The Wall Street Journal-20080216-WEEKEND JOURNAL- Picks -- Hit List - Herbie Hancock- The Grammy-Winning Pianist on His Favorite Jazz Takes on Pop Songs

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WEEKEND JOURNAL; Picks -- Hit List / Herbie Hancock: The Grammy-Winning Pianist on His Favorite Jazz Takes on Pop Songs

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Herbie Hancock's win for album of the year at the 50th-annual Grammy Awards came as a shock to many in the music industry -- Mr. Hancock included. The jazz pianist's winning album, "River: The Joni Letters," pays homage to folk singer Joni Mitchell, whom he calls a "genius lyric writer" and a "renaissance person." A former child prodigy who once played with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Mr. Hancock has been performing for more than 45 years. We talked to Mr. Hancock recently about his favorite jazz covers of pop songs.

'Emily' by Bill Evans, from 'Further Conversations With Myself'

"I love the melody," says Mr. Hancock of the tune, which appeared in its original form in the movie "The Americanization of Emily." Mr. Evans "was such an amazing player, with a gorgeous touch."

'Time After Time' by Miles Davis, from 'You're Under Arrest . . .'

"He did it with his famous muted trumpet sound," says Mr. Hancock of the tune, which was co-written and first performed by Cyndi Lauper. "It gives a depth and body to the song in a way that only Miles could do."

'My Favorite Things' by John Coltrane, from 'My Favorite Things'

The Rodgers and Hammerstein tune was made popular by "The Sound of Music." Mr. Coltrane "puts a kind of an exotic flavor on the song, and a rhythmic pulse that gives it a driving force that really gets inside your skin," says Mr. Hancock.

'Body and Soul' by Coleman Hawkins, from 'Body and Soul'

This 1930 song was later performed on-stage in the musical revue "Three's a Crowd." It has been reinterpreted many times since. Mr. Hancock says Hawkins' take "is the definite jazz version of 'Body and Soul.'"

'A Day in the Life' by Wes Montgomery, from 'A Day in the Life'

A reinvention of a classic Beatles rock song by one of jazz's great guitarists. "He had almost, like, a built-in sense of musical melodic balance where everything fits so perfectly," Mr. Hancock says of Mr. Montgomery.