Works by Hancock, Lovano Top List of Early ’96 Releases

New recordings by Herbie Hancock and Joe Lovano are among the highlights from a list of early 1996 releases for jazz enthusiasts.

Hancock’s “The New Standard,” the pianist’s first effort as part of his new affiliation with Verve Records, is a sextet session that explores a variety of contemporary pop standards, from Lennon-McCartney’s “Norwegian Wood,” Sade’s “Stronger Than Pride,” “Murder by the Numbers” as recorded by the Police, Simon and Garfunkel’s “Scarborough Faire” and Donald Fagen’s “Your Gold Teeth II,” recorded by Steely Dan.

The album, recorded last summer in Los Angeles, features Michael Brecker (saxes), John Scofield (guitar), Jack DeJohnette (drums) and Dave Holland (bass). The tunes were arranged by Bob Belden. A mid-February release is expected.

Lovano, recent winner of Down Beat magazine’s readers’ poll as jazz artist of the year, will be represented by a two-CD set, “Quartets Live at the Village Vanguard,” due Feb. 6 from Blue Note.

The album captures the reed man in two settings: leading a piano-less quartet with one of the leading lights of jazz trumpet, Tom Harrell, in March 1994; and a quartet with Mulgrew Miller (piano), Christian McBride (bass) and Lewis Nash (drums), documented in January 1995.

The Harrell band plays mostly Lovano originals, while the Miller ensemble focuses on standards, including Charlie Parker’s “Little Willie Leaps” and Gordon Jenkin’s “This Is All I Ask.”

Here are some other recordings that look promising:

* Singer Roseanna Vitro’s “Passion Dance” (Telarc, due Feb. 1), which features McBride, drummer Elvin Jones and sax man Gary Bartz in vibrant interpretations of “Out of This World,” “Freedom Jazz Dance” and “Whisper Not.”

* The soundtrack to the upcoming Robert Altman film, “Kansas City” (Verve, due Feb. 15). This CD sports rousing performances by Joshua Redman, Craig Handy, Nicholas Payton, Geri Allen, James Carter, Victor Lewis, Ron Carter and Kevin Mahogany that bear the indelible spirit, if not always the letter, of the swinging jazz that emanated from Kansas City in the mid-1930s.

* Van Morrison’s “How Long Has This Been Going On?” (Verve, due Jan. 9), the pop singer’s first attempt at tackling the classic pop repertoire of the 1930s and ‘40s.

* “The Complete Columbia Recordings of Miles Davis and Gil Evans” (Columbia, due March 19), a six-CD package that has such late ‘50s and early ‘60s gems as “Miles Davis + 19,” “Porgy and Bess” and “Sketches of Spain,” recordings that have an angelic blend of Davis’ haunting tone and Evans’ exotic, plush orchestral carpets.

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New Year’s on the Air: If you’ve decided that, indeed, home is the best place to be to say goodbye to the old and roll in the new, National Public Radio has its annual “Coast-to-Coast” jazz party to keep you company.

The program, broadcast locally on KPCC-FM (89.3), begins Sunday at 7 p.m., with a performance by singer Dee Dee Bridgewater and her trio, plus Frank Foster’s all-star orchestra, both from the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City. Then at 9:30 p.m., hear former Art Blakey trumpeter Valery Ponomarev fronting a quintet from Vartan’s in Denver, a segment that also showcases singer Dianne Reeves. The evening concludes with the double bill of the Benny Green trio and the Joshua Redman quintet, heard live from Yoshi’s in Oakland.

On Monday at 1 p.m. on KPCC, Chuck Cecil offers a New Year’s Day swing-era special, with the music of Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller, Artie Shaw and many others. A portion of this material comes from air checks made at clubs and hotels between 1932 and 1956.