River: The Joni Letters (with Bonus Tracks) - Amazon.com Exclusive

On his latest album "River: The Joni Letters", the phenomenal jazz pianist and composer reinterprets the soulful poetry of Joni Mitchell's lyrics.The good news is that his homage to Joni Mitchell digs deeper, with the help of cameo appearances from Norah Jones, Tina Turner, Corinne Bailey Rae, Leonard Cohen and Mitchell herself
With some starry guest vocalists, Hancock pastes a selection of Mitchell tunes, plus standards, on to a high-octane ensemble (including Wayne Shorter, bassist Dave Holland, on-his-way guitarist Lionel Loueke and Vinnie Colaiuta, the drummer who grew up in Fayette County), that aspires to the zeniths of the mid-1960s Miles Davis quintet.
Sublime stuff, but you can't help feeling that it subsumes Mitchell's musical signature.
The best tracks are those where the vocal performances are strong enough to balance out the improvisation: Tina Turner steals the show with her magisterial "Edith and the Kingpin", but all the other guests sit comfortably alongside the pianist and the band : Joni Mitchell's own "Tea Leaf Prophecy"; Leonard Cohen's weird but brilliant recitation of "The Jungle Line", accompanied by Hancock's peerless acoustic piano, Corinne Bailey Rae, who sings the title track "River", Brazilian jazz singer Luciana Sousa's elegant "Amelia".
In many ways, this album of mostly Joni Mitchell songs embodies what jazz is all about. Great personnel, songs and interpretations make this album a delight.
He may have one of the most distinguished Curriculum Vitae in jazz, yet there has been a jarring tone to some of Herbie Hancock's outings: not so much music-making as upmarket product placement.
The best vocal numbers show how much there is to be gained from the union of improv and intelligent pop.
Herbie Hancock provides strikingly fine piano work, but does it without insisting on showing virtuoso bits of flash. If fact, his support to saxophonist Wayne Shorter on "Court and Spark" perhaps shows his genius more than anything. He also gets great credit for his interpretations of these songs, which take Mitchell's pop classics and turn them into solid jazz numbers.
His version of "Both Sides Now" shows only harmonic ties to the familiar song but is a great display of the instrumental musicians. Just to add a different touch, the band also does a great version of Shorter's "Nefertiti" and Duke Ellington's "Solitude".

It was pleasure listening to this CD. The music is wonderful.A must have for all lovers of jazz.

I am a big Joni Mitchell fan and I would think that Herbie Hancock did her proud. The fact that she herself is featured on the cd attests to that. The selection of vocalists covering her songs is perfect. Nora Jones did a fine rendition of Court and Spark and I am so impressed with Tina Turner in Edith and the Kingpin. I manage a retail flooring and decorating showroom and I play all my favorite cd's for customer's listening pleasure throughout the day. I have had several people comment on this cd when it plays. "Great music," one woman said as she hummed along. It would make for lovely dinner music too. In my opinion, it's perfectly produced and arranged.

Love Love Love this man's music. Great for driving, musing, or back ground music.
3horses
Calgary, Alberta

In response to another review, this IS written by a 20-something who appreciates both these artists.I've been listening to Joni since I was a little kid. My mom had stacks of records that we, as children, would listen to over and over again. Joni Mitchell, thankfully, was in the pile. I have grown to love her music and, more importantly, lyrics since those first childhood rainy afternoon sessions. And having listened equally to the local library's jazz album collections, Herbie Hancock is also in the top ten of my personal jazz favorites list.


If you love the stylings of Herbie and Joni's musical sensibility, you will enjoy this album. As a tribute to JM by HH, I really enjoyed this cd. I would love to see future collaborations. I think it could have done with better selection of the other artists covering the vocal tracks, with the exception of Tina Turner. Whereas Tina Turner brought out the soul of the lyrics, Corinne Bailey Ray did a lousy job. I love that song, but this rendition is so bad I skip the track.

Here's to bringing great/timeless music to younger generations and I hope to see another album from the two of them again!