Album Description: This Amazon.com exclusive version of River: The Joni Letters includes two bonus tracks, "All I Want" featuring Sonya Kitchell and "A Case of You."
The legendary pianist and innovator Herbie Hancock explores the words and music of another musical pioneer, Joni Mitchell, on his first new studio recording for Verve since 1998's GRAMMY® award-winning Gershwin's World.
Inspired in equal parts by Mitchell's poetic lyrics and unique melodies, Hancock and saxophone giant Wayne Shorter play with a restraint and elegance that achieves a perfect balance between the adventurous aesthetics of jazz improvisation and the emotional directness of the finest Adult Pop music.
Hancock builds upon his (and Shorter's) previous collaborations with Ms. Mitchell to create a sound that will appeal not only to fans of both artists, but to the listener familiar with the work of Norah Jones, Corinne Bailey Rae and the other brilliant guest vocalists featured on this session. River: The Joni Letters is the perfect CD for the music fan looking for something new that's based in the familiar.
Amazon.com: On paper, River sounds like a match made in several versions of heaven. Legendary pianist Herbie Hancock re-imagines Joni Mitchell with his hand-picked, star-studded band--including saxophonist Wayne Shorter--in tow. Luminary guests lend vocals to a song apiece: Norah Jones ("Court and Spark"), Tina Turner ("Edith and the Kingpin"), Corinne Bailey Rae ("River"), Luciana Souza ("Amelia"), Leonard Cohen (with an unsettlingly sanguine version of "The Jungle Line"), even Mitchell herself ("Tea Leaf Prophecy"). In the event, though, a few fundamental elements go awry. Hancock plays with almost saccharine understatement throughout, and even Shorter's seminal "Nefertiti" and Duke Ellington's "Solitude" fall into the album's presiding, somnolent surface, though to a lesser degree does the instrumental version of Mitchell's "Sweet Bird." But girding, and in some measure, saving, the proceedings, the lyrics here testify to a subtler wisdom guiding Hancock's set list. The mix includes a continuum from intrepid classics to dusty, fans-only fare, but a distinct reverence for Joni Mitchell the Poet threads them together, and, in the end, this album works best as a sleepy window into one fan's giddy and particular love affair with his source material. Fans of Hancock win out. --Jason Kirk
Disc 1:
Court and Spark featuring Norah Jones
Edith and the Kingpin featuring Tina Turner
Both Sides Now
River featuring Corinne Bailey Rae
Sweet Bird
Tea Leaf Prophecy featuring Joni Mitchell
Solitude
Amelia featuring Luciana Souza
Nefertiti
The Jungle Line featuring Leonard Cohen
All I Want featuring Sonya Kitchell (Exclusive Bonus Track)
A classy tribute to a great American Songwriter To tell the truth ,I wasn't expecting that much from this album. To me, Joni Mitchell's songs in the original form are hard to top. I haven't even been very impressed with her own recent covers of her classic work. So I put off getting this until recently. I am happy to report that for the most part this CD exceeded my expectations. First of all, I love the downtime mood of the proceedings. Herbie was creating an album, not just a collection of tunes. The pacing and order was well thought out, as was the choice of tunes, covering some of her more well known compositions, yet sprinkling in a few more obscure offerings. The arrangements are creative, often adding unexpected harmonic twists that place the album further into jazz territory than their original counterparts, but without compromising the integrity of the melodies or lyrics.
Many of the players on the CD had some prior association with Joni. Herbie,Vinnie Coliauta, and the great Wayne Shorter have all made appearances on her records and really understand how to accompany a singer. I have read reviews criticizing Shorter's performances on this CD and I couldn't disagree more strongly. Wayne is playing off the lyrics as he has done with Milton Nascimento and Ms Mitchell herself. His angular short flurries of notes are part of his signature style. The fact that he has become a sort of minimalist should come as no surprise to anyone who has followed his career in recent years.
This is a well arranged, fresh and probing take on Mitchell's oeuvre. Nora Jones sounds great on Court and Spark. And as mentioned in other reviews, Tina Turner delivers a definitive interpretation of Edith and the Kingpin. Made me want to break out Hissing of Summer Lawns" again, one of Mitchell's most underrated album. Herbie must agree as he also covers The Jungle Line" although this is in my opinion the least successful track. Leonard Cohen's straight reading of the lyric as a spoken word doesn't work and is the one track I always skip. Come to think about it, it was also my least favorite track on Hissing.
This edition with the bonus tracks is the one to get. Although not as adventurous as the rest of the covers , Sonya's Kitchell's covers of All I want and A case of You round out the proceedings most agreeably. Overall all, I highly recommend the album. It is far and away the best Joni Mitchell tribute out there and yields some surprisingly deep musical moments along the way.
Herbie and Joni - Inspired River: The Joni Letters is a surprising album for me. As more of a fan of Herbie's older works, I am very happy to hear some of the musical directions that were chosen here. In some regards, this is both a return to Herbie's core strengths as well as an exploration of something new. When it comes to Mr. Hancock, why should any of us be surprised by that.
There are some Joni Mitchel purists who may not appreciate or enjoy all of the choices made by Herbie. For my part, I am willing to accept that different artists can approach material differently and both approaches may have value.
For those who have a love for modern jazz and have limited familiarity with Joni's songs, this is really the perfect way to be introduced to the material.
Enjoy.
Too much Hollywood Hip Eco-Cool Grew up impressed with Herbie Hancock. Grew up loving Joni Mitchell. Was fascinated by the concept of this but sadly disappointed with the result. Too much dominance of LA music studio in the sound track; too much self-absorbed ennui in the vocals. Maybe I've just gotten old, or the '60's have finally caught up with me (in a good way), but this CD just schmoozes too much of what I have to coin, Hollywood Hip Eco-Cool.
words from Me Super CD I will be using it in my Arts and Humanities class this fall.
Awesome!!! Awesome!!! Awesome!!! Herbie Hancock is a genius. The sound engineer who did this CD is a genius. Together, they created something that sounds like they are in my listening room. They are simply there! The music is perfect, chords like nowhere else.
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