There have been intense disagreements in the jazz community recently, mostly over just what defines this most American art form. If the soundest argument could prevail--that the crucial element of jazz is creativity--then it's obvious why Herbie Hancock remains a quintessential jazz artist, even as he's broken ground in virtually every other arena of artistry, from video to synthesizer experimentation to the development of interactive electronics. As no other artist, Hancock has defined the high end of jazz, from composition to improvisation, from bandleading to arranging.

On his first Verve recording, THE NEW STANDARD, Hancock reasserts his inventive spirit and ushers in a new era--by making his mark on tunes by today's top popular composers. Backed by an incredible band composed of the most distinctive and dynamic players in contemporary jazz, Hancock interprets Prince's funk, the jazz-inflected musings of Stevie Wonder, the sinuous stylings of Peter Gabriel and Sade, and even the grunge of the late Kurt Cobain. THE NEW STANDARD represents yet another appraisal of Hancock's towering role as a jazz musician, one which has traversed the entire world of straight-ahead, funk, and electronic sounds.

Even before he became a composer of legendary status and a bandleader of groundbreaking proportions, Hancock made a career of lending his identity to popular tunes, playing alongside legendary musicians like saxophonist Coleman Hawkins and trumpeter Donald Byrd. (He had even performed with a symphony orchestra, interpreting the classics before entering his teens.) In short time, he was in New York as a studio mainstay for Blue Note records, appearing on albums by the masters of the day, and receiving an invitation from Miles Davis, with whom Hancock recorded some of jazz's most incendiary recordings.

Hancock's own recordings--among them MAIDEN VOYAGE, SPEAK LIKE A CHILD, and TAKIN' OFF--featured such jazz standards as "Dolphin Dance," "Maiden Voyage," and many others. But it was work like the funkified "Watermelon Man" and "Cantaloupe Island" that led the way toward Hancock's explorations of the rhythmically innovative ideas that found voice in his band Headhunters. The group's recordings and performances during the 1970s were fiery, funky, and highly popular entries into the ever-changing jazz canon.

Hancock returned to straight-ahead jazz even as he was tempted by the challenges of technology's musical potential and the possibilities of the film world. His Oscar-winning score for the jazz film 'ROUND MIDNIGHT was a high point in his career, as was his early-'80s foray into the mainstream, when his MTV video for the electronics-propelled Rockit earned him new credentials in the pop consciousness.

The material on THE NEW STANDARD collects all that experience and rekindles the artistry involved in making huge statements within a traditional format. Almost predominantly bluesy, Hancock's treatments of popular tunes has an edge and a groove that marks the best of both jazz and pop. He explores the rich harmonies of Stevie Wonder's writing on You've Got it Bad Girl and punches up Prince's Thieves in the Temple with the type of piano jabs that characterized his own early hits. Subtle string arrangements lift Babyface's When Can I See You and a reharmonization of Lennon & McCartney's lovely Norwegian Wood. After a lovely solo intro by Hancock, Simon & Garfunkel's delicate Scarborough Fair becomes a shuffle, then a romping boogie.

Throughout the set, Hancock is pushed to new heights by the percussion of Don Alias as well as the rhythmic support provided by fellow Miles Davis collaborators bassist Dave Holland and drummer Jack DeJohnette. The other primary soloists on THE NEW STANDARD, saxophonist Michael Brecker and guitarist John Scofield, lend new intent to these familiar melodies, often bringing the music to a serious boil. There are surprises as well, like Hancock's duet with Scofield on Kurt Cobain's All Apologies, to which Scofield offers bluesy accompaniment on the electric sitar. There's also a surging reinterpretation of Don Henley's hit New York Minute. In addition, Hancock offers his own entry into the fray, Manhattan (Island of Lights and Love), in which he delivers the rich-toned piano bravado and cinematic harmonic development that have consistently made his work a thing of pure jazz.

It makes perfect sense that Hancock is on the cutting edge, as usual, if simply through the masterful manipulation of the acoustic piano. With THE NEW STANDARD, the evolution of jazz--yes jazz--is taken into its next phase, with Herbie Hancock in confident control.