Duet Albums: Not The Latest, But One of the Greatest?

Ray Charles’s was the first I can remember, Tony Bennett’s just came out (I love it)

but my favorite (BECAUSE OF HERBIE HANCOCK) let’s-marry-this-AARP-celebrity-card-carrying member with these “fresh” voices is Herbie Hancock’s “Possibilities.”

YES, THAT HERBIE HANCOCK. BLUE NOTE HERBIE HANCOCK. MILES DAVIS HERBIE HANCOCK. His touch, his feel, his jazz-funk-fusion-electro-everything has kept his name in the forefront of legends, long before his chronological age suggested it.

Listen to how his piano changes on every track of his “Possibilities.” THEY SUGGEST THE POSSIBILITY OF GENIUS. Hancock is a monster on the keyboard, but his heart can be heard on the tracks: his is gentle, peppy, perky, soaked in soul, funky, postmodern,

Vintage. He transcends a single definition. His stamina, his playfulness, his commitment, his interpretation, his vision: ALL EXQUISITE.

Just a few takes on the tracks he shares with musical luminaries.

•  Paul Simon, who seemed quiet for a while, makes me feel the good sort of melancholy on “I Do it For Your Love” – Hancock’s positively moving,as if he is feeling every syllable waft from Simon’s mouth.

•  The first track snaps and crackles, and if you know me at all (read “John Mayer Does Not Have A Stupid Mouth” on this same site and you’ll know I’d leave my children and dog and cat for Mayer) is a saucy, sexy tune that makes me want to scream: “Marry me John” and “Herbie, Sir Hancock, I mean, will you play at the wedding?” It’s called “Stitched Up” and it gives you an idea of one of the myriad John Mayer styles that grace our airwaves, I-Pods and CD players. Something of his is always in the CD drive of my computer.

•  Christina Aguilera’s “A Song for You” is stunning; Sting makes me feel like he’s just outside my door with “Sister Moon” – a song that redefines itself every time I hear it.

•  Joss Stone and Jonny Lang astound; Annie Lennox on “Hush Hush Hush” takes me somewhere else.

The rest is a surprise. Go find it.

And my kid just called from school. He bought me an early birthday present; I’m a May baby. John Mayer is coming to NYC in February. This is blues, this is pop, this is rock, this is soul, this is a great bottom lip, lyrics that slay me and guitar, I am told, that eclipses my love for him. He sells out in Australia . Catch him in New York or go to johnmayer.com and see his touring schedule. He has that “thing.” They call it talent.