Herbie Hancock Contributes To 'Traffic' Soundtrack

12/20/2000 1:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Craig Rosen

(12/20/00, 1 p.m. ET) - Composer-keyboardist Herbie Hancock has contributed to yet another film. The Grammy-winning jazz pioneer plays electric piano on the score penned by Cliff Martinez for the forthcoming film Traffic. The soundtrack album bows January 5.

Hancock plays alongside rock bassist Flea and guitarist Michael Brooks on several pieces from the score. Composer Martinez and Flea have collaborated in the past on material by rock band the Red Hot Chili Peppers, of which Flea is a member. The soundtrack also features musical tracks by such artists as Fatboy Slim, Morcheeba, and Brian Eno.

Hancock, a seven-time Grammy winner, has written scores to the films Death Wish and Blow-Up, and has contributed tracks over the years to other soundtrack projects. His own solo project, which will incorporate elements of dance and hip-hop, will bow in early 2001.

Traffic stars Michael Douglas, his new wife Catherine Zeta-Jones, Dennis Quaid, and Benicio Del Toro. It opens December 27 in New York and Los Angeles.

--Janine Coveney, Los Angeles