Herbie Hancock - River: The Joni Letters

Artist: Herbie Hancock
Title Of Album: River: The Joni Letters
Year Of Release: 2007
Label: Nu Groove Records
Genre: Jazz / Soul
Format: FLAC (tracks) / MP3
Bitrate: Lossless / CBR 320 kBit/s
Total Time: 01:07:37
Total Size: 372 MB / 157 MB
WebSite: HerbieHancock.com

Tracklist:

01. Court And Spark (feat. Norah Jones) [07:34]
02. Edith And The Kingpin (feat. Tina Turner) [06:32]
03. Both Sides Now [07:38]
04. River (feat. Corinne Bailey Rae) [05:24]
05. Sweet Bird [08:15]
06. Tea Leaf Prophecy (Joni Mitchell - Larry Klein) (feat. Joni Mitchell) [06:33]
07. Solitude (Edgar De Lange - Duke Ellington - Irvin Mills) [05:42]
08. Amelia (feat. Luciana Souza) [07:26]
09. Nefertiti (Wayne Shorter) [07:29]
10. The Jungle Line (feat. Leonard Cohen) [05:00]

Review
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