July 22, 2010
Imagine. Imagine a production defying genres and pulling together some of the most impressive musical “dignitaries” 
from around the world to embark upon an adventure that results in a chapter in the book of music saluting not only such honorable themes as peace and global responsibility but also coinciding with the 70th birthday of one of the biggest influences in modern music, the iconic Herbie Hancock, the brilliant creator of this collage of beauty appropriately called The Imagine Project. If you can imagine such a feat, you have conjured up the huge “smile” that was created in each collaborator’s home territory. You can hardly expect less from one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in The World, and I seriously doubt that you’ll find less here.
From the opening track, John Lennon’s “Imagine,” which features the beauty and stylish polish of India Arie, Pink, Seal, and Jeff Beck and the backdrop of diverse tempos and including the exoticism of African culture and rhythms to the cover of the sweet and melodic yet gripping and soul-searing plea of “Don’t Give Up” as rendered by Pink and John Legend to the thick, sultry, and powerfully phrased “Tempo De Amor,” itself as exotic as anything here. Hancock’s piano makes one grand, jazzy statement here.
I personally have several favs here, including the hot Latin piece “La Tierra” and “Tamatant Tilay/Exodus,” which cleverly integrates Bob Marley’s classic with Tinariwen’s tune and features Tinariwen, as well as Los Lobos; but throughout this magnificent exhibition of what can be– blues, pop, folk, rock, jazz, Latin, world–all engage in one huge, deep, meaningful and offer the one solution, the one beginning step to all the world for all its troubles.
As Hancock states, “Music truly is the universal language. The Imagine Project will explore that concept across the globe, united a myriad of cultures through song and positive creative expression. My hope is that the music will serve as a metaphor for the actions taken by the actions taken by the inhabitants of this wonderful planet as a call for world harmony on all levels.” World: Are you listening? Are you feeling? With this release, Herbie Hancock has placed the challenge before us all in one truly irresistible manner. – Ronald Jackson
