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Music : River: The Joni Letters (with Bonus Tracks) - Amazon.com Exclusive
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Rating: 
- Forty-seven And Fifty Are The Winning Numbers
With his 47th release in a breathtaking career, Herbie Hancock captured Album of the Year honors at the 50th Grammy Awards.
Make no mistake, this is not a lifetime achievement honor; River: The Joni Letters, is an amazing release - bolstered with two bonus tracks - featuring seven vocalists, including Joni Mitchell, in a sparkling tribute to Mitchell.
The cornerstone is Mitchell on Tea Leaf Prophecy, but a trio of selections make the concept click. Norah Jones brings a special elegance to Court and Spark, with Corinne Bailey Rae lending smooth blues to River and Sonya Kitchell providing a bouncy interpretation to All I Want.
The textures in Hancock's work on Solitude is a subtle masterpiece and Wayne Shorter provides a fresh sound to Nefertiti.
There are many highlights in Hancock's career; this CD again demonstrates his musical genius.
Rating: - Herbie Hancocks Latest Masterpiece
Herbie Hancock mining musical forms outside the Jazz canon should not be either a surprise nor source for concern among traditionalists. Whether exploring Electronica harder and more boldly that most of his contemporaries in the Seventies--except, of course, for Miles--or getting involved with Hip-Hop or nodding to Pop, Hancock's work may not always be of everyone's liking but it can always claim honesty and quality.
With Joni Letters, this is confirmed ... more yet, this is taken to another level of excellence. Having worked with Mitchell already in her album dedicated to Charles Mingus tunes, Herbie returns to Joni's songbook to reinterpret it, to sculpt new possibilities out of her poems--to call them lyrics might leave you with a limited impressions of the beauty and depth of her words.
The arrangements are bold yet always faithful to the originals. Edith and The Kingpin--probably the best track in an album full of gems--turned into a dark Jazz ballad and sung remarkably well by Tina Turner, Leonard Cohen reading The Jungle Line with a sense of sinisterness that those lyrics may not have revealed before, or his treatment of Both Sides Now are sufficient proof of it.
In addition to these tracks there's plenty more to bow to. Luciana Souza's rendition of Amelia is impeccable and soulful as well as River sung by Corinne Bailey Rae--although my nod for best version still goes to Madeline Peyroux and kd lang.
Last but definitely not least, there's Wayne Shorter sounding as lyrical and fierce in all the right places, and master Hancock himself. Herbie's playing is truly stunning throughout the record, confirming yet again his place among the greatest pianists of any genre.
If you are into Jazz but not Joni, this is where you'd want to come in. Even if the opposite is so for you, again, this is the right door to open. Welcome to the work of two geniuses.
Rating: - Album of the Year
Well, well, well. A Grammy album of the year for 2007. And such a flaccid editorial review from Amazon. I've changed my opinion of Amazon editors
Rating:
- Another cash-in
Released contemporaneously with Mitchell's (Starbucks) Shine, River also undermines the great lady's legacy with casual self-assurance and a tired reliance on commercial stratagem. The perversity is in the split: why have Hancock and Shorter, Mitchell's greatest collaborators, shunted off on yet another tribute set while failing to employ them on Shine? Whatever, after Travelogue radiated jazz pop mastery of the ages, Shine plays like dashed off retreads recorded at home while, in the main, Hancock and Shorter are left to recast crowd-pleasers ala jazz as they lamentably pass over far more delicious fare. So, for the zillionth time, "Both Sides Now," "River" and "A Case of You" make their appearances while, once again, "Paprika Plains," "Down To You" and "Harry's House" go untapped. Grrr! Superstars Norah Jones, Tina Turner and Leonard Cohen phone in their performances while far more intriguing contenders - Suzanne Vega, Phoebe Snow and Janis Ian, for instance - go unnoticed. Alas. Nevertheless, there's "Tea Leaf Prophecy," minor but compelling, to download. Now, back to Travelogue.
Rating:
- For Joni and/or Herbie Lovers
Very interesting takes on some Joni and Wayne Shorter originals. Herbie proves himself ever the innovator with some delicious arrangements and his keywork is impeccable as ever. This is definitely NOT the usual "tribute" album. Some titles will be all but unrecognizable even to longtime Joni fans. Guest vocalists and musicians make for a good rainy-day listen.
- Forty-seven And Fifty Are The Winning NumbersWith his 47th release in a breathtaking career, Herbie Hancock captured Album of the Year honors at the 50th Grammy Awards.
Make no mistake, this is not a lifetime achievement honor; River: The Joni Letters, is an amazing release - bolstered with two bonus tracks - featuring seven vocalists, including Joni Mitchell, in a sparkling tribute to Mitchell.
The cornerstone is Mitchell on Tea Leaf Prophecy, but a trio of selections make the concept click. Norah Jones brings a special elegance to Court and Spark, with Corinne Bailey Rae lending smooth blues to River and Sonya Kitchell providing a bouncy interpretation to All I Want.
The textures in Hancock's work on Solitude is a subtle masterpiece and Wayne Shorter provides a fresh sound to Nefertiti.
There are many highlights in Hancock's career; this CD again demonstrates his musical genius.
Rating:
- Herbie Hancocks Latest MasterpieceHerbie Hancock mining musical forms outside the Jazz canon should not be either a surprise nor source for concern among traditionalists. Whether exploring Electronica harder and more boldly that most of his contemporaries in the Seventies--except, of course, for Miles--or getting involved with Hip-Hop or nodding to Pop, Hancock's work may not always be of everyone's liking but it can always claim honesty and quality.
With Joni Letters, this is confirmed ... more yet, this is taken to another level of excellence. Having worked with Mitchell already in her album dedicated to Charles Mingus tunes, Herbie returns to Joni's songbook to reinterpret it, to sculpt new possibilities out of her poems--to call them lyrics might leave you with a limited impressions of the beauty and depth of her words.
The arrangements are bold yet always faithful to the originals. Edith and The Kingpin--probably the best track in an album full of gems--turned into a dark Jazz ballad and sung remarkably well by Tina Turner, Leonard Cohen reading The Jungle Line with a sense of sinisterness that those lyrics may not have revealed before, or his treatment of Both Sides Now are sufficient proof of it.
In addition to these tracks there's plenty more to bow to. Luciana Souza's rendition of Amelia is impeccable and soulful as well as River sung by Corinne Bailey Rae--although my nod for best version still goes to Madeline Peyroux and kd lang.
Last but definitely not least, there's Wayne Shorter sounding as lyrical and fierce in all the right places, and master Hancock himself. Herbie's playing is truly stunning throughout the record, confirming yet again his place among the greatest pianists of any genre.
If you are into Jazz but not Joni, this is where you'd want to come in. Even if the opposite is so for you, again, this is the right door to open. Welcome to the work of two geniuses.
Rating:
- Album of the YearWell, well, well. A Grammy album of the year for 2007. And such a flaccid editorial review from Amazon. I've changed my opinion of Amazon editors
Rating:
- Another cash-inReleased contemporaneously with Mitchell's (Starbucks) Shine, River also undermines the great lady's legacy with casual self-assurance and a tired reliance on commercial stratagem. The perversity is in the split: why have Hancock and Shorter, Mitchell's greatest collaborators, shunted off on yet another tribute set while failing to employ them on Shine? Whatever, after Travelogue radiated jazz pop mastery of the ages, Shine plays like dashed off retreads recorded at home while, in the main, Hancock and Shorter are left to recast crowd-pleasers ala jazz as they lamentably pass over far more delicious fare. So, for the zillionth time, "Both Sides Now," "River" and "A Case of You" make their appearances while, once again, "Paprika Plains," "Down To You" and "Harry's House" go untapped. Grrr! Superstars Norah Jones, Tina Turner and Leonard Cohen phone in their performances while far more intriguing contenders - Suzanne Vega, Phoebe Snow and Janis Ian, for instance - go unnoticed. Alas. Nevertheless, there's "Tea Leaf Prophecy," minor but compelling, to download. Now, back to Travelogue.
Rating:
- For Joni and/or Herbie LoversVery interesting takes on some Joni and Wayne Shorter originals. Herbie proves himself ever the innovator with some delicious arrangements and his keywork is impeccable as ever. This is definitely NOT the usual "tribute" album. Some titles will be all but unrecognizable even to longtime Joni fans. Guest vocalists and musicians make for a good rainy-day listen.