OTTAWA - Herbie Hancock could cut an album with Alvin and the Chipmunks and turn it into something you'd would want to listen to while making love.

So when he collaborates with someone of such monumental musical stature as Joni Mitchell, you might expect him to win, say, a Grammy. Done.

River: The Joni Letters won this year's Grammy for best album, only the second jazz album to win music's highest award. (Keep this one on your bedside table.)

ENTHUSIASTIC WELCOME

You also might expect the 10,000 fans at Confederation Park to give him an enthusiastic welcome to the Ottawa International Jazz Festival, then hang on every soothing note that flowed out of his custom-made Fazioli piano.

Done and done.

The crowd stood and cheered loudly when Hancock came onstage, and politely laughed when he said "This looks more like a place you'd bring your family for a picnic."

He meant it in the most endearing way, but he is, after all, playing Carnegie Hall in New York tonight. The seats are a little softer there, and there aren't as many ants.

Last night, he and the crowd seemed perfectly happy right where they were.

The performance was not just about a jazz legend performing a folk legend's songs. In fact, only three of the 11 songs on his playlist were from River: The title track, Edith & The Kingpin and All I Want, a bonus track from the Amazon.com version. He also played two songs from his last collaborative effort, the aptly named Possibilities, when he ventured into pop three years ago with the likes of Christina Aguilera, Carlos Santana, Paul Simon and Sting among others. It was also nominated for a Grammy. It didn't win, but he confirmed what anybody with ears already knew: He could make music with anyone of any genre.

Hancock, 68, closed his set by taking the mostly middle-aged crowd back to 1973 with the jazz standard Chameleon.

NO EASY TASK

Amy Keys and Sonya Mitchell provided the vocals last night, no easy task when four of the recordings off the albums featured Tina Turner (Edith & The Kingpin), Aguilera (A Song for You), Joss Stone (When Love Comes to Town), and Corinne Bailey Rae (River). Mitchell only sang on one track off River -- The Tea Leaf Prophecy. But they managed to pull it off.

Rounding out the band were Dave Holland on bass, Chris Potter on sax, Vinnie Colaiuta on drums and Ottawa's Lionel Loueke on guitar.

The Alexis Baro Sextet opened for Hancock. He told the crowd his goal was to have them up and "shakin' their booties" by the time he played his last song. They got off their feet all right, but only in part because of the catchy beat.

A short rainshower sent them scrambling for cover, but these well-prepared jazz fans were unfazed.

Before long, a sea of colourful umbrellas were bouncing up and down to the beat. By the time Hancock came on at 8:30 p.m., the clouds had separated, and the crowd had long forgotten they were wet. Maybe they were starting to get in the mood ...