The Imagine Project
Studio album by
Herbie Hancock
ReleasedJune 22, 2010 (2010-06-22)
Studiovarious
GenreJazz
Length66:11[1]
LabelHancock
Producers
Herbie Hancock chronology
River: The Joni Letters
(2007) 		The Imagine Project
(2010)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
All About JazzStarStarStarStar[2]
AllmusicStarStarHalf star[3]
BillboardStarStarStarStar[4]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[5]
JazzwiseStarStarStar[6]
The GuardianStarStarStar[7]
The New Zealand Herald2/5[8]
MetroStarStar[9]
PopMatters5/10[10]
Tom HullB[11]

The Imagine Project is the forty-first studio album by American jazz pianist Herbie Hancock, released on June 22, 2010.[12] Prominent guests include John Legend, India Arie, Seal, Dave Matthews, Jeff Beck, Chaka Khan, Tedeschi & Trucks, The Chieftains and Los Lobos.

Background

The album, which was recorded in many locations throughout the world and features collaborations with various artists, was complemented by a documentary about the recording process.[13] Hancock's interpretations of these songs are cross-cultural. His version of "Imagine" was inspired by the Congolese group Konono N°1, and won the 2011 Grammy Award for "Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals" (the final year that that award was given). The instruments used on "The Times, They Are A' Changin" combine the West African kora with the Celtic flute, fiddle and Uilleann pipes.[14] It was released in CD, digital download and vinyl.

Reception

George Varga of JazzTimes noted "This hit-or-miss quality is present throughout the album, which-despite its diverse lineup and lofty ambitions-too often errs on the side of caution and politeness, when risk-taking and surprise would have made this a recording truly worthy of Hancock's expansive skills and imagination".[15] John Eyles of BBC wrote "Ironically, in 2005 Hancock was elected to the Jazz Hall of Fame, since when the jazz aspects of his music have waned. Although The Imagine Project is entertaining and engaging, its jazz content is limited. Fans will hope that the 70-year-old still has another great jazz album in him – preferably alongside Shorter".[16]

Track listing

[17][18][19]
No.TitleWriter(s)Featured artist(s)Length
1."Imagine"John Lennon
7:18
2."Don't Give Up"Peter Gabriel
7:26
3."Tempo de Amor"
Céu4:41
4."Space Captain"Matthew Moore
6:54
5."The Times, They Are A' Changin'"Bob Dylan
8:04
6."La Tierra"Juan Esteban AristizábalJuanes4:50
7."Tamatant Tilay / Exodus"
4:45
8."Tomorrow Never Knows"Lennon–McCartneyDave Matthews5:21
9."A Change Is Gonna Come"Sam CookeJames Morrison8:46
10."The Song Goes On"Larry Klein
7:48
Total length:66:11

Personnel

Credits adapted from AllMusic[20]

  • Herbie Hancock – arrangement, keyboards, piano, prepared piano, production, background vocals
  • Alex Acuña – percussion
  • John Alagia – production
  • Ibrahim Ag Alhabib – background vocals
  • Abdallah Ag Alhousseyni – acoustic guitar, background vocals
  • Saïd Ag Ayad – djembe, background vocals
  • Lawrence Azerrad – design
  • Danny Barnes – banjo, bass, guitar
  • Jeff Beck – guitar
  • Chris Bolster – assistant engineering
  • Richard Bravo – percussion
  • Kofi Burbridge – Hammond B3, vocals
  • Oteil Burbridge – bass, vocals
  • Rodrigo Campos – percussion
  • Denis Caribaux – engineering
  • Céu – vocals
  • Matt Chamberlain – drums
  • Michael Chaves – guitar
  • The Chieftains – featured artist
  • K.S. Chithra – vocals
  • Vinnie Colaiuta – drums, tambourine
  • Kevin Conneff – bodhran
  • Rodrigo "Funai" Costa – assistant engineering
  • Curumin – drums
  • Paulinho Da Costa – percussion
  • Toumani Diabaté – kora
  • Yaya Diarra – engineering
  • Fatoumata Diawara – vocals
  • Larry Goldings – Hammond B3
  • Bernie Grundman – mastering
  • Roland Guillotel – engineering
  • Helik Hadar – engineering, mixing
  • Elaga Ag Hamid – guitar, background vocals
  • Jessica Hancock – production coordination, background vocals
  • Lisa Hannigan – vocals
  • Ken Hertz – arrangement, production
  • David Hidalgo – vocals
  • The Hill-Tones – background vocals
  • Graham Hope – assistant engineering
  • Shantau Hudikar – engineering
  • India.Arie – vocals
  • Anand Iyer – second engineer
  • Juanes – arrangement, vocals, production
  • Manu Katché – drums
  • Bhawai Shankar Kathak – pakhawaj drum
  • Seán Keane – fiddle
  • Alan Kelly – assistant engineering
  • Chaka Khan – vocals
  • Abhishek Khandelwal – assistant engineering, Pro-Tools
  • Douglas Kirkland – photography
  • Andrew Kitchen – assistant engineering
  • Larry Klein – bass, keyboards, background vocals
  • K'naan – vocals
  • Konono Nº1 – featured artist
  • Rhani Krija – percussion
  • Abdallah Ag Lamida "Intidao" – guitar, background vocals
  • Eyadou Ag Leche – bass guitar, background vocals
  • John Legend – vocals
  • Hugo Legrand – assistant engineering
  • Gustavo Lenza – engineering
  • Frank Lillis – lyric translation
  • Lionel Loueke – guitar
  • Los Lobos – featured artist
  • Jim Lowe – engineering
  • Conrad Lozano – vocals
  • Lucas Martins – electric bass
  • Dave Matthews – guitar, vocals
  • Mike Mattison – vocal arrangement, vocals
  • Ndofusu Mbiyavanga – percussion
  • Wagner Bigu Meirinho – assistant engineering
  • Cesar Mejia – engineering
  • Dani Michelle – wardrobe
  • Marcus Miller – arrangement, bass, production
  • Bill Mims – assistant engineering
  • Mawangu Mingiedi – likembe
  • Alan Mintz – executive production, background vocals
  • Matt Molloy – flute
  • Paddy Moloney – tin whistle, Uilleann pipes
  • Mandy Montiero – groomer
  • James Morrison – vocals
  • Melinda Murphy – executive production, production coordination
  • Áine Ní Ghlinn – lyric translation
  • Chris Owens – assistant engineering, Pro-Tools
  • Dean Parks – guitar
  • Sridhar Parthasarthy – mridangam
  • Louie Pérez – vocals
  • Cindi Peters – production coordination
  • P!nk – vocals
  • Maria Ruvalcaba – background vocals
  • Jaideep Sahni – translation
  • Oumou Sangare – vocals
  • Brian Scheuble – engineering
  • Eric Schilling – engineering
  • Seal – vocals
  • Anoushka Shankar – sitar
  • Wayne Shorter – saxophone (soprano)
  • Jaime Sickora – assistant engineering
  • Patrick Spain – assistant engineering
  • Satyajit Talwalkar – tabla
  • Ibrahim Tangara – engineering
  • Susan Tedeschi – vocals
  • Tinariwen – featured artist
  • Bobby Tis – engineering
  • Fernando Tobon – guitar
  • Alhassane Ag Touhami – arrangement, guitar, vocals
  • Derek Trucks – arrangement, guitar, production
  • Visi Vincent – drums
  • Marty Wall – engineer
  • Pete Wallace – keyboards
  • George Whitty – keyboards, sound design
  • Tal Wilkenfeld – bass
  • Bill Winn – engineering
  • Richard Woodcraft – engineering

Charts

Chart performance
Chart (2010) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[21] 94
Australian Jazz & Blues Albums (ARIA)[22] 1
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[23] 28
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[24] 90
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[25] 85
Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)[26] 42
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[27] 11
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[28] 35
French Albums (SNEP)[29] 77
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[30] 27
Greek Albums (IFPI)[31] 3
Italian Albums (FIMI)[32] 29
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[33] 25
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[34] 12
Spanish Albums (Promusicae)[35] 41
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[36] 29
US Billboard 200[37] 54
US Top Jazz Albums (Billboard)[38] 2

Certifications

Certifications
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Poland (ZPAV)[39] Gold 5,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ "The Imagine Project - Herbie Hancock". AllMusic. Retrieved May 3, 2015.
  2. ^ Kelman, John (June 21, 2010). "Herbie Hancock: The Imagine Project". All About Jazz. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  3. ^ Jurek, Thom (June 22, 2010). "Allmusic review". Allmusic.com. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
  4. ^ "Herbie Hancock, "The Imagine Project"". Billboard. June 11, 2010. Retrieved June 30, 2026.
  5. ^ Wood, Mikael (June 16, 2010). "The Imagine Project". EW.com. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  6. ^ Graham, Stephen (July 29, 2010). "Herbie Hancock The Imagine Project ***". Jazzwise. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  7. ^ Fordham, John (July 29, 2010). "Herbie Hancock: The Imagine Project". The Guardian. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  8. ^ Kara, Scott. "Album Review: Herbie Hancock The Imagine Project". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved June 30, 2026.
  9. ^ Murphy, Siobhan (August 1, 2010). "Herbie Hancock's Imagine Project needed more imagination". Metro. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  10. ^ LAYMAN, WILL (October 13, 2010). "Herbie Hancock: The Imagine Project". PopMatters. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  11. ^ "Tom Hull: Grade List: Herbie Hancock". Tom Hull. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
  12. ^ "May 13, 2010 Press Release". Herbiehancock.com. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
  13. ^ "April 1, 2010 Press Release". Herbiehancock.com. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
  14. ^ Blumenfeld, Larry (June 22, 2010). "A Journey Across Borders". The Wall Street Journal. p. D8.
  15. ^ Varga, George (August 10, 2010). "Herbie Hancock: The Imagine Project". JazzTimes. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  16. ^ Eyles, John (2010). "Herbie Hancock The Imagine Project Review". BBC. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  17. ^ "Album page". Amazon.com. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
  18. ^ Official Herbie Hancock page
  19. ^ Cosores, Philip (May 31, 2010). "Herbie Hancock records with artists around the world". Consequence of Sound magazine. IndieClick Music Network. Retrieved September 5, 2012.
  20. ^ "The Imagine Project - Herbie Hancock | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved May 3, 2015.
  21. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 124.
  22. ^ "ARIA Jazz & Blues Albums – Week Commencing 12th July 2010" (PDF). The ARIA Report. No. 1063. Australian Recording Industry Association. July 12, 2010. p. 22. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 19, 2010. Retrieved October 4, 2026.
  23. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Herbie Hancock – The Imagine Project" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 4, 2026.
  24. ^ "Ultratop.be – Herbie Hancock – The Imagine Project" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 4, 2026.
  25. ^ "Ultratop.be – Herbie Hancock – The Imagine Project" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 4, 2026.
  26. ^ "Albums : Top 100". Jam!. July 8, 2010. Archived from the original on July 10, 2010. Retrieved October 4, 2026.
  27. ^ "Danishcharts.dk – Herbie Hancock – The Imagine Project". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 4, 2026.
  28. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Herbie Hancock – The Imagine Project" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 4, 2026.
  29. ^ "Lescharts.com – Herbie Hancock – The Imagine Project". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 4, 2026.
  30. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Herbie Hancock – The Imagine Project" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved October 4, 2026.
  31. ^ "Greekcharts.com – Herbie Hancock – The Imagine Project". Hung Medien. Archived from the original. Retrieved October 4, 2026. [dead link]
  32. ^ "Italiancharts.com – Herbie Hancock – The Imagine Project". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 4, 2026.
  33. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Herbie Hancock – The Imagine Project". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 4, 2026.
  34. ^ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original on April 2, 2012. Retrieved October 4, 2026.
  35. ^ "Spanishcharts.com – Herbie Hancock – The Imagine Project". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 4, 2026.
  36. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Herbie Hancock – The Imagine Project". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 4, 2026.
  37. ^ "Herbie Hancock Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2026.
  38. ^ "Herbie Hancock Chart History (Top Jazz Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2026.
  39. ^ "Wyróżnienia – Złote płyty - Archiwum - Przyznane w 2010 roku" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original on December 7, 2024. Retrieved March 27, 2021.