and for this monumental release, Mr. Hancock brings together the ultimate international super group of musicians with a Hancock twist, the musicians perform, whenever possible, in their respective countries, which makes this release an international labor of love. There is no better way to bridge cultures than through music, and in the hands of Mr. Hancock, the bridge has no beginning and no end, it just keeps the harmony of the universal language of music going.

The release opens with the classic John Lennon track Imagine, a track that is truly apropos when making a global recording with the intention of melding different styles into a single sound. Lead vocals are sung by India Arie, Pink, and Seal with fabulous guitar work by Jeff Beck, along with an infusion of African instruments, vocals, and melodies. The track Don't Give Up features a duet with Pink and John Legend while retaining Peter Gabriel's original pace and flow; the track is driven by the exceptional piano work of Mr. Hancock.

The international flavor continues with the Brazilian track Tempo De Amor (Time for Love) that was recorded in Sao Paulo with Brazilian singer / songwriter Céu. The release moves fluently from the romantic Tempo De Amor to the powerful Joe Cocker track Space Captain sung by Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi. Melding the past with the current, Mr. Hancock took the Dylan track The Times, They are a' Changin' and recorded it in Ireland with contributions by The Chieftains, Toumani Diabete, Lionel Loueke, and Lisa Hannigan.

Latin superstar Juanes covers the track La Tierra with a rendering that creates a new feeling and pulse to the song. Mixing and matching is an understatement on this release and never more so than on the track Tamatant Tilay / Exodus where the groove of Tamatant Tilay is layered over Bob Marley's Exodus. The Beatle's Tomorrow Never Knows is covered by Dave Matthews with a similarly haunting melody as the original track only projected by multiple guitars and a banjo.

The release closes with the tracks A Change is Gonna Come featuring James Morrison, and the perfect closing title The Song Goes On featuring Chaka Khan, Anoushka Shankar, and Wayne Shorter. As long as Mr. Hancock continues to drive new musical frontiers, the song will sincerely go on. There are extraordinary layers to be uncovered each time that you listen to this release where mere words could never properly depict the depth. So, grab your favorite headphones and get ready for an unforgettable musical journey.

Websites where you can procure Herbie Hancock - The Imagine Project are iTunes, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.